Facebook is introducing a bracelet that will allow you to read user movements in virtual and augmented reality

Facebook has unveiled a new project that Facebook Reality Labs (including FRL), the company’s virtual and augmented reality development division, is working on, in the form of a dedicated bracelet designed to be worn on the wrist and allows operations in virtual and augmented reality without the need for additional accessories, by reading electrical signals From the muscles.

The new wristband that FRL is developing comes as the company’s next generation solution for the human-machine interface to the realm of augmented reality, a development that began when FRL were Oculus Research, the Oculus development division acquired by Facebook in 2014, when in fact the new wristband looked The bracelet from Ctrl-Labs, another company that Facebook acquired in 2019.

The idea behind the Facebook bracelet is quite “simple”, since every action we perform is an electrical signal transmitted by the brain to the relevant muscle. Facebook’s new bracelet uses EMG (Electromyography) technology, which allows the electrical potential of the muscle to be recorded, so instead of a user having to use a physical controller and press it to perform an action, his “desire” to perform the action itself can be read by the bracelet and perform the Operation without the need for the physical controller.

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The new bracelet, which is still under development, can be considered a non-invasive version (to say the least) of the Neuralink developed by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, where in both cases the goal is to read the commands of the brain and perform specific actions with them. Them for various actions, such as typing without the need for any keyboard, or using a virtual bow and arrow when the bracelet is expected to give feedback in the form of a slight vibration to the user.

While one might think of Facebook’s bracelet project as science fiction, it’s actually a much more practical thing than many might think. The main job of FRL Labs is the ability to minimize the technology to a level comfortable to use in the form of a bracelet and develop the technology that can read the signals and pin them to the right actions the user wants to perform.