Google announces Project Astra: the virtual assistant that will make Siri, Alexa and all the others obsolete

During I/O 2024, the developer conference organized by Google, the future of virtual assistants based on Gemini.

Project Astra, this is the name revealed, will materialize through aapp that uses the smartphone camera to show the artificial intelligence system the outside world, promising tangible added value in the users’ routine.

In a trailer, Google highlighted some of the potential benefits of having an AI assistant that can perceive visually.
It was stated that everything shown in the video was recorded in a single take, essentially creating a sequence shot, and therefore that the AI’s responses were captured in real time.

Deep interaction

Currently, Astra is still a prototype developed by Google DeepMind.
Demis Hassabis, one of the company’s founders, explained his long-held desire to develop an AI-based assistant that could truly simplify everyday tasks, and how Astra is the result of that ambition.

The video published by Mountain View shows how, using the mobile phone camera, the assistant is able to identify surrounding objectsidentify the user’s geographic location, including for example the neighborhood they belong to, remember the location of other previously identified devices and even interpret specific parts of computer code.

Ad astra

In the second part of the video, the integration of some is illustrated smart glassessomehow suggesting a union between Google Glass and the Astra Project, operate through a camera incorporated into the frame.

Combined use allows you to view your surroundings and communicate with your assistant without using a smartphone.
The app interface and the assistant’s responses can be seen directly through the lenses thanks to a small projector.

The protagonist who wears glasses uses them to solve a mathematical problem and ask related questions, ask for suggestions on creative issues and research tasks.

Although the design of these smart glasses still seems crude, they represent an example of the project’s potential applications.
It is plausible that, with the spread of AI assistants capable of intelligently understanding the surrounding environment, we will see more and more smart glasses on the market, modeled after Ray-Ban Meta.
As Hassabis states, this implication it could revolutionize the industry if one day it were finalized.

Whether Google plans to launch Google Glass with Project Astra integrated is still uncertain, but development of the assistant is progressing apace.
The fact is that the company seems to want to press the accelerator on everything related to AI, as also seen with the presentations of Veo and the new integrations in Android 15.