Enlarge / “Sword of Damocles” head-mounted display, the original augmented reality headset, circa 1968.
Iwan Sutherland
Job listings uncovered by Protocol show Amazon plans to build its own mass-market augmented reality product alongside other tech giants like Apple, Google and Meta.
Numerous related jobs include roles in computer vision, product management, and more. They reportedly cited “XR/AR devices” and “advanced XR research concepts.” Since Protocol released its report on Monday, several job listings cited have been removed, and the language-specific language of others has been removed.
For example, Protocol writes that a description of the role of a senior technical project manager for new products includes “you will develop advanced XR research concepts into amazing and useful new world consumer products”. Now simply, “You’re going to develop an amazing and useful consumer product,” though it also says, “Our team specializes in inventing new worlds, creating products using advanced sensing, display, and machine learning technologies.”
The UX Designer role requires applicants to be able to “think spatially, with 3D design experience in motion design, animation, AR/VR, gaming, architecture or industrial design” to work on “core system interfaces as well as end-user applications” “From multimodal interfaces to 3D AR entertainment experiences. (Again, some language has been adjusted or removed since Protocol was published.)
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Google, Microsoft, and Snap have all released AR wearables to varying degrees over the years, and they still seem to be working on future products in the category. At the same time, Apple employs a huge team of engineers, researchers and others who are working on mixed reality devices, including mass-market consumer AR glasses, which are also one of the industry’s best-kept secrets. Over the past few years, Meta (formerly Facebook) has made clear its intentions to focus on AR.
It’s no surprise that Amazon is going after the same thing. As Protocol notes, Amazon has formed a new R&D group, led by Kharis O’Connell, an executive who has worked on AR products at Google and elsewhere.
But Amazon’s product might not be the kind of product we know Meta and Apple are focused on; it might not be a wearable device at all. Some Amazon job listings refer to them as “smart home” devices. Amazon is one of the tech companies trying to replace AR wearables with room-scale projections and holograms.
No matter what form the product takes, it can take many years, as many of the roles listed are roles that were involved early in the development process.
