A key figure in Meta's AR research is stepping down
Meta loses an important researcher whose greatest invention could be released in 2025 and revolutionize computer input.
The Information writes that Thomas Reardon will be leaving Meta in May. This is according to an internal post obtained by the website. Reardon will continue to serve as an advisor to Meta, and in that capacity will remain in contact with Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth and VP of AR, Alex Himel.
Reardon developed a neural interface
Thomas Reardon is an American neuroscientist, programmer, and founder of the startup CTRL Labs, which was acquired by Facebook in 2019. The acquisition is said to have cost between $500 million and $1 billion.
The startup was developing an EMG-based wristband that taps into brain signals and translates them into computer inputs. Meta sees this as an ideal way to control AR glasses unobtrusively and effortlessly.
Meta's neural interface research was first presented to the public in 2021 (see YouTube video above). According to a leaked hardware roadmap, the product could be released in 2025 in two forms: as a wristband to control a third-generation Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, and as a standalone Meta-branded smartwatch.
According to his Linkedin profile, Reardon was most recently the Head of Neuromotor Interfaces and Input & Interactions at Reality Labs.
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