7 ms·

I don't understand why companies keep making these glasses with cameras on them. That's the main issue and concern that people have with these devices. Somethi

I don't understand why companies keep making these glasses with cameras on them. That's the main issue and concern that people have with these devices. Something like a HUD would be great but people don't want cameras pointing at them all the time.

sneak 5y ago
People in public spaces in the USA have cameras pointed at them all the time and they don't seem to care. Even local bars and restaurants that don't even handle that much cash have tons of surveillance cameras up everywhere.
- yur3i__ 5y ago
  Surveillance cameras are entirely different, in the same way as people don't care about giving their data to a company but do care about giving someone else their phone, a persons camera pointing at them is much different to a surveillance camera.
  - ryandrake 5y ago
    Reminds me of "Surveillance Camera Man" [1] from several years ago. His YouTube channel seems to have been scrubbed of videos, but basically the guy just stood out in public recording people, just like thousands of surveillance cameras currently do, with lots of subjects objecting, berating him, becoming scared, upset, even violent. Point being, it's no different than all the surveillance that is already done, except people freak out when there's an actual human visibly holding the camera. 1: https://blogs.harvard.edu/internetmonitor/2013/07/10/surveillance-camera-man-draws-ire-provokes-questions-about-recording-in-public/ https://blogs.harvard.edu/internetmonitor/2013/07/10/surveil...
    - micromacrofoot 5y ago
      No. I see this guy mentioned all the time and he wasn't simply standing there. He was invading people's personal space, responding to them in antisocial ways, lightly following them, and in some cases trespassing. He's a total creep, triggering people's fear response, and people would likely react in a similar way if he didn't have a camera. Much of the time he was absolutely not simply standing in a corner stationary, which is what security cameras do.
    - strogonoff 5y ago
      “Surveillance Camera Man” should continue to exist and raise awareness. It’s much, much worse when a camera is not held by a human and is instead fixed in a known location, plugged into mains and is constantly feeding footage into a large network of face/stride recognition software; yet most people are entirely oblivious to the latter happening all around them.
- 6gvONxR4sf7o 5y ago
  If I'm in a store and the store has a camera that I know will probably never be looked at, it's different from me being in a store with a camera that will be fed into some facial recognition system sold to advertisers that decides to charge me more for airline tickets a year later, which is also different from sitting across the bar from twenty people with cameraphones pointed at me. It's not a binary 'cares about cameras or doesn't.'
  - taylorfinley 5y ago
    You don't think all the cameras in big box stores are networked and monitored by AI? I would be shocked if they're not doing customer tracking. Notice the number of face-level cameras popping up in Wal-Mart, they even have them built in to the front doors at chest height so they can scan every face and then track what you're looking at as you peruse the shelves.
    - CamperBob2 5y ago
      An underrated point. All those security cameras represent an inexhaustible source of monetizable data that is currently going to waste. Right now there are too many retail security cameras for humans to monitor constantly, and too many shoppers to tag and track even if the data could be retained and processed. But both of these problems are well on their way to being solved.
    - 6gvONxR4sf7o 5y ago
      I certainly didn't mean to imply that they aren't doing it. But I also don't like it, which was my intended statement. Especially so if they're sharing data about me specifically outside of their store, or if they're using it to charge me special prices.
habeebtc 5y ago
Indeed. These will be just an evolution of the previous glasses cameras which have been around for ages. Higher quality, and now with data collection. All I really want is a nice HUD which pairs with my phone via bluetooth to show content, and a low-effort way of navigating. No camera needed.
de_keyboard 5y ago
The companies pushing them want to normalize having our every moment captured, logged and analyzed - on their platform.
DenverCode 5y ago
I would hate sitting across someone with them.
helen___keller 5y ago
> Something like a HUD would be great but people don't want cameras pointing at them all the time. I really wanted this maybe 5-10 years ago, but personally I've reached a point in my life where I feel "less is more" regarding tech. Enough things want to send me notifications that I know it would be as worthless as my email feed, or my phone notifications feed, or my facebook feed, or any of the other feeds out there that have become sources of noise.
- nine_k 5y ago
  Notifications are not the important case for the HUD. Other things are. Maps which track your location and show you the way overlaid on the streets and roads you see. Books and manuals which you don't need to hold in your hands. Video instructions that track your hands and correct their position. Finding stuff in a warehouse or in your closet by pointing at it right in your FOV. Heart rate monitor, etc right before your eyes when you are performing your hardest and can't lift your smartwatch to your eyes. Many good uses with broad markets. Sadly, it's technically too difficult, so it's too expensive for non-professional use.
  - srg0 5y ago
    I'll try to argue that most of these don't benefit much from a wearable HUD. Maps and navigation seem to be good enough when they are handheld or mounted on a vehicle. When you are on foot you're moving slowly so no need to have it always visible. Yes, there's a special case of you're on foot and carrying two heavy bags in both hands, in an unfamiliar place outdoors, and cannot stop, and do not speak local language. Voice navigation should still suffice. Video instructions. Some of them have to be seen in advance to be able to plan your actions and logistics (e.g. cooking). Some of them teach skills which should be watched multiple times and/or tried multiple times to achieve mastery (e.g. sports and dancing techniques). What kind of instructional video benefits from being seen while doing, in real time? Even origami howtos are usually back and forth, until you _understand_ what you're doing. Not holding books in your hands. I admit I wanted it on several occasions. My concern is usability. Is it easy to read four hours from a semitransparent surface, is it easy to focus on HUD projections continuously. Finding stuff in the closet. This is so sci-fi. We'll see level 5 autonomous driving first. Heart rate (blood sugar, any other vital) monitor. Basically, it's a solved problem and a feature available commercially. You don't need to see heart rate continuously to be warned about an anomaly. Sound alarm works just as well if not better.
throwaway2016a 5y ago
With Google Glass the HUD was not as useful as it seemed it would be. I think smart watches are a much better idea. More pixels and nothing on your face all day. Though, with that said, some people I know tried it on and the HUD was easier to use. A lot depended, I think, on the shape of your face. The way my nose and eye sockets and ears are I had to look up with my eyes at an uncomfortable angle to see the full HUD. Maybe they fixed it since V1.
- warning26 5y ago
  The biggest problem with Google Glass's HUD, IMO, was the lack of true augmented reality features like object tracking and recognition. Without that, it really ended up just being a tiny smartwatch screen that is in the corner of your vision instead of on your wrist.
- jackson1442 5y ago
  I think if it's "actual" glasses, unlike the Google Glass, an HUD could be incredibly useful since you have the entire vision field to play with. Bonus points for that since many people wear normal glasses anyways (me included).
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
snuser 5y ago
I've seen it a many times it's dumb stuff they have the money and talent to waste and a fear of being left behind. the leaders of these companies are also fairly uncreative leading them to blindly follow the current meme of "the future" which ironically leads to them faltering anyway
luckylion 5y ago
Have you seen the average teenage girl lately? They point cameras at themselves and others all the time, this would free their hands. I don't know whether it will be a success, but I don't think the crowd that doesn't want a camera pointed at them is a majority. For the record, I don't want a camera pointed at me.
- wheelinsupial 5y ago
  Is this a generational thing? I've started using Instagram lately and I just can't understand how people who are doctors, lawyers, or dentists are posting content providing professional advice or tips and tricks one day and the next day it's videos of them doing yoga in thongs to sell underwear. There is the odd account where developers are posting similar content. Even elementary school teachers are twerking in videos in their classroom for likes. If the upcoming generation of developers and tech professionals no longer believe in a separation of personal and professional boundaries, will we see a complete elimination of boundaries and privacy? Is the end goal to have the ability to directly tap into what others are seeing on demand in their most intimate interactions. Something similar to the TV adaption of Brave New World? (I haven't read the book, so I don't know if this is true to the original.) As far as I know, Facebook photos and accounts are private, or that's what it appears people tend to send the accounts to, but Instagram is all about leaving an account open, so they can get influencer collaboration bucks.
  - nly 5y ago
    Several of my team at work are connected to our manager on Facebook, let alone LinkedIn. I'm definitely not comfortable with it.
    - disgruntledphd2 5y ago
      This is probably only OK if you work at Facebook. Otherwise it's pretty weird (unless you were friends with them before the gig, presumably).
- wtetzner 5y ago
silisili 5y ago
Yup. I don't get the argument 'well every store already records you.' Well, that's different, I'm in their store. If I let people into my home, or go to the urinal, I have an expectation of privacy unless the guy next to me is pointing his phone down or camera down awkwardly. With glasses, I don't know who is recording what or when. This isn't a 'i dont want people to watch me pee' argument, that was just an example. I don't want to be recorded when I have an expectation of privacy - full stop.
IshKebab 5y ago
Because people love taking photos, and this is pretty much the only kind of smart glasses that are technically possible at the moment. Yes I have used Glass. They sucked.
humblepie 5y ago
They want young people walking around as face recognnition agents (eventually). Roaming as swarms that gather and submit data to the mothership.
- t-writescode 5y ago
  They probably don’t want that. They just don’t think it will happen.
rudasn 5y ago
I can think of many professionals who would likely pay good money to have smart glasses. - Mechanics who can see under the car and identify components and potential issues with those components. - Logistics handlers who can look at a package and know where it goes next, or people who scan QR and barcode codes all day - Construction workers who can measure distances, see wind speed, temperature, etc In other words, there is good use for this tech while avoiding all together any privacy concerns, as you are looking and analysing objects, not people.
- asdff 5y ago
  In practice can this tech even do that? according the article this is just a 5mp camera on a set of frames meant for taking pictures and stories. To do some of the stuff you mentioned (like measuring distance) you'd need lidar, since construction workers currently are starting to use lidar and this is the new standard. What something like the iphone can do today in terms of measuring is not that accurate in my experience, certainly no good for commercial construction where lasers have been a thing for decades. Smart helmet seems like a better bet since you can shove a ton of sensors in there and have the lidar spinning on top of your head.
  - ghego1 5y ago
    Agreed, IMO the most likely market is vloggers
- sojournerc 5y ago
  If my mechanic doesn't know the components of my car, they aren't a very good mechanic, and certainly human sight and tactile access are better than some augmented reality. How would these "see" wind speed? I just don't get how it's needed to have this in front of your eyes at all times...
  - disgruntledphd2 5y ago
    I talked to an acquaintance a few years back, he was working for an AR company that was using Google Glasses in manufacturing plants. It makes it much, much more efficient to ensure that people don't make mistakes. There's definitely a bunch of commercial use-cases. Personally, all I want is for these glasses to tell me the names of people who are my Facebook friends. Given the privacy concerns though, this is very unlikely to happen.
jrussino 5y ago
I have young children and my wife frequently has her phone out to take photos & videos of them - trips to the zoo, ballet practice, "oh do that cute thing you just did again". What I'd really want is to go back to a world where we just don't have the opportunity and expectation to record so much. But that's not going to happen. And a lot of it really does have immense value for us. Our parents live on the other side of the country and this (plus FaceTime) is the main way they get to see their grandchildren grow up. With that in mind, I would love a set of glasses that record what we're seeing on a short buffer and let us tap to save whenever something interesting/significant happens. No more phone out worried that we'll miss a big moment. I'd really prefer to see someone with some ethical sense try to tackle this in a way that doesn't send us directly into this world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entire_History_of_You https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entire_History_of_You I don't know who that would be, but it's certainly not Facebook.
- pbhjpbhj 5y ago
  Tap to save ... surely it monitors your heart and blink rates and takes photos video at 'important' moments. Filtered and edited by an AI when it's uploaded then a day review is presented to you and emotion-sampling again highlights the best images to keep in the monthly pick-reel. We probably overwrite a lot of great memories with the slightly shittier version of what actually happened marred by the distraction of 'I must record this'. Memories aren't what they used to be.
- Zhenya 5y ago
  I think Google Clips was sort of like that: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2018/2/27/17055618/google-clips-smart-camera-review https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2...
crazygringo 5y ago
> but people don't want cameras pointing at them all the time That ship has sailed. People have their phones out all the time, often held at a 45° angle, but frequently vertical as well. Taking photos surreptitiously is already ridiculously easy and nearly anyone around you could do it all the time. I'm not condoning it, just saying that building it into glasses isn't changing anything. We already live in a world where people might be recording you at any time. We have been for years.
- HWR_14 5y ago
  I don't think everyone has their phone out all the time. I feel like I can usually tell if someone has a phone in a position where they can record me. Usually they are tucked in a purse/pocket.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

sneak 5y ago

People in public spaces in the USA have cameras pointed at them all the time and they don't seem to care. Even local bars and restaurants that don't even handle that much cash have tons of surveillance cameras up everywhere.

yur3i__ 5y ago
Surveillance cameras are entirely different, in the same way as people don't care about giving their data to a company but do care about giving someone else their phone, a persons camera pointing at them is much different to a surveillance camera.
- ryandrake 5y ago
  Reminds me of "Surveillance Camera Man" [1] from several years ago. His YouTube channel seems to have been scrubbed of videos, but basically the guy just stood out in public recording people, just like thousands of surveillance cameras currently do, with lots of subjects objecting, berating him, becoming scared, upset, even violent. Point being, it's no different than all the surveillance that is already done, except people freak out when there's an actual human visibly holding the camera. 1: https://blogs.harvard.edu/internetmonitor/2013/07/10/surveillance-camera-man-draws-ire-provokes-questions-about-recording-in-public/ https://blogs.harvard.edu/internetmonitor/2013/07/10/surveil...
  - micromacrofoot 5y ago
    No. I see this guy mentioned all the time and he wasn't simply standing there. He was invading people's personal space, responding to them in antisocial ways, lightly following them, and in some cases trespassing. He's a total creep, triggering people's fear response, and people would likely react in a similar way if he didn't have a camera. Much of the time he was absolutely not simply standing in a corner stationary, which is what security cameras do.
  - strogonoff 5y ago
    “Surveillance Camera Man” should continue to exist and raise awareness. It’s much, much worse when a camera is not held by a human and is instead fixed in a known location, plugged into mains and is constantly feeding footage into a large network of face/stride recognition software; yet most people are entirely oblivious to the latter happening all around them.
6gvONxR4sf7o 5y ago
If I'm in a store and the store has a camera that I know will probably never be looked at, it's different from me being in a store with a camera that will be fed into some facial recognition system sold to advertisers that decides to charge me more for airline tickets a year later, which is also different from sitting across the bar from twenty people with cameraphones pointed at me. It's not a binary 'cares about cameras or doesn't.'
- taylorfinley 5y ago
  You don't think all the cameras in big box stores are networked and monitored by AI? I would be shocked if they're not doing customer tracking. Notice the number of face-level cameras popping up in Wal-Mart, they even have them built in to the front doors at chest height so they can scan every face and then track what you're looking at as you peruse the shelves.
  - CamperBob2 5y ago
    An underrated point. All those security cameras represent an inexhaustible source of monetizable data that is currently going to waste. Right now there are too many retail security cameras for humans to monitor constantly, and too many shoppers to tag and track even if the data could be retained and processed. But both of these problems are well on their way to being solved.
  - 6gvONxR4sf7o 5y ago
    I certainly didn't mean to imply that they aren't doing it. But I also don't like it, which was my intended statement. Especially so if they're sharing data about me specifically outside of their store, or if they're using it to charge me special prices.

habeebtc 5y ago

Indeed. These will be just an evolution of the previous glasses cameras which have been around for ages. Higher quality, and now with data collection. All I really want is a nice HUD which pairs with my phone via bluetooth to show content, and a low-effort way of navigating. No camera needed.

de_keyboard 5y ago

The companies pushing them want to normalize having our every moment captured, logged and analyzed - on their platform.

DenverCode 5y ago

I would hate sitting across someone with them.

helen___keller 5y ago

> Something like a HUD would be great but people don't want cameras pointing at them all the time. I really wanted this maybe 5-10 years ago, but personally I've reached a point in my life where I feel "less is more" regarding tech. Enough things want to send me notifications that I know it would be as worthless as my email feed, or my phone notifications feed, or my facebook feed, or any of the other feeds out there that have become sources of noise.

nine_k 5y ago
Notifications are not the important case for the HUD. Other things are. Maps which track your location and show you the way overlaid on the streets and roads you see. Books and manuals which you don't need to hold in your hands. Video instructions that track your hands and correct their position. Finding stuff in a warehouse or in your closet by pointing at it right in your FOV. Heart rate monitor, etc right before your eyes when you are performing your hardest and can't lift your smartwatch to your eyes. Many good uses with broad markets. Sadly, it's technically too difficult, so it's too expensive for non-professional use.
- srg0 5y ago
  I'll try to argue that most of these don't benefit much from a wearable HUD. Maps and navigation seem to be good enough when they are handheld or mounted on a vehicle. When you are on foot you're moving slowly so no need to have it always visible. Yes, there's a special case of you're on foot and carrying two heavy bags in both hands, in an unfamiliar place outdoors, and cannot stop, and do not speak local language. Voice navigation should still suffice. Video instructions. Some of them have to be seen in advance to be able to plan your actions and logistics (e.g. cooking). Some of them teach skills which should be watched multiple times and/or tried multiple times to achieve mastery (e.g. sports and dancing techniques). What kind of instructional video benefits from being seen while doing, in real time? Even origami howtos are usually back and forth, until you _understand_ what you're doing. Not holding books in your hands. I admit I wanted it on several occasions. My concern is usability. Is it easy to read four hours from a semitransparent surface, is it easy to focus on HUD projections continuously. Finding stuff in the closet. This is so sci-fi. We'll see level 5 autonomous driving first. Heart rate (blood sugar, any other vital) monitor. Basically, it's a solved problem and a feature available commercially. You don't need to see heart rate continuously to be warned about an anomaly. Sound alarm works just as well if not better.

throwaway2016a 5y ago

With Google Glass the HUD was not as useful as it seemed it would be. I think smart watches are a much better idea. More pixels and nothing on your face all day. Though, with that said, some people I know tried it on and the HUD was easier to use. A lot depended, I think, on the shape of your face. The way my nose and eye sockets and ears are I had to look up with my eyes at an uncomfortable angle to see the full HUD. Maybe they fixed it since V1.

warning26 5y ago
The biggest problem with Google Glass's HUD, IMO, was the lack of true augmented reality features like object tracking and recognition. Without that, it really ended up just being a tiny smartwatch screen that is in the corner of your vision instead of on your wrist.
jackson1442 5y ago
I think if it's "actual" glasses, unlike the Google Glass, an HUD could be incredibly useful since you have the entire vision field to play with. Bonus points for that since many people wear normal glasses anyways (me included).

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

snuser 5y ago

I've seen it a many times it's dumb stuff they have the money and talent to waste and a fear of being left behind. the leaders of these companies are also fairly uncreative leading them to blindly follow the current meme of "the future" which ironically leads to them faltering anyway

luckylion 5y ago

Have you seen the average teenage girl lately? They point cameras at themselves and others all the time, this would free their hands. I don't know whether it will be a success, but I don't think the crowd that doesn't want a camera pointed at them is a majority. For the record, I don't want a camera pointed at me.

wheelinsupial 5y ago
Is this a generational thing? I've started using Instagram lately and I just can't understand how people who are doctors, lawyers, or dentists are posting content providing professional advice or tips and tricks one day and the next day it's videos of them doing yoga in thongs to sell underwear. There is the odd account where developers are posting similar content. Even elementary school teachers are twerking in videos in their classroom for likes. If the upcoming generation of developers and tech professionals no longer believe in a separation of personal and professional boundaries, will we see a complete elimination of boundaries and privacy? Is the end goal to have the ability to directly tap into what others are seeing on demand in their most intimate interactions. Something similar to the TV adaption of Brave New World? (I haven't read the book, so I don't know if this is true to the original.) As far as I know, Facebook photos and accounts are private, or that's what it appears people tend to send the accounts to, but Instagram is all about leaving an account open, so they can get influencer collaboration bucks.
- nly 5y ago
  Several of my team at work are connected to our manager on Facebook, let alone LinkedIn. I'm definitely not comfortable with it.
  - disgruntledphd2 5y ago
    This is probably only OK if you work at Facebook. Otherwise it's pretty weird (unless you were friends with them before the gig, presumably).
wtetzner 5y ago

silisili 5y ago

Yup. I don't get the argument 'well every store already records you.' Well, that's different, I'm in their store. If I let people into my home, or go to the urinal, I have an expectation of privacy unless the guy next to me is pointing his phone down or camera down awkwardly. With glasses, I don't know who is recording what or when. This isn't a 'i dont want people to watch me pee' argument, that was just an example. I don't want to be recorded when I have an expectation of privacy - full stop.

IshKebab 5y ago

Because people love taking photos, and this is pretty much the only kind of smart glasses that are technically possible at the moment. Yes I have used Glass. They sucked.

humblepie 5y ago

They want young people walking around as face recognnition agents (eventually). Roaming as swarms that gather and submit data to the mothership.

t-writescode 5y ago
They probably don’t want that. They just don’t think it will happen.

rudasn 5y ago

I can think of many professionals who would likely pay good money to have smart glasses. - Mechanics who can see under the car and identify components and potential issues with those components. - Logistics handlers who can look at a package and know where it goes next, or people who scan QR and barcode codes all day - Construction workers who can measure distances, see wind speed, temperature, etc In other words, there is good use for this tech while avoiding all together any privacy concerns, as you are looking and analysing objects, not people.

asdff 5y ago
In practice can this tech even do that? according the article this is just a 5mp camera on a set of frames meant for taking pictures and stories. To do some of the stuff you mentioned (like measuring distance) you'd need lidar, since construction workers currently are starting to use lidar and this is the new standard. What something like the iphone can do today in terms of measuring is not that accurate in my experience, certainly no good for commercial construction where lasers have been a thing for decades. Smart helmet seems like a better bet since you can shove a ton of sensors in there and have the lidar spinning on top of your head.
- ghego1 5y ago
  Agreed, IMO the most likely market is vloggers
sojournerc 5y ago
If my mechanic doesn't know the components of my car, they aren't a very good mechanic, and certainly human sight and tactile access are better than some augmented reality. How would these "see" wind speed? I just don't get how it's needed to have this in front of your eyes at all times...
- disgruntledphd2 5y ago
  I talked to an acquaintance a few years back, he was working for an AR company that was using Google Glasses in manufacturing plants. It makes it much, much more efficient to ensure that people don't make mistakes. There's definitely a bunch of commercial use-cases. Personally, all I want is for these glasses to tell me the names of people who are my Facebook friends. Given the privacy concerns though, this is very unlikely to happen.

jrussino 5y ago

I have young children and my wife frequently has her phone out to take photos & videos of them - trips to the zoo, ballet practice, "oh do that cute thing you just did again". What I'd really want is to go back to a world where we just don't have the opportunity and expectation to record so much. But that's not going to happen. And a lot of it really does have immense value for us. Our parents live on the other side of the country and this (plus FaceTime) is the main way they get to see their grandchildren grow up. With that in mind, I would love a set of glasses that record what we're seeing on a short buffer and let us tap to save whenever something interesting/significant happens. No more phone out worried that we'll miss a big moment. I'd really prefer to see someone with some ethical sense try to tackle this in a way that doesn't send us directly into this world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entire_History_of_You https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entire_History_of_You I don't know who that would be, but it's certainly not Facebook.

pbhjpbhj 5y ago
Tap to save ... surely it monitors your heart and blink rates and takes photos video at 'important' moments. Filtered and edited by an AI when it's uploaded then a day review is presented to you and emotion-sampling again highlights the best images to keep in the monthly pick-reel. We probably overwrite a lot of great memories with the slightly shittier version of what actually happened marred by the distraction of 'I must record this'. Memories aren't what they used to be.
Zhenya 5y ago
I think Google Clips was sort of like that: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2018/2/27/17055618/google-clips-smart-camera-review https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2...

crazygringo 5y ago

> but people don't want cameras pointing at them all the time That ship has sailed. People have their phones out all the time, often held at a 45° angle, but frequently vertical as well. Taking photos surreptitiously is already ridiculously easy and nearly anyone around you could do it all the time. I'm not condoning it, just saying that building it into glasses isn't changing anything. We already live in a world where people might be recording you at any time. We have been for years.

HWR_14 5y ago
I don't think everyone has their phone out all the time. I feel like I can usually tell if someone has a phone in a position where they can record me. Usually they are tucked in a purse/pocket.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]