Google Glass
Perhaps receiving attention equal to
Apple’s iWatch right now is Google Glass (google.com/glass/start).
The search company is publicly testing its
smart glasses, but it isn’t the first to develop wearable technology in the
form of glasses, of course. Other smart glasses include the Lorex Vue
sunglasses, which record sound and video (lorextechnology. com); Recon’s ski
goggles (below, reconinstruments.com); the Vuzix Wrap 520AR augmented reality
specs (bit. ly/149NuSi); and the Lumus range of video-viewing glasses which
display a seeming 87in screen (lumus-optical.com).
Google’s
glasses are getting a lot of attention at the moment. Opinion is, however,
divided as to how others will react if you wear them out in public.
Google plans to launch Glass to the general
public before the end of the year. The company’s headset computer concealed
within glasses was demonstrated at the South by South West (SXSW) conference.
Timothy Jordan, a senior developer advocate at Google, demonstrated how the
computerized glasses work. He used them to send email, take photos, post to
Google+ and hear a translation, and demonstrated how Glass could use a New York
Times app, as well as Skitch, a free app that acts as a collaboration tool and
enables users to mark up images with arrows, shapes and texts. Jordan also
showed that, along with voice commands, Glass also responds to touch and head
gestures.
It sounds intriguing, but there’s a big
drawback. If Google Glass is successful, we’ll all be on camera 24 hours a day,
as we become Google’s eyes and ears, which is likely to cause privacy concerns.
In fact, a Seattle cafe has announced that anyone wearing a pair will be banned
from the establishment.
Big Brother
It’s not an overreaction. Imagine what the
world will be like if everybody is wearing almost-invisible glasses that can
record audio and video without anybody noticing? What if facial recognition
technology means that Big Brother knows where you are at any moment? Everyone’s
eyes on you.
Imagine
what the world will be like if everybody is wearing almost-invisible glasses
that can record audio and video without anybody noticing?
A little less Orwellian, but no less
concerning is this: imagine walking down the street and knowing that anyone
could be snapping photographs and recording video. While it’s true that mobile
phones make this possible at the moment, but you know when people are using
these devices to record you. People don’t generally like being filmed.
There’s also the tracking and back-end
storing of personal details on Google’s servers. With Glass on your face, the
search giant will own your every waking minute online whether at home, in
transit, or at your workplace. It will know your every move and, potentially,
those around you. Google already records our browsing history and reads our
gmails in order to direct relevant ads at us. Let’s hope Google continues in
its belief that “you can make money without doing evil”.
Recon-powered ski goggles. What’s it do?
Recon’s HUD system captures all sorts of
real-time performance data as you ski, including speed, distance, jump airtime,
altitude and more, instantly displaying the information on your eye display.
They are appearing in goggles from most major ski equipment manufacturers,
including Alpina (illustrated). They offer GPS support, and friend and points
of interest location. Used with iOS or Android smartphones, Recon’s system
enables on-display access to messages, caller ID and music playback control.
Glasses Or Watch
With Smartphone sales growth predicted to
slow down in the next few years, Apple, Samsung and others are racing to take
on new product categories.
As we’ve discussed, the next big thing, it
seems, is wearable technology, and this is where, these companies appear to be
spending their research and development budgets, perhaps wisely. But do people
really want to wear technology? And which format - watch or glasses - would
people feel most comfortable with?
We’ve already discussed why there may be
privacy issues surrounding Google Glass. Another problem is that user to view.
A patent for glasses that integrate hidden audio sensors has also been filed.
The company has also filed a patent for a “head-tracking display” that it
states is designed to replicate the cinema experience, people don’t tend to
like wearing glasses. Would anyone want to walk around wearing one of those
goofy-looking things on their heads? People already tend to view yuppie types
wearing Bluetooth headsets with contempt.
Even the most ridiculous-looking headgear
can start to look normal if enough people wear it, though.
Watch
This Space As wearable computing takes of the big question is, glasses or
watch?
Paying The Price
The other issue with Google Glass is the high
price of $1,500 (although the search giant says that the price will be lower by
the time it releases its headgear to the general public). It seems likely
wearable technology that comes in a more affordable form that’s less in your
face/on your face, a watch for example, will be more popular. Our research
seems to back that up.
In an online survey, we found that one in
three Macworld readers would buy an Apple smart watch.
Others question why they need a device on
their wrist to complement a device in their pocket. Why not just pull your
phone out of your pocket to check the time? Many people have already forgone
the watch and do just this.
Others
question why they need a device on their wrist to complement a device in their
pocket. Why not just pull your phone out of your pocket to check the time?
However, while such a scenario may seem
illogical to us right now, Apple is good at finding solutions to problems we
didn’t know existed, such as the iPhone, which didn’t so much replace the
mobile phone as give us a pocket-sized computer that worked. Perhaps the
iWatch’s job isn’t so much to replace the watch, as to introduce the wearable
computer. Its job is to introduce the era where our computers are integrated
with our clothes and accessories. What we do with these wearable computers will
evolve over the next few years. The ball has to start somewhere, so it might as
well start with the watch.
When will wearable devices become mass
market? Forrester analyst, Sarah Rotman told The Doily Telegraph: “You need a
major brand like Apple and Google to get behind the technology.”
And it appears this is exactly what’s
happening. ABI Research senior analyst Josh Flood believes that: “The furore
about wearable technologies, particularly smart watches and smart glasses is
unsurprising. Apple’s curved glass-based watch could prove to be a revelation
in the wearable technologies market.”
iGLASSES
Apple may also be working on iGlasses. A
2008 Research and Markets report suggested the company was thinking about
eyewear years before everyone started talking about Google Glass. The company
has a number of patents in the area including one for a head-mounted display.
Originally filed in 2006, the patent is titled: “Peripheral treatment for
head-mounted displays”. It describes apparatus that could project an image in a
head-mounted device for the user to view. A patent for glasses that integrate
hidden audio sensors has also been filed. The company has also filed a patent
for a “head-tracking display” that it states is designed to replicate the
cinema experience.
