More and more new technology is being developed each and
every day. The most recent that has caught my attention is the augmented
reality glasses that were designed by Google.
If you have not heard about these, you should definitely look into it
and watch the video that Google has recently released (http://youtu.be/9c6W4CCU9M4). These
“glasses” present a brand new concept of having somewhat of a heads up display
in one’s glasses that serves as a phone, GPS, etc. These glasses could
potentially change everything when it comes to phones, tablets, and pretty much
any other type of technology. They include a camera, voice recognition system,
and a crystal clear HUD to help improve daily life. So here’s the question, how could these
possibly be constructed and what would they be made out of? The frame is
simple, just a sleek typical pair of glasses. It is the lens and the other
little things implanted in the glasses that make them special. Many skeptics believe that having a lens that
is perfectly clear from both inside and outside. I could not find what type of
glass they would be using to make these, and I do not think that they have been
physically crafted yet. If anyone does know what exactly they would be made of
or if Google has released any information about materials that they have put to
consideration, please feel free to respond. I chose this topic because it is
something that really interests me and I think would interest most people
because of the hype it has been getting
and the fact that it is something that could potentially change everything when
it comes to technology.
This Google project is very similar to something Corning is currently or will be working on. Corning is basically a glass and ceramics company. This youtube video describes what the company wants to do with glass technologies.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZkHpNnXLB0
I know Corning recently came out with their "Gorilla Glass 2" which is used a lot in electronics such as phone screens and other related items. It's supposed to be very tough and super scratch resistant, which is great for people like me who drop their phones all the time. As far as getting things to pop up between clear pieces of glass, I'm not sure what kind of technology would go into that or if it's even around. However I think Google may use glass technology developed by Corning since they both seem to be heading in the same direction as far as this project is concerned.
I guess my only question about this invention is how does it work? If everything appears say on this glass, that acts as a pair of glasses, how do you pick what you want to do. Say you are walking and you want to call someone, how do you select that?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting new concept. I can see this being invented in the near future. As time moves on technology gets smaller and smaller. However, sometimes I wonder if it is making society too easy that we lose different aspects of life. For example, with new GPS technologies now adays will maps soon become something of the past and nothing important. Will robots start doing everything for us so we don't have to pick up a finger.
Companies come up with these great ideas that make life alot more efficient and are great! I love looking at what is being created and seeing where else they can take these invention to the next level.
Uma, you definitely are right here. When do we say "no" to the newest and coolest thing on the market? When do we question how and if a product should be used? It oculd become a security nightmare!
DeleteI agree with you Uma. We really need to think about that are these high technology things really good for our life or not? Sometimes, the happiness of life are the vary moments that you realize you just figure out the troubles that you are facing with. When these high technology things make life too easy, we might lose the original happiness of life.
DeleteOne way to control these types of glasses would be to use voice and gesture commands. If the glasses can project information into your field of view, wouldn’t it also be possible for them to project virtual controls. By using gesture recognition software like that found in the kinetic controller you could have floating menus that could be interacted with. The main problem with that however is the lack of tactile feedback on the virtual control object. Another way to control the device would be to use focus based interfaces. If the glasses could detect where your eyes were focused then they could respond with the appropriate menus or actions. This would allow then to un-clutter your vision when you focused on something other than the glasses interface.
ReplyDeleteIn 1999, I learned about a Professor at MIT who is an absolute genius. His name is Steve Mann, and he was a friend of a former ISE professor here at Tech. In 1981, when he was a teenager, Dr. Mann created a wearable computer from one of the initial Apple desktop computers. He wore the 80 lb device in a backpack along with headgear that was a camera/computer in the form of a monocle. I heard tales about Dr. Mann going to the grocery store and having his wife at home text to his monocle what he should bring home. At their home, she could see the same thing he was seeing through his monocle.
ReplyDeleteWhat's astonishing to think about is how technology in materials science has changed to allow Dr. Mann to rid himself of his 80 lb backpack in exchange for a pair of glasses similar to the ones you are describing. To see the evoluation of Dr. Mann's wearable computers, check out this link:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/16/view/5586/wearable-computers.html
Whenever I hear about technology like this I am always skeptical because of safety concerns. I understand that the visuals don't really take up that much of the view for a person wearing the glasses, but at the same time it doesn't seem completely safe. Even though it doesn't block your vision that much, it can be very distracting to have all of these visuals in front of you at all times.
ReplyDeleteThe one question that I have is will people that need corrective lens be able to use them and how clear will the images displayed on the glasses be to the user? If they have some way to address this, awesome.
ReplyDeleteI believe I've read that there are some new conductive materials being developed that would only be one-atom thick. (Graphene, I think? It's been heralded as a possible replacement for silicon.) Which, if we could manufacture it on the atomic scale, we could create microscopic circuity that might allow for some of the electronic components of these glasses.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that different industries think that planting a pair of glasses onto our faces for everything is the way of the future. Hollywood wants us to see their 3D movies, and Google wants us to be constantly connected to things we depend on like GPS more than we already do. Besides my own personal bias against glasses (wore them for 16 years before getting contacts), I think that becoming more dependent on technology is not the answer. We are already always connected through iPhones and the internet, and making that connection even closer gives me a reason to pause.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I can't wait to see people drive with these on. Let's not impair the vision of people that already have trouble not getting into accidents when they can see perfectly.
Thank you for the responses everyone. This is a very "out there" idea as of right now, but I do believe that we have the capability to make this happen in the somewhat near future. There are a lot of controversies that come up with this idea such as driving with these glasses on and whether or not they would pose as a threat by being a distraction to the driver. Maybe there could be a setting for when you are driving and hence it would not impair your vision. I cannot say for sure what would happen because I am not the one designing these glasses but I do believe that these will become available and also be fully functioning.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the responses everyone. This is a very "out there" idea as of right now, but I do believe that we have the capability to make this happen in the somewhat near future. There are a lot of controversies that come up with this idea such as driving with these glasses on and whether or not they would pose as a threat by being a distraction to the driver. Maybe there could be a setting for when you are driving and hence it would not impair your vision. I cannot say for sure what would happen because I am not the one designing these glasses but I do believe that these will become available and also be fully functioning.
ReplyDelete