Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses To Offer Detailed Responses; sEMG Wristbands To Improve Accessibility

Meta is introducing the ability to customise Meta AI to provide detailed responses on Ray-Ban Meta glasses based on what users see. With this new feature, Meta AI will be able to provide more descriptive responses when people ask about their environment.

Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses allow users to take and share pictures, send text or voice messages, make and receive video calls, listen to music, translate speech in real time, and communicate with Meta AI for assistance. While the detailed response feature is for all users, it can be particularly useful for people with disabilities.

Meta said the feature will begin to roll out for users in the US and Canada in the coming weeks and expand to other markets in the future. To access the feature, users need to go to the 'Device settings' section in the Meta AI app and toggle on detailed responses under 'Accessibility'.

Later this month, the 'Call a Volunteer' feature—developed in collaboration with Danish mobile app Be My Eyes—will go live in 18 countries where Meta AI is supported, the company said. 

Call a Volunteer helps people who are blind or have low vision accomplish their daily tasks by connecting them with a network of sighted volunteers in real time.

Meta is also working on sEMG (surface electromyography) wristbands at scale, which can help in human-computer interactions for people with physical abilities, such as hand paralysis or tremor. Wristbands using sEMG (or muscle signals) as input are useful since muscle signals at the wrist can provide control signals even if a person is unable to make significant movements with the hand.

Meta said the sEMG wristband in its Orion AR glasses product prototype is the latest version of this technology. The company has also been focusing on various accessibility use cases of the technology.