Google revives the highly-maligned Google Glass as it works on a new wearable technology initiative known as Project Aura.
Google impressively lured consumer electronics experts from Lab126, Amazon's secretive research and development arm, to join the group. Project Aura should not be confused with Project Ara, which is the modular smartphone project that is also run by the same company.
The company seems to have launched Project Aura in June, with the group tasked to revive Google Glass and develop the company's other efforts in wearable technology.
Project Aura will not be a standalone company under Alphabet nor will it be included in Nest, a business of smart appliances. Instead, it will remain within Google, a source tells Business Insider.
The source adds that while Tony Fadell, the CEO of Nest, will still have a high level of oversight over Project Aura, it is not clear what will happen once Nest becomes a separate company under Alphabet.
It is not yet known if Project Aura will have a specific focus on virtual reality despite the increasing growth of the virtual reality space and the pending release of Facebook's Oculus virtual reality headset.
Meanwhile, at least three officers moved from Amazon's Lab126 to Project Aura, where groups of dedicated recruiting agents aim to bring in more talent. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google has been on a hiring spree for Project Aura with the company hiring developers, engineers and project managers who used to work for Lab126 before Amazon laid off employees in the division.
The launch of Project Aura gives Google Glass the re-branding that it needs after harsh criticisms were fired, while also widening the possibility for Google to work on other wearable technology devices.
With Project Aura remaining inside Google, it could foster collaboration with other technology initiatives within the company such as gesture-control system, Soli, and the aptly named cardboard virtual reality headset Cardboard.
Google Glass, according to the the Wall Street Journal, is expected to sport a full redesign to be unveiled in 2016.
