Google Glass gets a makeover

In its efforts to revive the development of its wearable technology, Google has renamed its Google Glass as Project Aura, according to Business Insider.

A source familiar with the project details told the publication house that Project Aura will remain within Google instead of being a separate company under the new Alphabet holding company or being folded into the Nest smart appliances business. Moreover, the source added that Nest CEO Tony Fadell will continue to have high-level oversight of the project. However, the future course after Nest becomes a separate Alphabet company remains uncertain.

“Google is working on a new wearable technology effort known as Project Aura and is hiring consumer electronics experts from Amazon's secretive Lab 126 to jump-start the new group”, the report said.

The new Aura group not only offers a much-required re-branding to the torn Glass image but also makes the way for a broader scope of wearable technology initiatives which will help Google to compete against Facebook, Apple and Microsoft.

On his LinkedIn profile, Dmitry Svetlov, a software development manager who joined Aura in August from Lab126, described the project as “Glass & beyond” and said the team is “building cool wearables”, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The project is being run by Ivy Ross, who earlier ran the Glass project. She reports to Tony Fadell, a person familiar with the situation told WSJ.