TL;DR: Gemini 2.0 has been announced alongside a teaser for AI assistant-powered smart glasses. Google is testing these glasses, known as Project Astra, with its Trusted Tester program. The glasses feature AI capabilities to identify surroundings, and more information is expected soon.

Gemini 2.0 has arrived, and alongside the announcement of the highly anticipated update of Google's AI companion is a teaser for new AI assistant-powered smart glasses.

Google may very well be preparing to make a smart glasses-related announcement, as the company has teased via a new YouTube video posted to its official channel, "Project Astra," a demonstrative video showcasing the future capabilities of an AI assistant. Currently, in the research prototype phase, Project Astra was detailed by Google DeepMind product manager Bibo Xu, who revealed that a small group of people within Google's Trusted Tester program would be testing Project Astro on the prototype glasses.

Notably, Google's Trusted Tester program consists of members who get to play with Google prototype products, most of which never make it to market, which may have thrown a dampener on the idea of Google releasing these glasses showcased in the above video. However, when asked about the glasses Xu said, "for the glasses product itself, we'll have more news coming shortly."

The above video depicts the glasses being worn by an individual exploring a local neighborhood, with the user querying the AI assistant with simple yet impressive requests such as "What is this park on my left?". The smart glasses use sensors within the lenses to "see" what the user is seeing. From here a larger AI model calculates the answer, which is then heard by the user.