There are numerous analytical articles and forum posts out there that explain what went wrong with Google Glass, so I’m not going to fill you in on all the details, but just know that Google Glass as we knew it has been completely abandoned. The idea behind the smartglasses is still alive, however, but Google has apparently renamed it to Project Aura in order to separate it from its predecessor, who’s name is practically poisonous, and symbolize the completely different direction the company will be taking with the device the second time around.
Google is working on a new wearable technology effort known as Project Aura and is hiring consumer electronics experts from Amazon’s secretive Lab126 to jump-start the new group. Project Aura appears to have gotten started in June and is focused on reviving Google’s troubled Glass computer eyeglasses, as well as accelerating Google’s efforts to develop related wearable technology. Project Aura will remain within Google rather than being a standalone company under the new Alphabet holding company or being folded into the Nest smart appliances business, a source familiar with the matter told Business Insider. Nest CEO Tony Fadell will continue to have high-level oversight of the project, though it’s unclear what will happen after Nest becomes a separate Alphabet company, the source said. Google has hired at least three employees from Lab126, Amazon’s hardware division, to work in the new group and Aura has a dedicated recruiter tasked with bringing in more talent.
