Google is working on an AR headset codenamed Project Iris

(Image: Google's Daydream VR headset, Courtesy: Google)

Google is developing an Augmented Reality (AR) headset codenamed Project Iris. The company is eyeing a release window of 2024, according to The Verge.

Sources close to the publication claim that the wearable would be standalone, meaning it would house a battery, a custom Google processor, outward-facing cameras and will run on Android. The headset may also take advantage of cloud-based rendering to overcome processor limitations.

Clay Bavor, vice-president at Google Labs, which is also overseeing other projects including Project Starline, will head the project.

Also Read: Project Starline, Google's hyper-telepresence tech represents an evolution of video chat

Besides Bavor, Scott Huffman from the Google Assistant team, Shahram Izadi, who handled work on ARCore and Mark Lucovsky, former in-house OS lead at Meta, are said to be part of the project. The Pixel hardware team will also be involved.

The headset is in its early stages of development right now, with a targeted release window of 2024 but that might change depending on circumstances.

Also Read: CES 2022: Microsoft and Qualcomm are making a metaverse chip for AR glasses

Google is keeping this project top secret and access is limited. There are 300 people working on the project for now but Google plans to hire more. Project head Bavor will report directly to CEO Sundar Pichai.

Besides Google, Apple is also working on an AR headset that analysts have suggested would cost more than $2,000 and like Google, will have a custom processor but may end up relying on an iPhone or Mac for advanced tasks.