Snaps Spectacles: roaming the streets with AR

In the future, Snap's Spectacles will be able to show you the way. The augmented reality glasses can access GPS and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), compass heading and location data. There are also new Lenses – which are the applications for the AR glasses – as well as new gesture and keyboard functions.

Navigation Lenses are now available for the fifth generation of Spectacles. Utopia Labs has developed one called NavigatAR. Arrows then show the right path directly in front of your feet on the road. Path Pioneer can be used to create both indoor and outdoor navigation. This could be used to guide other people to certain places, such as a hotel or another location, but such routes could also be used for museums or other tours.

There is a similar application from Google, but it is only available in the Google Maps app for smartphones. It can be used to navigate, but routes cannot be created in a form that can be used in other applications.

None of the big tech companies have any real AR glasses up their sleeves yet – but they are all working on it. Meta has already shown a prototype, the Orion, at the last Connect. So far, however, it can only be tested by individuals, such as the CEO of Nvidia. Headsets such as the Apple Vision Pro film the surroundings and show the images on a display in the glasses, so this is a different technology.

However, Snap's Spectacles are also only available to developers so far. You have to subscribe to the glasses for 110 euros per month. You must first apply for the program. The Spectacles have a runtime of around 45 minutes. They are not yet suitable for end users, according to Snap itself.

More gamification and improved controls

Other new features for the Spectacles include an update for the game “Peridot Beyond” – which can now be played together with friends thanks to the location data. In the game, you take care of a virtual pet, a Dot, which can go anywhere thanks to the Spectacles and can play with a Frisbee in the meadow. Now, a Dot can also fall in love with a friend's Dot. For real dogs, there is a lens that gamifies the dog walk. A step – a dot, a pile – big dots, that's roughly how the game works.

Another new feature is an integrable leaderboard, which is designed to bring competition to all Lenses if desired. The AR keyboard has been improved and expanded, and there is now a numeric keypad. The cameras also recognize when someone is using a smartphone. Links to Lenses can now be opened directly from other applications such as iMessage and Google Message.

(emw)