Facebook Creates Wearables To Outdo The Computer Mouse

As part of its continued investment into Oculus VR, Facebook has taken a step further in its Facebook Aria research project.

Facebook Reality Labs (FRL), which is a division of the company mainly focused on augmented and virtual reality, is working to improve desk work through mind-controlled wrist wearables.

That’s right. This new technology aims to one-up the traditional mouse and use thought, intention and gesture to control interfaces with the wave of your hands.

“This is an incredible moment, setting the stage for innovation and discovery because it’s a change to the old world,” said Sean Keller, FRL Research Science Director. “It’s a change to the rules that we’ve followed and relied upon to push computing forward. And it’s one of the richest opportunities that I can imagine being a part of right now.” 

The company has noted the growth in support for hand-tracking applications in use for its Oculus Quest VR hardware and wants to pivot away from devices that are required to be held when computing.

Facebook says that through a wrist wearable and using electromyography (EMG), which is the recording of electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles, they can create a more intuitive connection with computing interfaces.

“What we’re trying to do with neural interfaces is to let you control the machine directly, using the output of the peripheral nervous system — specifically the nerves outside the brain that animate your hand and finger muscles,” said Thomas Reardon, FRL Director of Neuromotor Interfaces.