--- title: "Facebook Shows Off Neural “Wristbands” to Control AR Glasses" description: "According to a new blog post, Facebook is hoping to hook up its upcoming AR glasses to a \"soft wristband\" that can control them." date: "2021-03-11" modified: "2021-03-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/facebook-neural-wristbands-to-control-ar-glasses" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Meta" tags: - "augmented reality" - "facebook" - "vr" --- # Facebook Shows Off Neural “Wristbands” to Control AR Glasses ![According to a new blog post, Facebook is hoping to hook up its upcoming AR glasses to a "soft wristband" that can control them.]() *\Image: Facebook\* In September, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg [revealed]() that the company was planning on releasing augmented reality glasses as soon as 2021. Now, the social media company wants to take the concept a step further. According to [a new blog post]() by Facebook Reality Labs (FRL), the company is hoping to hook up the AR glasses to a "soft wristband" designed to read signals from the spinal cord, that can control the glasses. Here's how the system would work out in the real world. "Say you decide to walk to your local cafe to get some work done," the blog post reads. "You’re wearing a pair of AR glasses and a soft wristband. As you head out the door, your Assistant asks if you’d like to listen to the latest episode of your favorite podcast. A small movement of your finger lets you click 'play.'" The wristband captures neural input through "electromyography," a process that involves scanning for electrical signs that travel from the spinal cord to the hand. Facebook claims the signals are "so clear that EMG can detect finger motion of just a millimeter." The whole idea is to lower the barriers to entry for AR and make the experience as seamless as possible — what Facebook calls "the next era of human-computer interaction." "In order for AR to become truly ubiquitous, you need low-friction, always-available technology that’s so intuitive to use that it becomes an extension of your body," Facebook Reality Labs FRL chief scientist Michael Abrash said in the post. "That’s a far cry from where \[human-computer interaction\] is today. So, like \[computer mouse inventor Doug\] Engelbart, we need to invent a completely new type of interface — one that places us at the center of the computing experience," he added. Rather than simply clicking on UI elements on a flat screen, interacting with augmented reality poses its own unique challenges. Facebook is hoping to come up with "ultra-low-friction input" that is as basic as a hand gesture or a voice command. It also wants to use artificial intelligence to "make deep inferences about what information you might need or things you might want to do in various contexts," according to the company's blog post. Facebook is aware that the adoption of such AR devices won't happen overnight. The company is hoping to "get that interface into people’s hands over the next 10 years, even as it continues to evolve for decades to come." While Facebook's reputation should give anybody pause before they purchase any personal devices that are able to collect even more data about them, the company's ambitions could signal a new era in how technology integrates into our daily lives. How long that future is still out is anybody's guess — but judging by the fact that we're all already walking about with a supercomputer in our pockets, it's probably not too long until we accept augmented reality into our lives. **READ MORE:** [Facebook's ready to talk about how its AR glasses will work with neural wristbands]() \[*CNET*\] **More on AR:** *[The US Army’s New Goggles Could Let Soldiers See Around Corners]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()