Google Glass: Will they change our lives?

Google Glass is an attempt to free data from desktop computers and portable devices like phones and tablets, and place it right in front of your eyes, essentially, Google Glass is a camera, display, touchpad, battery and microphone built into spectacle frames so that you can perch a display in your field of vision, film, take pictures, search and translate on the go.

The principle is one that has been around for years in science fiction, and more recently it’s become a slightly clunky reality. In fact, the “heads-up display” putting data in your field of vision became a reality as early as 1900 when the reflector sight was invented.

Google Glass uses display technology instead to put data in front (or at least, to the upper right) of your vision courtesy of a prism screen. This is designed to be easily seen without obstructing your view. According to Google the display is “the equivalent of a 25-inch high definition screen from eight feet away”. There’s no official word on native resolution, but 640 x 360 has been widely mooted.

Overlaying data into your vision has obvious benefits; many of which are already functional in Google Glass. Directions become more intuitive (although it sounds like there is no GPS on board so you will have to pair it with your phone), you can view real-time translations or transcriptions of what is being said, and you can scroll through and reply to messages – all on the fly.

The embedded camera obviously does not need a viewfinder because it is simply recording your first-person perspective, allowing you to take snaps or footage of what you are actually seeing.

Any function that requires you to look at a screen could be put in front of you.

Controlling this data is the next neat trick. With a microphone and touchpad on one arm of the frame, you can select what you want to do with a brief gesture or by talking to the device, and Google Glass will interpret your commands.

Google Glass can also provide sound, with bone-induction technology confirmed. This vibrates your skull to create sound, which is both more grisly sounding and much less cumbersome than traditional headphones.

“Is Glass cool and entirely novel? Yes, it certainly is. Is it a device that will change the life of, or even just prove useful to, the average consumer? That’s doubtful.” / Techradar

The advent of this new gadget

for some, is only a passing phase, a simple invention like hundreds of others, despite their media impact at the time of their appearance, and they will eventually fade into oblivion as hundreds of others before it, while for others it is an invention inviting to escape and revolutionizing the way we perform many tasks, as Skype has changed the way we communicate according to Le Meur Loic, CEO of LeWeb.

Few users had the chance to test the Google Glass, but that does not prevent them from causing a stir among its testers

Revolutionary for some, a total loss of privacy for others … Thequestions and opinions multiply and differ, but an idea still kept unanimously: Google did a wonderful marketing campaign of its product.
Most users have paid the sum of 1,500 dollars for obtaining the revolutionary pair of glasses which are capable of augmented reality, “Cloud” connection and facial recognition.

However, the bad reputation of Google regarding users private data many suggest that the use of these Next-Gen glasses will have the same purpose: to spy and steal network data linked to the use of this new gadget, threatening once again the privacy of users.

“Do not think, even for a single second that you have control over these glasses. You’re just a pilot for data stalking”, said Nick Pickles to the BBC.
Pickles believes that Google’s strategy is to offer free products and convince users that they are privileged clients while these data are the product they use to gain their benefits.

The facial recognition feature has been used by some developers to provide a tool for the medical field

“MedRef for Glass” is an application that identifies patients, while displaying their medical file in a text form or in audio stream. This application seeks the medical teams, given the difficulty of the doctors and nurses at the time of recognition of each patient’s case they treat.

The application stores medical records of patients and their photos taken earlier with the camera built into the glasses.

Based on this idea, Thad Starnet of the Georgia Institute of Technology believes that Google Glass will succeed to merge more technology to our lives.

“A device of this type with a well-designed interface can help the user to pay attention to reality instead of having to withdraw in order to check data on their computer or laptop. Having an interface that puts less than two seconds to access any kind of information can reduce the margin of time between intention and action”, says Starnet to the BBC.

Jolie O’Dell, a journalist working for the magazine VentureBeat still hesitates. She believes that the device can be quite useful, but not for everyone: “As the owner of the glasses, I see that they can be useful for doctors, mechanical engineers or any other activity practiced in the field. Apart from that, I think it is a device for geeks, used to make us less aware of the world around us, and leaving us more disconnected than ever from real people we encounter daily”.