Hardware techs recently hired
Snapchat, the highly successful video streaming startup beloved by teens worldwide, may be working on a wearable device.
Investigators at CNET have discovered that a number of hardware techs with experience building wearables have been hired by Snapchat. The team includes designers who built Nokia mobile phones and Logitech’s Bluetooth speakers, a former recruiter for the HoloLens headset, the engineering director behind Vuforia, a computer vision and augmented reality software, and a former Michael Kors eyewear designer.
Smart glasses with 3D capabilities?
Besides the numerous hardware techs on Snapchat’s payroll, other evidence points to the possible development of a wearable. In 2014, Snapchat purchased Vergence Labs, a startup that built Epiphany Eyewear, wearable smart glasses that record videos of whatever the wearer is looking at. The following year, Snapchat started a research team comprised of over a dozen scientists and engineers with experience working on computer vision and machine learning – crucial components of smart glasses design. Snapchat’s website currently lists a job opening for a “3D Computer Vision Engineer.”
Still top secret… for now
Snapchat glasses would make a lot of sense for the company. Camera-equipped glasses allow the user to take pictures and videos easily and hands-free, while giving them a chance to explore different perspectives. This would, in turn, encourage more users to post videos through Snapchat more often.
This would be the first physical device created by Snapchat, which, until now, has made a name for itself by letting users send one-time-view, self-destructing pictures and videos to friends. Bridging into hardware design could be a smart move for an app-based startup with somewhat limited potential.
According to a virtual reality entrepreneur who wished to remain anonymous, “apps in this situation have a limited lifespan and monetization potential…if they are actually investing in new tech, that could be great.”
Snapchat is currently valued at $16 million, and draws in 100 million daily users.
Whatever Snapchat is up to, they don’t want to talk about it yet. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.
