Smart glasses are advancing at lightning speed — with cutting-edge display technology enhancing AR lenses and AI breakthroughs making models like the Oakley Meta HSTN remarkably intelligent. But the ultimate goal remains the same: a single pair of glasses that seamlessly merges these two worlds.

Researchers at Meta Reality Labs and Stanford University may have just offered the clearest glimpse of that future yet.

And yes, while the researcher in the photo might resemble a Cyberpunk pirate, that “eyepatch” is actually a prototype holographic XR display — capable of generating full 3D holograms on a screen thin enough to fit into a standard pair of glasses.