Google has gone public with its much talked about “Google Glasses” with a Google+ page set up by the researchers from the Google X Lab.
According to the Google+ page, Google is sharing its progress with its heads-up display glasses in order to gain input from the public. The project is dubbed “Project Glass”.
“A group of us from Google X started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment,” says Google. “So we took a few design photos to show what this technology could look like and created a video to demonstrate what it might enable you to do,” says Google.
In February, it was reported that, according to sources close to the project, the search giant was aiming to take its Google glasses to market before the end of the year. Since then, Google has reportedly dismissed this as “unlikely”.
At the time, it was speculated that the glasses would resemble common thick-rimmed glasses with some buttons on the side. The “Google Goggles” were also said to feature motion sensors and GPS functionality.
If the design photos posted on the Project Glass page are anything to go by, the actual prototype for the glasses are far from “thick-rimmed” and are instead simplistic and (relatively) non-intrusive. In the accompanying video titled “Project Glass: One day...” the core issue of how the glasses will look remains untouched, with no glasses frames being visible throughout the short clip.
Presented from the first person perspective of someone wearing the glasses, the video features some of the possible functionality that Google is looking to add to the glasses. This includes voice control (which appears to be very similar to Siri), video chat, real-time navigation, location sharing, social media integration and pop-up notifications.
Get real
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says Project Glass is more of a gimmick to show what is possible than a real consumer category killer.
“It's a technology in search of a problem,” says Goldstuck. “People don't like wearing glasses. Those who have to wear them are really buying frames, and not the lenses, although that can be the bigger element of the cost. And they buy the frames on the basis of appearance and fashion.
“So the Google glasses will have to offer a wide range of styles, as well as overcome resistance to wearing something that looks overtly like a contraption. Aside from card-carrying proud-to-be-nerd geeks, no one wants to look like a cyborg.”
Some have speculated that other companies, such as Apple and Facebook, may need to start innovating in the space to avoid being left behind in the event consumers take to the heads-up display glasses and begin using them as their primary interface for their mobile phones and online services.
However, Goldstuck says: “Apple and Facebook are worried about technology trends with real traction, and that are proving themselves in the market, rather than a concept device that has got the media more excited than the consumer.”
(Embed video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9c6W4CCU9M4)