Facebook is researching how to take minute nerve movements in your arm and translate them into gesture controls for your gadgets. The idea announced Thursday would help the social networking giant launch augmented reality glasses, which would rely on new ways to control computers and interact with the virtual world.

Picture this: Your home assistant asks if you'd like to play your favorite podcast, and a flick of your fingers in the air lets you click play. Or, you're wearing AR glasses that display images over the real world, and you scroll through your text messages in midair while your smartphone stays in your pocket.

Those are the scenarios Facebook has in mind if it were ever to deploy a muscle-sensing wristlet.

"We're developing natural, intuitive ways to interact with always-available AR glasses because we believe this will transform the way we connect with people near and far," Facebook said in a blog post.