New wearables from the team behind Project Ara to debut at Google IO 2015

Project Ara

Google's Advanced Technologies and Projects division will show off some new wearables at Google IO 2015.

This is the division in charge of future-forward initiatives like the Project Ara modular phone and Project Tango 3D mapping tablet, so we should be in for some out-of-the-box wearables on May 29, the date of ATAP's IO session. Hell, we're promised as much.

A description for the session, entitled "Badass and beautiful. Tech and human. Love and work. ATAP" said the team will debut "wearables that we hope will blow your socks off. (We mean this more literally than you might think...).

"Our goal: break the tension between the ever-shrinking screen sizes necessary to make electronics wearable and our ability to have rich interactions with them," it continued. "Why can't you have both? We like to build new things. Sometimes seemingly impossible things. We can build them faster together."

Project ... ?

Based on the description, it sounds like ATAP has been working on smartwatch-like devices, though "wearables" is a catch-all term that could cover any number of device types and form factors.

Could ATAP have created a smartwatch that projects holograms? A new take on Google Glass? A modular smartwatch? All of these, or something we haven't even thought of yet? These are guesses on our part, but if the team's tagline "We like epic sh*t" holds true, we should be in for some intriguing innovations.

The session will also feature the debut of ATAP's newest Spotlight Story, "Fast-and-Furious style" with a live action short by director Justin Lin, of Fast and Furious fame. Spotlight Stories have been animated featurettes users view on their mobile devices, so a live action short, "in full 360 with 3D soundsphere," no less, should be quite a thrill ride.

The "Badass" session kicks off at 9am PT May 29 and will include ATAP head Regina Dugan among other team members.

For more on Google IO 2015, check out our comprehensive news predictions page.

Michelle Fitzsimmons

Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook.  A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.