Facebook may have been hit by another data scandal this month but that hasn’t stopped the company’s aspirations, or delusion. In a bid to end dependency on Google’s Android operating system, Facebook is now reportedly working on building its own OS from scratch to power its hardware dreams.
Facebook has given the task to build its own OS to Mark Lucovsky, the co-author of Microsoft’s OS called Windows NT.
“We really want to make sure the next generation has space for us. We don’t think we can trust the marketplace or competitors to ensure that’s the case. And so we’re gonna do it ourselves,” Facebook’s Vice President of Hardware Andrew Bosworth was quoted as saying.
Facebook has sought ways to alleviate its dependence on Apple and Google for years. It previously tried to build its own mobile phone and developed a software layer to work on HTC handsets, though both projects failed.
Facebook also previously had a contingency plan in place, called Project Oxygen, in case its apps were ever blocked or inaccessible from the Google Play Store and Facebook had to ensure users could get them somewhere else.
Facebook is already building AR/VR headsets like Oculus and has forayed into video calling devices like Portal that currently runs Android OS.
“In Burlingame, California…, construction is underway on a 770,000-square-foot new campus, with the capacity for about 4,000 employees, that will be devoted entirely to a burgeoning Facebook group making new hardware,” the report mentioned.
The social media giant has teams working on its own custom silicon chips and a voice assistant powered by artificial intelligence.
