Google's smart glasses just can't keep a name. The project, initially called Project Glass, was renamed to Google Glass in 2013, and is now called Project Aura, according to multiple reports.
According to Business Insider, whose report was confirmed by The Wall Street Journal, Project Aura started in June, with Google hiring electronics experts from Amazon's research division, Lab126, to revive the Glass project.
Aura should result in a next-generation Glass, but other wearables are also a possibility. The Aura team will work hand in hand with several other research groups within Google, including those behind Project Soli and Google Cardboard.
The WSJ says the project will continue to be run by Ivy Ross, who previously led the Glass project, with oversight by Tony Fadell, currently the head of Google-owned smart home business Nest.
After a long closed-beta period, Google Glass was finally launched to a limited number of developers and early adopters in April 2013 for the price of $1,500. It was opened to the public in May 2014, before being discontinued for consumers in January this year.
As for the next iteration of Glass -- err, Aura -- it might already be here. According to the WSJ, Google has been quietly distributing a new version to companies in health care, manufacturing and energy industries.
According to the report, there could be a new consumer-ready version, but it's at least a year away, and it could end up being very different than the last iteration of Glass. Since Google likes to use the "project" moniker only for research projects and not end products, we'll take a wild guess here and assume another name change in the future, to Google Aura. You heard it here first, folks.