What to know about the Meta smart glasses used by the New Orleans attacker

The man who drove a truck into a crowd of people in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, killing 14, had previously scouted the French Quarter and recorded video with his Meta smart glasses, the FBI said.

On Oct. 31, Shamsud-Din Jabbar recorded video with the glasses as he cycled through the French Quarter and plotted the attack, said Lyonel Myrthil, FBI special agent in charge of the New Orleans field office. Jabbar also wore the glasses, which are capable of livestreaming, during the attack, but did not activate them.

A spokesperson for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, declined to comment.

Here’s what the glasses are capable of:

What are Meta glasses?

Meta glasses, made in partnership with Ray-Ban, are frames with a built-in camera, speakers, and artificial intelligence that can be controlled with your voice, buttons, and some simple gestures. Some functions, such as listening to music or interacting with Meta’s AI assistant, require the device to be either paired with a phone or able to access the internet.

The wearable does not have a display built into the lens, unlike some past industry attempts at building augmented-reality smart glasses. However, Meta has said it is working on a pair of glasses that will give users a fully holographic experience.

What the glasses can do

One of the glasses’ main selling points is the ability to capture images and video using the onboard camera, then upload those files to Instagram or Facebook. You can also livestream, but only to Meta’s compatible social platforms.

You can also use the glasses to make audio and video calls, message people, or listen to music.

The camera also allows Meta’s AI assistant to see what you’re seeing, allowing it to translate text into multiple languages (spoken back to you, or shown on a paired phone app), and answer simple questions, such as searching the nearest landmark to your location. The glasses are largely a hands-free experience so you will be talking to your device—and it will reply.

What the glasses can’t do

The glasses currently cannot perform complex tasks that other digital assistants might be able to, like booking you a reservation at a restaurant or giving you turn-by-turn directions while you’re on the move. And there’s no display in the lens, so there isn’t a viewfinder for framing photos or video.

There are also visual indicators built into the system that allow bystanders to know when you’re shooting video or taking photos. This LED privacy indicator stays on while you use the camera functions. According to Meta, you can’t disable this light to be more discreet in your actions.

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