Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Insiders revealed that AR Glass was deeply disturbed by strategic confusion and was building an AR glasses software platform after shutting down the AR glasses project Iris. The Touxian project Moohan, developed in cooperation with Samsung, has also caused an uproar within the company.

In June this year, Apple launched the long-awaited Vision Pro headshow, and the venue was filled with excitement and excitement.

Apple CEO Tim Cook claims that the Vision Pro is a new generation of "revolutionary" products.

On the contrary, there is another kind of emotion inside Google-frustration.

For years, Google has been trying to re-enter the field of "mixed reality" with a new product that amazes everyone.

However, as the first attempt to launch Google AR Glass, it failed in front of the public, and the subsequent virtual reality devices were weak.

Still, Google executives have always believed that XR is the next computing frontier. They will rebuild a team in 2020 and attack AR again. To that end, Google has also acquired startups North and Raxium.

However, the AR glasses "Project Iris", which has been entrusted with an important task, has encountered technical obstacles in the process of research and development.

In the first half of this year, Google shut down the Project Iris project completely and instead partnered with Samsung to focus on developing Touxian, codenamed Project Moohan.

At the same time, Google has launched a new work to transform Iris's software into a platform for partners who make AR glasses, which it hopes to launch as soon as 2025.

Google's frequent mistakes in AR have proved frustrating to employees in the face of fierce competition from Apple and Meta.

According to seven people familiar with the matter, Apple and Meta are not without mistakes, but Google still has problems such as strategic confusion and lack of attention at the top.

In addition, the company's layoffs and high-level exodus in January also hurt the vitality of the AR department.

"if you just want to lead the industry with this level of investment, then Google is thinking too easily," said one industry insider. "

There is another hope for Glass's return to Google, which is the acquisition of North.

The Canadian start-up once launched a pair of AR glasses, which are very similar to normal glasses, but cost millions of dollars.

North's first smart glasses product, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in 2018, the Canadian federal government promised to provide $24 million to North to create 230 jobs, but the government had no sooner paid than 3Gear North laid off its staff, so the government demanded a refund of the money already paid.

Google took advantage of this opportunity to take back North for $180 million in 2020.

Google wants AR, but they don't have a team or a product strategy. After the acquisition of North, both of these problems were easily solved. "says one former North employee.

After the Clay BavorNorth team, the former head of AR and VR, has been transferred to Google, a new project will be launched, led by Rick Osterloh, the head of Google's hardware, and Clay Bavor, the head of AR and VR.

At this point, Google began to pay attention to Iris, its product is a pair of glasses that can project images in front of users.

Google hopes to draw on North's core philosophy of AR glasses to create a more stylish glasses that can run apps such as Google Maps or Lens.

The team also developed two custom silicon chips codenamed Alius and Alexandrite, which provide computing power for Iris's brain core and display, respectively.

This makes Iris a product really built by Google, just like Pixel.

In 2021, Google hired Mark Lucovsky, an alumnus, to direct the new operating system for Iris glasses.

Also on the team is Paul Greco, the former chief technology officer of Magic Leap.

According to insiders, Iris's R & D strategy has been changing. Iris is monocular, that is, the image is projected in front of only one eye.

Because of the technical obstacles to display, the team turned its attention from ordinary glasses to sunglasses and then back.

In addition, there are differences within the team as to whether Iris should project color or monochrome graphics.

At the I / O conference in May 2022, Google showed off a model of Iris glasses that can be translated in real time. The demonstration received an enthusiastic response, but the product soon became an abandoned child, said a person familiar with the matter.

Every six months, there is a major adjustment to the Iris project. Then the executives will say, "We want a slightly different product." "

Partnering with Samsung to develop VR headlines in early 2022, Google executives began to worry when it was reported that Apple's long-rumored VR headlines had entered the final stage.

A former employee said: "people are very worried that Apple's release of new products may change the landscape of Google." "

Around this time, Google is working with Samsung, one of Google's oldest hardware allies.

Samsung wants to build a product similar to Apple's Vision Pro that combines VR and AR reality technology, while Google designs Android-based software for it.

The project, codenamed Moohan, has caused a political stir within Google.

Samsung told Google it didn't want other Google hardware teams to know about the technology because they might develop competing products based on it, according to insiders.

Google's Hiroshi Lockheimer (right) is at the Samsung Unpacked 2023 event, which creates a problem. How to develop glasses and satisfy Samsung at the same time?

A former employee said the partnership also means Samsung has more power to decide on the features of its products. "this can easily lead to a situation where no one is in charge. "

This situation has begun to show. South Korea's SBS Biz has reported that Samsung and Google devices may be delayed until the summer of 2024 for fear that they will not be enough to compete with Apple.

Google executives have confirmed the news to employees, but many suspect that even if postponed until next summer, Google may not be able to launch a product that will amaze the public.

Abandon Iris and start a new project when Google announced layoffs in January, the Iris project was shut down and custom chips that had been under development were cancelled.

A few weeks later, Bavor, who had worked for 18 years, announced his departure from Google, which one employee said made the AR department a mess.

Another person familiar with the matter said: "it's strange that they finally convinced themselves that Google needed to develop a custom chip, went to a lot of trouble to do it, and then flushed it down the toilet." "

Right now, the main project in Google's AR division is Project Moohan, led by Shahram Izadi, the vice president.

The AR division is part of the equipment and Services division and is led by Google Senior Vice President Hiroshi Lockheimer.

Although Iris has been banned from the Project Moohan project, Google executives still realize that glasses are the inevitable choice for the next change.

In February, Google, under the leadership of Izadi, set up a new team to rename the Iris project Betty.

Google hopes to use Betty to create a Micro XR software that will be available to eyewear manufacturers. Like Iris, Betty is a monocular, but the team is still working on a binocular product codenamed Barry.

Company leaders have told employees they hope to find a partner this year at the earliest, but the product is not expected to hit the market until 2025 at the earliest, a person familiar with the matter said.

There is speculation that Samsung will probably be the first partner.

In addition, a team from the AR department is also exploring how to apply AI to AR glasses.

At the same time, the Greco team, which remains in Google's equipment division, is also exploring new AR hardware, perhaps creating glasses similar to Iris.

Greco is responsible for managing the employees Google absorbed after its acquisition of Raxium.

Insiders have revealed that Greco has been shut out of Samsung projects and the Betty team, which could make it difficult for his team to get resources.

He had previously told colleagues that they might have new engines in the next three to four years to support more immersive glasses.

"this is a strange circle of bureaucracy," said one of the working employees. "

The biggest challenge facing Google's brain drain now may be how to retain the talent team that took years and millions of dollars to build.

Lucovsky recently announced that it was not immune from the brain drain.

In his departure statement, he said: "I made this decision in large part because of the recent AR leadership change and Google's erratic commitment. "

According to the company's internal directory, Eddie Chung, senior product director of the Iris program, also left in February this year.

The former CTO Kurt Akeley of imaging startup Lytro, which Google bought for $40 million in 2018, also retired last year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook (Tim Cook) unveiled the new Vision Pro at the company's headquarters, while Apple and Meta are investing heavily in MR technology.

In 2022, Meta Reality Labs invested nearly $14 billion to develop VR and AR products.

According to Bloomberg, Apple spends more than $1 billion a year to develop Vision Pro.

Google's reluctance to make similar promises has dampened the morale of its employees, who feel it has lost its lead.

Some believe that Google's spending cuts last year and its subsequent focus on artificial intelligence have also slowed progress in the AR division.

A former employee commented: "fundamentally, Google's problem with hardware is that it is very difficult to maintain product consistency." "

Google's decision to switch to software will allow the company to play to its strengths in the short term, but executives are well aware that only by making their own devices can they remain competitive.

According to previous reports, Google is doubling its investment in first-party hardware because of fears that partners such as Samsung will cede its smartphone market share to Apple.

Google CEO reportedly said the move was "the best way to protect the company".

"Google likes the Android model," says one former employee.

But while Google likes to talk about the success of the Android model, from the inside, it's very dangerous. "

Reference:

Https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ar-augmented-reality-apple-project-iris-fail-2023-8

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