Google's attempts to conquer the world of augmented and virtual reality have not been very successful. However, the company appears ready for another try.

In a LinkedIn post, Mark Lukofsky, Google's senior director of new engineering, operating systems, and AR, says the company is looking to fill a key role on the team responsible for building its augmented reality OS.

Google's track record in augmented and virtual reality has been more failures than hits. First, there was Google Glass. This AR device was heavily hyped but quickly fizzled; other efforts such as Google Cardboard (an inexpensive mobile phone-based VR solution) and Daydream VR (a more elaborate headset that works with Android phones) similarly failed to gain traction failed to do so.

However, these setbacks have not dampened Google's interest in AR. In particular, one of the job postings that Lucovsky links to in his post seeks assistance in developing "innovative AR devices."

The job postings linked to in Lucovsky's post include an opening for a senior software developer for an augmented reality operating system. These are software components that run on AR devices and are the closest thing to hardware. As Google adds products to its AR portfolio, the OS Foundation team will be the first software team to work on the new hardware.

The Augmented Reality OS Senior Software Engineer for Camera position states, "As part of the team, you will be responsible for all camera device software for innovative AR devices."

The Senior Software Developer Technical Lead role requires the potential candidate to "design and develop the input framework for the embedded real-time platform that will be the foundation for the next generation of AR experiences."

The job posting does not indicate where Google is going with this new augmented reality operating system. Given that Google has already dipped its toe into the enterprise space with Glass, the company may be trying to re-enter the consumer space.

Rumors abound about Apple Glass and Apple's mixed reality headset products. The former is rumored to arrive in 2023, while several sources expect Apple's mixed reality headset to appear next year. At the same time, Meta has also invested heavily in Metaverse with Oculus Quest 2 (now titled Meta Quest 2). Chinese brand Oppo also recently announced an AR device, which it calls "assisted reality."

If there is going to be a major shift in how consumers interact with the Internet, it is reasonable to assume that Google wants in on the game.