Intel shuts down its smart glasses initiative

You may or may not have heard of Intel’s smart glasses project but what you need to know about it now is that it won’t be around anymore. The company is shutting down its New Devices Group and will stop development of the Vaunt. This closure might also result in “some layoffs” from the team which reportedly has around 200 people. It wasn’t clear what how Intel intended to bring the augmented reality glasses to the market but sources claim Intel wanted to partner with a company with retail expertise to get this off the ground. As Vaunt lead Jerry Bautista told The Verge, the company was “working with key ecosystem hardware providers—whether they’re frames or lenses and things like that. Because we believe there’s a whole channel to people who wear glasses that’s already there.” But it might be the company wasn’t able to find a suitable partner for this, thus resulting in the closure.

Here is Intel’s statement on the matter: “Intel is continuously working on new technologies and experiences. Not all of these develop into a product we choose to take to market. The Superlight [the codename for Vaunt] project is a great example where Intel developed truly differentiated, consumer augmented reality glasses. We are going to take a disciplined approach as we keep inventing and exploring new technologies, which will sometimes require tough choices when market dynamics don’t support further investment.”

Facebook's looking to develop its own chips

New job listings from Facebook suggest the company is looking to be a bit more self-reliant. Under the infrastructure category, the social media company is looking to hire a manager who will assemble “end-to-end SoC/ASIC, firmware, and driver organization.” With the listing filed under infrastructure, it could be Facebook is looking to build a team for its artificial intelligence servers, which are currently NVIDIA-powered. One of the job listing references says it needs “expertise to build custom solutions targeted at multiple verticals including AI/ML,” which broadens the focus a bit but also shows the company looking to develop its AI capabilities further. Also, who knows if the company might want to use it to power any hardware it might release in the future, including things like future Oculus virtual reality headsets.

Source: The Verge

‘M.A.S.K.’ to get a live action movie

It’s been rumoured before that Hasbro planned to create a movie based on the Kenner toyline M.A.S.K. but it was reportedly scrapped. Now, it seems the project is back on with Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Gray supposedly helming the film. Deadline reports that he’s closed a deal with Paramount and Hasbro to bring this multimedia franchise to the big screen. MASK is an acronym for Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, which is a task force led by Matt Trakker who works to take down criminal organization VENOM.

Source: Deadline

Casio outs a cheaper version of the Pro Trek smartwatch

Casio seems to have listened to the consumers who have said the WSD-F20 was a tad too expensive for a smartwatch. The watchmaker updated the smartwatch and introduce the Pro Trek WSD-F20A, which is US$100 cheaper than the original at US$399. We don’t know what powers the smartwatch but it does run on Wear OS and features a new indigo design accent. It could still be powered by 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. Some of the other similar features include water resistance of up to 50 meters, a digital compass, an activity tracker, microphone, low-power GPS, and a dual-layer, full-color LCD screen. It integrates with nine major app companies including ViewRanger, Hole19, and Fishbrain. The smartwatch is expected to arrive next month.

Source: Android Authority