Google Patents Smart Watch Augmented Reality Viewer

by Joshua Gulick — Friday, October 05, 2012, 06:10 PM EDT

The smart watch is one of those devices that usually sounds much more exciting than it turns out to be, but this time, things might be different. For one, the industry has been building smartphones and other tiny-but-high-tech devices for years, making a smart watch not as much of a technological jump as it has been in the past. For another, the company that may be building the next smart watch is Google. Android on your wrist, anyone?

Google Smart Watch Patent Image

Image from Google Smart Watch patent filing, depicting the watch pulling up product information.

Word of a possible Google smartphone is spreading thanks to Google’s filing for a smart watch patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The smart watch looks as though it will be making use of the Google Glass augmented reality technology. The watch face will open, which is where the augmented reality kicks in: you can aim the bezel at your surroundings to learn more about them, get information about deals on products, and even get directions.

The watch has a built in camera for the augmented reality tech, and it also has a transmitter that lets the watch send messages to your smartphone. Given Google’s seriousness about Google Glass glasses, this smart watch may really be in the works. We certainly hope so.

Tags: Android, Google Glass, Smart Watch

Joshua Gulick

Josh cut his teeth (and hands) on his first PC upgrade in 2000 and was instantly hooked on all things tech. He took a degree in English and tech writing with him to Computer Power User Magazine and spent years reviewing high-end workstations and gaming systems, processors, motherboards, memory and video cards. His enthusiasm for PC hardware also made him a natural fit for covering the burgeoning modding community, and he wrote CPU’s “Mad Reader Mod” cover stories from the series’ inception until becoming the publication editor for Smart Computing Magazine. A few years ago, he returned to his first love, reviewing smoking-hot PCs and components, for HotHardware. When he’s not agonizing over benchmark scores, Josh is either running (very slowly) or spending time with family.

Which New GPU Is For You?

Stay updated with the latest news and updates. Subscribe to our newsletter!

Subscribe Now