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Facebook's Oculus hires Google Glass Engineer Adrian Wong

The Glass lead engineer worked at Google since 2010

16 May 2014

Google's lead Google Glass engineer Adrian Wong has been recruited by Facebook's latest acquisition, virtual reality firm Oculus.

It's though the company recruited Wong to help manufacture virtual reality hardware, similar in format to Google's Glass spectacles.

Wong wrote he was leaving Google on May 2, writing on Facebook, "#FreshStartFridays - Surprise! Today is my last day at Google. Three rollercoaster years with Google[x] and Glass. What amazing memories. Now, time for the next great adventure!"

The engineer confirmed on LinkedIn he's made the move, with his job title now listed as 'professional daydreamer' for Oculus VR. The description of his role simply reads "Building the Metaverse".

According to Ubergizmo, Wong will be working on Oculus Rift, the virtual reality company's eyewear line and as Techcrunch reports, Wong holds at least 10 patents that are related to Glass-style eyewear so he could be a vital part of the development process.

On Monday, it was announced Oculus is developing its Rift eyewear to work with a drone controlled by a smartphone. Bebop can be controlled by any iOS or Android smartphone or tablet, connected via Wi-Fi with a range of up to 300 metres and has been developed by Parrot. This could well be the first project Wong is working on.

Facebook announced it had acquired Oculus in March and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg explained the company was looking to use virtual reality in games on the social platform: "After games, we're going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face just by putting on goggles in your home."