Google’s ‘Project Glass’ Augmented Reality Glasses Are Real And In Testing

[tezza]

After weeks of speculation and rumors, Google has officially pulled back the curtain on what they have come to call Project Glass — a pair of augmented reality glasses that seek to provide users real-time information right in front of their eyes.

“We think technology should work for you — to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t,” wrote Babak Parviz, Steve Lee, and Sebastian Thrun, three Google employees who are part of the Google X skunkworks. “We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input.”

Something tells me that they won’t be hurting for feedback.

To call these things glasses may be a bit of a stretch — early rumors noted that glasses bore a striking resemblance to a pair of Oakley Thumps, but the demo images on Project Glass’s Google+ page (one of which can be seen above) don’t look a thing like them. Rather, they appear to be constructed of a solid metal band that runs across the brow line, with a small heads-up display mounted on the right side.

The New York Times‘ Nick Bilton, who broke the Project Glass story today, went on to say that the prototype model seen in the images is just one of the potential designs currently in testing. Among others, one of the potential designs for Project Glass is (thankfully) meant to be attached to a person’s existing pair of glasses.

These demo designs are far more stylish than the original reports made it out to be, but really — who cares about that right now? A brief demo video (below) highlights some of the functionality that the Project Glass specs aspire to provide: the protagonist of the video goes about his daily life aided by the glasses, which displays a circle-based UI that provides real time information like and weather and transit when needed. Further applications include the ability to send messages using your voice, instructing the glasses to take a picture, and displaying the location of nearby friends.

This is terribly, terribly cool stuff, but I’d caution users to take the images and video with a grain of salt for now — not because I don’t think Google will eventually make good on them, but because they represent just one direction that the project could go in. According to Wired, Project Glass is still more of a concept than an actual product, and won’t see an official release for a very long time.

It’s also worth noting that as downright magical as these things could be, there’s still very little insight into how they would actually work. Bilton’s early write-up notes that the glasses will be capable of establishing a 3G or 4G wireless connection, but how exactly Google will shoehorn those components (just to name a few) into a comfortable headset is still up the air.

Watch video and article http://techcrunch.co...e-project-glas/

[Ambrocious]

How muh brain damage can we expect from this? Total? How much brain re-mapping and alteration are we expecting?

How exactly does this interface with our brain?

[Pedrito]

People's brains are already damaged, so this wont make any difference. :rofl:

[Ambrocious]

People's brains are already damaged, so this wont make any difference. :rofl:

LOL!!!! So true...so sadly true. But Im also wondering if this is some form of mental reformation or mental manipulation ( as a side effect but MEANT to be a direct affect, off the record). The band fits over the frontal part of the head, which can easily affect the frontal lobe of the brain. I'll need to look into this more in order to see what it's made out of and also what it does and how it transmits data and what not.

[Adrean]

I'd love to use one of these! just not that kinda design though. :whistle:

besides, I have my (insert name of partner in crime) to tell me if I'm acting weird or something (weird as in different from my current weirdness) :lol:

[DKT27]

Google Co-founder Spotted Wearing Google Glasses Prototype

Google co-founder Sergey Brin was spotted wearing a prototype of Google Project Glass eyewear, prompting some to believe it may not be long before the augmented reality spectacles become commercially available.

The futuristic augmented reality glasses prototype showcased by Google this week could be closer to launch than previously thought, as the company’s co-founder was spotted wearing a pair of them at a recent social event. Tech pundit Robert Scoble tweeted last night a photo of Sergey Brin sporting a pair in San Francisco, saying “The Google Glasses are real!”

Google revealed its futuristic dream to mass-produce the hybrid glasses in a video showing the metallic glasses frame with a thin device above the right eye that can display information typically handled by smartphones, such as taking pictures, checking the weather, getting directions or scheduling meetings.

is titled “One day…” and Google didn’t indicate when Project Glass would be available to the public. Earlier reports scooping this story indicate it could be by the end of the year for $250 to $500, but Google is keeping quiet on such dates.

With Sergey Brin wearing a prototype of the glasses in public already, it’s possible they are closer to launch than the video concept let slip. Scoble also noted that Brin “wouldn't let me wear the Google Glasses but I could see they were flashing info to him,” and “they look very light weight. Not much different than a regular set of glasses.”

What’s interesting about the Google Glasses prototype Brin was wearing is that although they looked self-contained, he was wearing a backpack during the charity evening – which some speculate it could have been some sort of battery pack to power the unfinished prototype.

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[Adrean]

Google's Project Glass: You ain't seen nothin' yet

The augmented-reality Project Glass provides a peek into Google's ambitions with artificial intelligence and how AI software could further shake up mobile computing.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin sports augmented reality glasses at a charity event yesterday.

(Credit: Thomas Hawk)

Google's Project Glass demo is certainly the coolest hardware demo so far this year. Behind the scenes is something equally intriguing: artificial-intelligence software.

The augmented-reality glasses, which Google co-founder Sergey Brin was spotted wearing yesterday, created a huge buzz Wednesday when Google released a video showing, from the wearer's perspective, how they could be used.

In the video, the small screen on the glasses flashes information right on cue, allowing the wearer to set up meetings with friends, get directions in the city, find a book in a store, and even videoconference with a friend. The device itself has a small screen above the right eye on wrap-around glasses which have no lenses.

For the most part, the augmented-reality glasses do what a person could do with a smartphone, such as look up information and socialize. But the demo also shows glimpses of an artificial-intelligence (AI) system working behind the scenes. It's the AI system that could make mobile devices, including wearable computers, far more powerful and take on more complex tasks, according to an expert.

"The new thing that Google was showing was the interaction model using new hardware, rather than truly showing the potential of such a device," said Lars Hard, the chief technology officer of AI software company Expertmaker. "AI can actually enhance and improve different decision situations."

Google's futuristic heads-up display glasses (photos)

Although there isn't a precise, agreed-upon definition, artificial intelligence describes computer systems that accommodate human-like behaviors, through features such as speech and gesture recognition, and mimic human thinking. Working with a mobile device, artificial-intelligence systems can perform tasks in the background and bring highly relevant information to users, Hard said.

The Project Glass hardware was operated primarily by voice commands, an indicator of Google's work on voice recognition for mobile devices like Apple's Siri. Siri, which has been well-received, translates spoken commands into actions for the iPhone, such as looking up information or making appointments. Google is reportedly working on voice-recognition software for Android.

The makers of Project Glass said the hardware is designed to help "you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment," according to a Google Plus post. "We think technology should work for you--to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don't," said Babak Parviz, Steve Lee, and Sebastian Thrun, three employees from Google's secretive Google X Labs, on the post introducing Project Glass.

In one scene of the video, for example, the wearer takes a picture of a poster by pressing a button on the glasses and sends it to himself. This new type of user interaction is quicker than, say, pulling a phone or camera out of a pocket.

The demo also shows that the software operating the glasses is location aware. A notification tells the wearer that the No. 6 subway is shut down as he walks up and the system suggests an alternate route for getting to his destination.

To have a wearable computer aware of its physical surroundings and present personalized information to the user requires artificial intelligence and machine-learning software in the background, noted Hard. It turns out Thrun, a Google fellow and member of the Project Glass team, is an artificial intelligence and robotics expert who is instrumental in another Google X project, the driverless car.

"This puts Google out in front of Apple; they are a long ways ahead at this point, Michael Liebhold, a senior researcher specializing in wearable computing at the Institute for the Future told The New York Times. "In addition to having a superstar team of scientists who specialize in wearable, they also have the needed data elements, including Google Maps."

AI in the cloud

A more sophisticated AI platform with a wearable computer could do much more than find friends online and provide maps, said Hard.

Having wearable screens could help doctors make diagnoses, be used in business negotiations, or in service industries, such as retail, Hard said. Although an augmented-reality screen is smaller than a smartphone, it has the potential to present the "right information at the right time" and show complex data such as diagrams, he said.

The hope for AI software is that it will process information in the background and present targeted information as needed, he said. In shopping, for example, the AI system would sift through lots of data to come up with very granular and personalized recommendations, rather than recommendations based on past purchases as computers do today.

"Even though the technologies today deliver this type of service, they are relatively crude and boring in many respects," Hard said. "We're going to see lots of changes to that, using big data and machine learning."

Another Project Glass contributor, Babak Parviz, is a bionanotechnology expert at the University of Washington who foresees wearable devices used for medical diagnostics. In 2009, he wrote an essay at IEEE Spectrum describing how augmented-reality contact lenses could be equipped with biosensors to detect and communicate information on blood sugar levels from eye fluids.

Judging from the enthusiastic reception of Project Glass, wearing augmented-reality glasses may become the ultimate fashion statement for technology fans in the near future.

But there are plenty of skeptics who fear what a poorly done system would look like.

A video released yesterday from Tom Scott called Google Glasses: A new way to hurt yourself, showed a steady stream of information distracting the wearer and the voice recognition backfiring. Another video from Rebellious Pixels superimposes ads, based on Google searches, on Google's demo video popping up incessantly.

Apple's Siri has given millions of people their first taste of the artificial-intelligence concept where a digital personal assistant does a few tasks and provides an alternate interface to touch or typing. Now with Google's Project Glass we get a hint of the potential of bringing that AI to a wearable device.

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[Adrean]

Google's Project Glass Will Work for People with Glasses

Good news for those of us with imperfect vision.

We, like everyone else, have a lot of questions about Google's Project Glass. Though Google this month invited people to share feedback based on a video that showed how the product might work, Project Glass is still in development, so we don't know an awful lot about it. Still, it seems the search giant is eager to set the record straight on at least one issue that many people seem to be wondering about, and that is whether or not those who already have glasses will be able to use the Google specs.

Google's Isabelle Olsson today confirmed that it's working on several ideas when it comes to using Project Glass with prescription glasses. Google apparently saw this question regarding compatibility for glasses-wearers more than once following its request for feedback.

"Here's a question I saw a few times: 'I use prescription glasses. Will this work for me?'" Olsson wrote. "We ideally want Project Glass to work for everyone, and we're experimenting with designs that are meant to be extendable to different types of frames," she explained. "Many of our team members wear glasses, too, so it's definitely something we're thinking about."

Olsson posted the photo above to show how the device might work with prescription glasses but it sounds like Google isn't even close to settling on a design for the bespectacled masses. That said, it's nice that the company is thinking of us.

If you missed the April 4 video from Google that shows how Project Glass could be used in everyday life, check it out below.

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