Items tagged with Google Glass
Rejoice glassholes, Google Glass is making a comeback. First introduced way back in 2013, Google Glass was greeted with equal parts intrigue and disgust at the prospects of people walking around with an "all-seeing" camera attached. With other companies now entering smart eyewear sector -- most notably Microsoft with HoloLens and HoloLens 2 -- Google is back at it again with what it is calling Glass Enterprise Edition 2. This time around, Google has built the glasses on the Android platform, which should help expedite the release of apps that will take advantage of the new hardware. Speaking of hardware, the Glass Enterprise Edition 2 is running a more powerful SoC....
Read more...
Google is no stranger to the augmented reality (AR) field, having helped introduce many people to the concept with its original Google Glass wearable. Although Google found some success in the enterprise market with Google Glass, it wasn’t exactly a ringing commercial success and those that dared to wear the eyewear in public were labeled “creepy” or “glassholes.” However, a new patent has surfaced which suggests that Google may working on a next-generation AR device that is similar in concept to its predecessor. The patent was actually published yesterday, and describes a “head-worn augmented reality display.” Attached to the frame...
Read more...
The world can be a scary place, but it can be particularly frightening if you have a difficult time interpreting nonverbal cues. One recent study used Google Glass smart glasses to help young children with autism better recognize facial expressions. The researchers are hopeful that Google Glass may assuage some of the children's’ social anxieties and improve their ability to understand emotions. The study was funded by Stanford University, the United States Institutes of Health, and several other organizations. Fourteen children were invited to attend three twenty minutes sessions per week for twenty weeks. The glasses used an app to read the faces of those around the wearer and display...
Read more...
Back in 2015, Microsoft announced the HoloLens to the world as an augmented reality (AR) headset that has mainly been used in industrial applications for training and design. Although it's doubtful that HoloLens is setting sales records for Microsoft, its impact in some critical industries has Google itching to provide its own competitive offering. According to WinFuture, the AR headset will be fully self-contained without needing to be tethered to a PC. The device will reportedly be powered by a Qualcomm processor, although it wouldn’t be a Snapdragon processor as we've see in standalone virtual reality (VR) headsets. Instead, the device is said to be power by...
Read more...
Intel is stepping into the wearable market in a big way this year with its upcoming Vaunt smart glasses. Now, we know what you're thinking -- you're probably getting visions of "glassholes" walking around with dorky-looking Google Glass. However, Vaunt bucks that trend with styling that looks remarkably close to traditional eyewear. The Verge was given exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the smart glasses, which are a product of Intel’s New Devices Group (NDG). The Vaunt prototypes don’t include an external camera, which helps to eliminate the "creeper" factor that prompted many to shun Google Glass. In addition, the entire setup weighs only 50 grams, allowing to sit comfortably...
Read more...
While the history books are still being written, we may one day look back on Google Glass and determine that it was ahead of its time. That will depend on how the next few years play out, especially now that companies are making a major push into virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality hardware and experiences. Glass was one of the first to get there before Google changed directions and took aim at the enterprise market. Now nearly two years later, Glass is back. Image Source: Alphabet (X-company) This newest version of Glass is dubbed "Enterprise Edition" and it is now available to the many business partners that Google has been working with over the past two years. This is not...
Read more...
Things on the Google Glass front have been relatively silent for the past three months. After effectively killing the Glass Explorer program earlier this year, Glass was transitioned in September out of the Google X development lab to its own Project Aura division, which is helmed by Tony Fadell. Now, thanks to a recent FCC filing, we’re getting a look at what Fadell and his Project Aura team have working on in secret. A new version of Glass, dubbed the Enterprise Edition, is aimed at the business market and features a number of enhancements that make the wearable superior to its predecessor. For starters, the rigid platform of the Explorer Edition has given way to a more traditional folding...
Read more...
Google Glass has a new name and some new blood. Google Glass is now known as Project Aura and Google has hired engineers to give the project momentum. The company has been searching for a way to bring its techie glasses to the world after its initial attempts floundered. Google took the project out of the spotlight at the beginning of the year by killing the Glass Explorer program and moving the project out of the Google X lab into its own division. Since then, Google has been fairly quiet about Glass’ fate, releasing just the occasional tidbit of information to alleviate concerns that the project might be gone for good. Google acknowledged earlier in the year that the program was moved...
Read more...
A Google Glass comeback is in the near-ish future, according to an Italian eyewear maker who pegged the launch date as February or March of 2016. That’s a fast turnaround for a device that stumbled so badly in its debut, but the apparent partnership with Luxottica is promising, at least from style standpoint. When Google pulled its Google Glass Explorer program in January, the company gave little hint of what was in store for the future of the wearable device. Few people doubted that Google Glass would return, however, and word soon spread that design powerhouse (and Nest co-founder) Tony Fadell is overseeing the project. For all the privacy fears, style criticisms and snarky nicknames, the value...
Read more...
Google put an abrupt end to its Glass Explorer program back in January of this year, leading some to speculate if Google was giving up on the wearable. That doesn't appear to be the case. When the Explorer program ended, Google moved Glass out of its Google X research lab and into a dedicated unit, and though the company hasn't said much since then, executive chairman Eric Schmidt says it's very much alive."It is a big and very fundamental platform for Google. We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn't true," Schmidt told The Wall Street Journal. "Google is about taking risks and there's nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests...
Read more...
There are some big changes in store for Google Glass, and the first change is the demise of the Glass Explorer program. Google opened up the Explorer program in April 2014 to anyone that was willing to fork over $1,500 for the privilege to own Glass. After January 19, the only individuals that will have access to Glass will be companies involved in the Glass at Work program and app developers. Glass is also getting promoted from the Google X research lab, and will get its own independent division within Google. Current Google Glass chief Ivy Ross will still head the division, but she will now report to Nest co-founder Tony Fadell. Fadell came aboard after Google purchased Nest for $3.2...
Read more...
It looks as if things are going to heat up at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Sony has announced that it is developing a display module that will turn existing eyewear into a smart device that can display visual information like Google Glass. The device is a compact, lightweight single-lens display module that is equipped with a high-resolution color OLED microdisplay and a micro-optical unit that helps the unit reach its full potential with displaying images in high quality. It also has a miniaturized control board with arithmetic processing capabilities that, according to Sony, is comparable to smartphones. “By simply attaching it to a pair of fashionable glasses,...
Read more...
Google Glass is an exciting ongoing development in the fields of wearable technology and heads up displays (HUDs). At the same time, it's also been the center of various controversies, such as privacy concerns and the ability to fun afoul of copyright laws by illegally recording certain content. However, there's a new concern that's emerged, and it has to do with blind spots. A new study calls to attention that conventional glasses can reduce the wearer's visual field, sometimes causing absolute scotomas, or blind spots, and that head-mounted devices have even more pronounced frames. "What we've done is test the glasses in a very simple low-budget way, using standard ophthalmology to compare...
Read more...
When it comes to Google Glass there are some mixed emotions. While it is an interesting device, there are Google “Glass Haters” out there who are not comfortable with a device that can take pictures of them or record their actions being out in the open like that. But it is the device’s ability to record that has resulted in it being officially banned from movie theaters. The Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theatre Owners announced that an update was made to its theatrical anti-theft policy to include wearable tech in its list of items banned. Image Source: Flickr (Michael Praetorius) “As part of our continued efforts...
Read more...
If the one thing that's holding you back from adopting Google Glass and joining the wearable computing market is the lack of trendy designs, you're in luck. Google is teaming up with The Luxottica Group, a company that specializes in luxury and sports eyewear. While you may not have heard of Luxottica, there's a good chance you're familiar with at least one of its brands, which includes Ray-Ban, Oakley, Vogue-Eyewear, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Alain Mikkli, and Arnette. This partnership marks the latest effort by Google to make its Glass platform trendy and hip. You may recall that earlier this year, Google launched the Titanium Collection, and if you fast forward to today, Google says there are...
Read more...
I'm a short Italian a hair-length away from being 5-foot 9-inches tall, yet despite my height deficiency, I know what it's like to play basketball above the rim. It's not because I have an amazing vertical like Nate Robinson or, for your old school ballers, Spud Webb, both whom have won the slam dunk contest. No -- one reasons I know what it's like to play ball like a 6-footer is because the hoops are sometimes lowered at my local YMCA. The other reason is because the Sacramento Kings have teamed up with Google to use Glass on the court. Unfortunately, players don't get to wear Glass during actual games, but they have been able to record shooting sessions hours before a game is played. In doing...
Read more...
Should drivers be allowed to wear Google Glass while operating a motor vehicle? That's one of the questions politicians face as a growing number of states seek to pass legislation that would make it illegal to wear Google's head-mounted display while driving. Proponents of such bills claim that wearables like Google Glass can be distractions and could lead to accidents. According to Reuters, no less than eight states are considering regulation of Google Glass, and this figures to be a hot topic for months to come. Legislatures in three other states -- New York, Maryland, and West Virginia -- have already introduced similar bills. Image Source: Flickr (jurvetson) Meanwhile, Google is fighting...
Read more...
Samsung has never been shy about following marketing trends, whether it's building smartphones, serving up smart watches (Galaxy Gear), or in this case, filing a patent for eye-wear to compete with Google Glass. The version Samsung has in mind is called Galaxy Glass (no surprise there), and it will look and function similar to Google's head mounted display (HMD). According to a report in The Korea Times, Samsung may launch Galaxy Glass as early as this year's IFA convention in Berlin. "The market potential for smart glass is huge. It will be used in trucks, cars, and has a greater impact on related industries such as glass- and coatings-makers," The Korea Times quotes a Samsung official as saying....
Read more...
Google's venturing into uncharted territory with its Glass initiative, and that can be a scary thing for some people. The topic of privacy is perhaps the biggest talking point when it comes to Google Glass, but as some comedy skits have demonstrated, there's some potential for things to go sideways -- very sideways -- when meshing augmented reality with artificial intelligence. A 2min 30sec skit that appeared on Conan shows the depressing side of Google Glass. It features a guy who lives at home and spends his Saturday evenings having dinner with his mother. He's a recluse, a fact that Google Glass repeatedly points out in subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle ways. Glass is also willing to help...
Read more...
Heads up for all you California motorists, and perhaps drivers in all 50 states. If you're donning a pair of Google Glasses while behind the wheel of your car, you might get a ticket. Cecilia Abadie found that out the hard way when she was issued a citation by a police officer in California for what essentially amounts to distracted driving. The first item on the ticket is for speeding, which is probably the reason she was pulled over in the first place rather than for wearing Google Glass. However, she was also cited for her headgear, with the officer likening the infraction to "driving with monitor visible to driver." "Is Google Glass illegal while driving or this cop wrong??? Any legal advice...
Read more...
Despite ongoing privacy concerns, Google is pressing ahead with Google Glass and the competition, while not exactly heating up, is at least starting to take shape. Google’s latest big step in the wearable display push is its recent investment in Himax Technologies, which makes display tech for small and wearable devices. The move could position Google to increase production of Google Glass. Google’s investment in the Taiwanese chipmaker starts at 6.3 percent of the Himax business unit that handles wearable display chips. Google can bump its stake within a year to as much as 14.8 percent. The companies haven’t said what the value of the deal is, but they indicated in will...
Read more...
Interest around Google Glass has revived the idea of wearable computing in many circles and inspired research into areas that might, at first glance, seem a bit far-fetched. One such program is FIDO -- Facilitating Interactions for Dogs with Occupations. The idea? Build a harness that would allow a dog to communicate with its handler remotely via wireless technology and possibly Google Glass. Ridiculous, right? Not so fast. The head of the project, Kristof Van Laerhoven, has designed a canine harness that the dog with jaw-friendly handles that the dog can pull to transmit a tone, activate a sensor, or transmit a verbal command. No, you and Spot aren't going to have a long discussion on the merits...
Read more...
