GigaOM » Google Glasses

Disruption: It moves in mysterious ways

Om Malik — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 02:15:33 +0000

A friend and a long time reader emailed earlier this morning, offering his observation regarding Google Glass. His prognosis – it was a hands-free camera. Laughs aside, it is an easy deduction to make from the new video shared by the Google Glass team. Sure, the video focused on ballerinas, balloon rides and bubbles, but Google was trying to get maximum oohs-and-aahs from as wide a set of people as possible.

That said, I have been intrigued by Google glasses from the very beginning, mostly because despite being nerdy and in a very early stage, it represents a bit of the old Google. As I previously wrote: “It represents the kind of things the company needs to do in order to leap over its rivals.”

So, if you focus on just the video, I guess, the shrug of shoulder is an appropriate response. However, when I watched that video, I saw three things that were possible.

A new way to interact with information Google indexes: Google’s original premise was to make sense of all the messy data on the web. The mess has become bigger and finding information has become more difficult. We have to start looking at information we need in context of where we are, who we are and to what purpose we need that information. While it is easy to provide the “where” and “who” information, nothing adds “purpose” than what the eye is seeing. So, from that perspective, this is the right evolution of Google’s basic utility.
A decent working voice-based user interface: Siri is cute. Siri is helpful … sometimes. But Siri is still not the answer. However, the Google Glass UI seems to have found the answer to the age old voice-based UI question. And with increased usage, the UI will get smarter and better. (Well, that is what I hope.)
And lastly, it gives us the ability to add more contextual information to the real world around us: With Google glasses, everything becomes searchable. I think this is the most underrated part of Google Glass. So far, we have restricted “information lookup” to the computers.

That said, this is just a video. And as a cynic I am going to withhold final judgment on the glasses and what changes they might unleash until I can get my hands on the actual devices. That said, the video released today definitely makes me even more keen on trying them on.

Google is working to get developers to sign-up and develop apps for this new class of anywhere, anytime computers. And we don’t know just yet, what the creative minds might do and what impact their efforts might have on how we live, create and consume.

iPad, the slate for disruption

Three years ago, when everyone saw a bigger the iPhone, I first saw the iPad and my initial response was that it was a slate “to reinvent pretty much how we think of media, information and in fact the whole user experience.” I saw a blank slate that was ready, for lack of better words, for creation and disruption. It is just that no one knew how it would disrupt and who it would disrupt. I was reminded of that today when I saw this news release from Jack Dorsey’s Square, a San Francisco-based payments company.

Business in a Box: all the hardware you need to run Square Register on your counter: Historically, business owners were forced to piece together multiple hardware components from various manufacturers, manage complicated contracts and pricing structures, and pay for expensive software licensing and service plans. Now, they can be up and running with Square Register in minutes.

Three years ago, it wasn’t clear if the iPad was going to clean VeriFone’s clock or give an underclass of merchants a chance to participate in the mobile and electronic economy. It certainly wasn’t clear that it would become the engine for the people-to-people economy I often talk about. The sharp decline in the fortunes of laptops is another disruption.

The fact is that when you combine software with connectivity and use data to create new experiences, you end up disrupting old industries and building new fortunes.

When I look at Google Glass today, I see a big similarity between them and Tesla — the electric car, not the company. Both are a bit nerdy, both are a bit cool and both are showing us the way to the future.

Elon Musk would like us to believe that he is building the new Toyota — and I for one am glad that he is — but the real impact of his car is on the business of transportation. Tesla for me is the marriage of electronics with data, software and connectivity.

The Big IF

“The big if” for both Tesla and Google Glass is going to be how they think about the interaction of humans and the machine. If they keep using data without an emotional quotient, then they are going to get nowhere fast. If they don’t build systems that constantly learn, evolve and become smarter with usage — much like human brain — they are not going to go anywhere. They should take a cue from IBM and its Watson effort: that’s where some of the answers lie for them.

And as for disruption, as the title says, it moves in mysterious ways.

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Google’s Project Glass in NYC to watch the ball drop?

Kevin C. Tofel — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 19:12:26 +0000

According to the official Times Square website, more than 1 million will flock to New York City to watch the ball drop at the end of 2012. At least one of those people could be wearing a prototype of Google’s Project Glass spectacles based on a snapshot found at the Road to Virtual Reality blog: Yesterday in NYC, someone was in public with the goggles, and this version supports eyeglasses.

In case you missed Google’s Project Glass introduction earlier this year, the device shows the wearer a small display in the top right corner of vision. A built-in camera captures still images or videos and the headset can be controlled with a small button or possibly with eye-tracking in the future. Voice interaction for searches, message creation, chat and other services are likely to be integrated as well, providing a near-handsfree experience. Google is selling the device to developers first; they’ll receive their Project Glass-wear in 2013.

This latest image of the prototype the was captured near Google’s New York office, so it’s possible that a Google employee was just out on the town for a work break. But the perfect “cover” to go out in public with the glasses — and capture a birds-eye view of the ball drop at midnight — would be the big event tonight. Amid a million happy New Year’s Eve party-goers wearing 2013 gear, who’s going to notice one person with a small screen and camera on their glasses?

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Got a strong neck? This hands-free video phone is for you!

Kevin C. Tofel — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 13:48:38 +0000

Mobile video chatting is great, provided you have a free hand to hold your smartphone or tablet. So what might a hands-free video phone look like? For now, it would be big and bulky, but it could work. Take a peek at this prototype that DigInfo noticed: It’s created by NTT DoCoMo and uses multiple cameras to capture most of your facial movements and any scenery behind you.

Unlike traditional video chat services of today, this system renders you as a realistic looking avatar. While that seems like a step backward, I can think of a number of instances where I’d welcome it: An early morning video chat while still in bed or on a bad hair day, for example. (My solution for the latter is a hat, but now that’s a tell-tale sign of bad hair at GigaOM HQ!)

The large headgear certainly isn’t practical, but as a prototype, I see some interesting technology here. Capturing one’s face in 720p resolution with 180-degree fish-eye lenses, adjusting the actual images to compensate for the wide view and stitching the images together in real-time is impressive. The level of captured detail and subsequent rendering is nifty as well: Take a look at the avatar’s eyes when the real person blinks, for example.

Even as an early tech adopter, I realize this solution is more of a demonstration for now. Perhaps Google will take note, however, and adopt some of DoCoMo’s concept with the Project Glass headgear. Until then, I’ll rely on “old school” video calls. Now, where did I put my hat?

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You’ll flip over the first video from Google’s Project Glass

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:26:34 +0000

Google continues to expand its Project Glass testing with more employees getting the chance to try out the connected specs. TheVerge noticed that at this week’s Google+ Photographers Conference a number of images taken with Google’s glasses were shown off and are of much higher quality than previous samples. Additionally, the first video capture from Project Glass hardware is available for viewing, illustrating the type of video capture that’s far more difficult to take with a smartphone.

The 15-second video is embedded here in a Google+ post and was taken by someone wearing the prototype glasses while doing flips on a trampoline. The video quality of such action isn’t stellar, but it’s not bad when you consider the hardware is in constant motion and the lighting is variable. Here’s a screen cap:

I see that the video is available in 720p format, suggesting that Project Glass supports high-definition video recording. It’s clear to me that Google is working on the image capabilities of the hardware as most of the snapshots in the Google+ post show vast improvements from prior examples.

It’s interesting that so far, most of the Project Glass news is on input technologies, such as image capture. The concept was originally touted with more focus on output; providing useful, quick information at a glance. I noted this when the project was announced, saying:

“Touchable user interfaces have reinvented how we use mobile devices, but hardware design is advancing to the point where the interfaces are starting to disappear. Instead of holding an iPad or other tablet, people are interacting directly with an app, Web page, photo or other digital object in a reduced interface, with either voice or minute gestures. In essence, such glasses would allow people to digitally interact with the physical world around them without a device or user interface getting in the way.

Clearly, there’s no interface in the way of capturing images here, as a button tap is all it takes to snap photos. And although Project Glass will provide output in the form of directions, data and other information, the camera will clearly be a large factor when it comes to input, although a microphone will surely supplement it. Based on that, it makes sense to me that we’re seeing so much about the camera capabilities of the project.

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Through the Google looking glass

Brian McConnell, Worldwide Lexicon — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 19:00:36 +0000

There have been two major transitions in personal computing since the introduction of the PC. The first was the transition from the terminal/command line interface to windowed user interfaces. The second was the transition to gesture-based mobile devices. Both transitions reordered the industry, destroyed some companies, and led to the creation of new giants. The transition to active eyewear is no less significant. Once the user interface is perfected, it will allow people to — for all practical purposes — communicate telepathically.

It’s too soon to say how people will choose to use this and which applications will ultimately prove popular. Right now, we’re a year before the introduction of windowed interfaces. For example, augmented reality experts were quick to point out that Google Glass will be a poor augmented reality experience. That may be true, but its likely users will discover they are good for other applications, such as controlling music, navigation or ambient notification. At this stage, Google should focus on perfecting the platform and be prepared to go through several versions before we worry about which applications will be the winners. Leave that for entrepreneurs to sort out.

Active eyewear is a platform play, not a product. Eyewear, as with clothing, is a fashion accessory where individual tastes drive purchasing decisions. Fashion is, to put it politely, not a strong point for any technology company besides Apple. This is an opportunity for eyewear designers and manufacturers, such as Oakley, to bring glasses back into style and to offer consumers a diverse range of products to choose from. The winning strategy for Google will be to focus on enabling technologies such as micro projectors and short-range wireless, to make these components as small and easy to integrate into designs as possible, while leveraging Android as a development framework.

There is also an important demographic trend that nobody has mentioned. The kids who grew up with the Web in the 1990s are now turning into middle aged adults, most of whom will soon need reading glasses. The population everywhere is aging, and while glasses may not currently be in style with the generation who grew up with contacts and LASIK, fashion trends change, and can change quickly. In the near future, eyeglasses will no longer be a sign of disability, but rather of augmented capability, in short, a status symbol as well as a useful tool.

Brian McConnell is an inventor, author and technology entrepreneur based in San Francisco. He is the founder of Worldwide Lexicon, an open source collaborative translation platform.

Image courtesy of Flickr user i eated a cookie.

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Forget Google Glasses; check these dual-focus contact lenses

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:08:33 +0000

The U.S. government has ordered a prototype contact lens that will help military members see virtual information directly on a pair of glasses while still viewing their surroundings. The contacts could improve HUDs, or heads-up displays, currently in use that show troop information, enemy locations, target ranges and more.

According to the BBC, the Pentagon has asked for the working prototype from Innovega, the company that has created the lens. iOptik, as the product is called, was partially funded through the U.S. Department of Defense. Unlike the current HUDs that are worn by troops, the iOptik allows for a wide field of vision; up to 120 degrees, per the product’s webpage.

The iOptik solves a key problem because the human eye can only focus on one distance at a given time. So when looking at a HUD, for example, a soldier can only see the data it transmits and not the environment around them. The special filter on the iOptik lens allows for dual focus: Seeing real objects far away while also viewing augmented reality data close to the eye. I suspect Google’s Project Glass, a similar solution, won’t have this same ability. Here’s a video explanation of how the product works.

The iOptik won’t solely be for military purposes. Innovega says the lenses are currently undergoing trials with the FDA here in the U.S. and could be available to the general public by 2014. In as little as two years then, you might be walking up to someone and see their Facebook profile before you even talk to them. To get an even better view of what it looks like being able to see both near and far using the iOptik lens, here’s a demonstration that uses a digital camera to simulate the human eye.

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Google glasses make sense as the “next” mobile device

Kevin C. Tofel — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:50:40 +0000

Smartphones already have Google Goggles, an image-recognition search app, but consumers may one day have “Google glasses.” The search company publicly introduced Project Glass on Wednesday, a concept for wearable glasses that integrate directly with Google services.

Google is sharing this video to kickstart ideas and gather feedback for the connected, wearable device concept. It may sound like a silly project, but when you think about it, the device actually makes sense.

The initial design vision is for lightweight frames that don’t actually have full-sized, traditional glass lenses. Instead, a small display is available up and to the outside of the right eye so that information doesn’t interfere with viewing the world around. And as shown in the video, there would be some type of eye-tracking mechanism allowing users to interact with data on the small display — similar to a touchpad tap — although much of the interface could be controlled through spoken commands.

As silly as the idea may look or sound to some, I find merit in the approach, as it seems like a logical next step. We have gone from immobile desktops to portable laptops and now we are toting tablets and pocketable smartphones. Where can we go from here if not to the growing number of connected, wearable gadgets that we have been reporting on for well over a year?

From a consumer perspective, Project Glass also forwards another theme that has been growing. Touchable user interfaces have reinvented how we use mobile devices, but hardware design is advancing to the point where the interfaces are starting to disappear. Instead of holding an iPad or other tablet, people are interacting directly with an app, Web page, photo or other digital object in a reduced interface, with either voice or minute gestures. In essence, such glasses would allow people to digitally interact with the physical world around them without a device or user interface getting in the way.

This quote, told to the New York Times from someone who tried the glasses, says it better than I can:

They let technology get out of your way. 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.

I expect that any first-production version of these glasses would heavily leverage a smartphone’s connectivity, much like many smart watches do today. The glasses would likely have a low-powered wireless connection to a phone, which would provide Internet connectivity, a place to store photos or a way to shoot them to the cloud, a GPS for location purposes, and so on.

Think of these spectacles as the next iteration of a smartphone, just one that you can wear and not look geeky. Well, not too geeky anyway. I’m all for wearable gadgets, so if Google is looking for beta testers, I’m in. How about you?

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