An amplified experience of reality is no longer a futuristic concept with Google’s most recent creation: “Project Glass.” This is the company’s first step toward the production of computerized glasses, which are not currently for sale but are being publicly tested by Google employees.
These glasses allow wearers to use voice commands to send and receive messages. There is also a built-in camera to record videos and take pictures, offering all the expediency of smartphone technology in a hands-free device.
“We think technology should work for you — to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t,” Project Glass stated in a post on Google Plus. “A group of us from Google started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment.”
Those with prescription glasses do not need to fear being left out. Project Glass plans on being compatible with corrective lenses. Recently, tiny contact lenses have been researched, breaking boundaries between technology and biology.
On April 4, Google publicized a video on YouTube titled “One day …,”offering viewers a firsthand look into the life of a potential Google glass user. In the video, the user executes tasks any smartphone or iPhone could accomplish, without the touch of a single key. He schedules meetings, searches directions, checks the weather and texts friends entirely through vocal commands, while maps and confirmations enter his line of sight. In the end, the user is able to share a rooftop view with a friend by turning on the glasses’ “view share” option, offering his direct field of vision while she sits in the comfort of her own home.
Google’s glasses have a sleek appearance, with a solid metal band that runs around the base of the forehead and a display mounted on the right side.
On Google Plus, the company has posted pictures and videos of what the technology might be able to do.
In February, The New York Times reported Google was preparing to release the glasses at the end of the year.
The New York Times conducted interviews with users who have tested this Google prototype.
“They let technology get out of your way,” one product tester said. “If I want to take a picture I don’t have to reach into my pocket and take out my phone; I just press a button at the top of the glasses and that’s it.”
Project Glass is one of various projects currently being developed in a secret laboratory called Google X in Mountain View. Google X is responsible for the innovation of ultra-modern ideas, such as space elevators, robots and self-driving cars.
Despite skepticism that these glasses may intervene with daily life, be hard to use, limit social interaction or be scattered with ads, Project Glass’ technology remains unique to the times. Soon, augmented reality will no longer be a Star Trek fantasy: It will be a project model come to life.
