Google’s Project Aura Set to Raise Glass From the Dead

Google has reportedly hired engineers for a second tilt at a Glass-like wearable, under the name “Project Aura“.

Google Glass revives as Project Aura after its initial product release failed in the consumer market. Though conversely apparently Tony Fadell, who is CEO of Google’s Internet of Things arm Nest which has been spun off, will have some oversight on projects.

Project Aura will not be a separate company under the new Alphabet holding company. Google might be working on a next generation pair of augmented reality specs, but it won’t be calling them Google Glass.

The new Aura group provides a much-needed re-branding to the tattered Glass image as well as opening the door to a broader scope of wearable technology initiatives to help Google compete against rivals such as Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft.

There’s good reason for Google to not want to give up on Glass as a consumer device, as there is a ton of money if it gets it right.

Because Project Aura is remaining within Google, it will be able to closely work with the company’s other advanced technology efforts such as Soli and Cardboard.

Google is quietly distributing a new version of Glass to companies in industries such as healthcare, manufacturing and energy.

According to Wall Street Journal, Google recruited laid-off engineers from Lab 126, Amazon’s research branch that focused on hardware development.

In March, Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive director insisted that the company had not abandoned the Glass project. His LinkedIn profile describes his new job only as “building blocks” for Alphabet/Google. Maybe the Project Aura team will even expand beyond AR and wearables.