Google Glass, the wearable Internet-connected device that created quite a stir in the Triangle and led to local app developments such as one for fire fighters, is rebooting its program.

The “Explorers” offering ends Jan. 19 and Glass is being made part of Google’s secretive “X” labs.

Just a year ago, WRAL TV’s news crew even demonstrated Glass capabilities in a live broadcast.

And Google chose the Triangle for the first public unveiling of Glass in October of 2013.

But on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal broke the news about the Glass reboot.

Google will stop selling its Internet-connected eyewear to consumers until the company can develop a more polished and affordable version that’s less likely to be viewed as what The Associated Press called “a freakish device.”

The sales moratorium on the nearly 2-year-old “Explorer” edition of Google Glass goes into effect Jan. 19. The decision announced Thursday coincides with Glass’ spin-off from the secretive Google X lab where it was invented.

Glass will now operate in a division run by veteran marketing executive Ivy Ross. She will report to Tony Fadell, who runs the smart-appliance maker Nest Labs that Google bought for $3.2 billion last year.

Glass is a hands-free device featuring a thumbnail-sized screen above the wearer’s right eye. It cost $1,500 and raised privacy concerns for its potential to secretly take pictures and videos.

Here’s how Google’s Glass team described the changes in a blog post:

We’re graduating from Google[x] labs

It’s hard to believe that Glass started as little more than a scuba mask attached to a laptop. We kept on it, and when it started to come together, we began the Glass Explorer Program as a kind of “open beta” to hear what people had to say.

Explorers, we asked you to be pioneers, and you took what we started and went further than we ever could have dreamed: from the large hadron collider at CERN, to the hospital operating table; the grass of your backyard to the courts of Wimbledon; in fire stations, recording studios, kitchens, mountain tops and more.

Glass was in its infancy, and you took those very first steps and taught us how to walk. Well, we still have some work to do, but now we’re ready to put on our big kid shoes and learn how to run.

Since we first met, interest in wearables has exploded and today it’s one of the most exciting areas in technology. Glass at Work has been growing and we’re seeing incredible developments with Glass in the workplace. As we look to the road ahead, we realize that we’ve outgrown the lab and so we’re officially “graduating” from Google[x] to be our own team here at Google. We’re thrilled to be moving even more from concept to reality.

As part of this transition, we’re closing the Explorer Program so we can focus on what’s coming next. January 19 will be the last day to get the Glass Explorer Edition. In the meantime, we’re continuing to build for the future, and you’ll start to see future versions of Glass when they’re ready. (For now, no peeking.)

Thanks to all of you for believing in us and making all of this possible. Hang tight—it’s going to be an exciting ride.