Meta's smart glasses are being banned from many public spaces, but the brand is pushing ahead with patents on new tech, which is unlikely to win over critics. In a filing detailed by 404 Media, Meta has sought approval to use technology that can automatically generate clips from recorded videos and detect who's in a shot and their relationship to the user.
The patent shows a built-in facial recognition system to identify who is in the frame and, when videos are created, to generate clips labeled with who's in them, what they're doing, and how they relate to the wearer. For example, a video taken at a dinner party would then see the AI ask the wearer if they want to see generated highlights of the event.
The broader picture with this patent is a camera system that uses AI to analyze multiple camera feeds and determine what is of interest within the frame. Although it's pitched as something to go in a pair of smart glasses, with illustrations within the patent showing that specific scenario, it's easy to imagine this tech being used for security systems, too.
The patent describes it as a tool for “assisting users in any suitable camera-based task by any suitable system in any suitable manner.”
However, Meta's smart glasses are under heavy criticism as many see them as a step too far and an invasion of privacy. In the UK, smart glasses have been banned from various pubs, bars, clubs, and theaters; in New York, the same has happened in courtrooms.
Although it's possible that Meta is hoping to circumvent public space bans by focusing on developing it as a tool for private spaces and enterprises, it's going to have to go a long way to change the reputation of smart glasses from what some have dubbed "pervert glasses." New features, like automated tracking and categorization of video subjects and their actions, are unlikely to change that.