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Google co-founder Sergey Brin spotted wearing Project Glass prototype IRL
- experiment0 15y agoThis is exciting. It shows how different Google is to Microsoft and other companies that produce these "future product" videos. Google appears to have made real world progress, rather than just a great marketing video. I can't wait to find out what functionality these early prototypes have!
- rbarooah 15y agoHead mounted displays have been available for years. The fact that Sergey Brin is able to test a prototype demonstrates nothing. Admittedly, if they do have the hardware nailed, then these would be cool.
- experiment0 15y agoIn the photo, the design of the glasses looks like the prototype images that were shown when the glasses were announced. But head mounted displays made by Google haven't been available for years. This is coming from the company who are massively pioneering self driving cars. Those were around before google became involved but since then Google has arguably made much more progress than anyone else (At least to the extent where there cars are most tested and have garnered the most publicity).
- rbarooah 15y ago"But head mounted displays made by Google haven't been available for years." Sure, but this makes your point into a circular argument. In your first comment you indicate that the fact that these glasses have been spotted shows that Google is able to make progress. Now you're saying that the reason that progress has probably been made on the glasses is because they're made by Google. I do agree with you that they are probably pouring a lot more resources into this than others have. I just don't think that sighting of the glasses in public indicate anything about what progress they've made.
- ArekDymalski 15y agoThe real symptom of progress in this area is here http://www.psfk.com/2012/04/movie-projection-glasses.html http://www.psfk.com/2012/04/movie-projection-glasses.html This market is about to bloom I guess.
- Aethaeryn 15y ago> Head mounted displays have been available for years. Yes, similar hardware already exists. What about the software and services? Google has an OS, voice recognition, navigation, etc., already coded. Most importantly, it has the brand recognition so it can seriously attempt to make this technology mainstream. Look at all the media coverage it's already gotten. Of course, we have no clue if they've managed to mess up or not because we haven't really seen anything yet, but Google really looks like they have a chance at this. Imagine if these became popular and there was an app store!
- rbarooah 15y agoThat OS they have 'already coded', is hardly designed for this kind of device. But yes, I'll agree they have done a lot of work on key facilities that would be needed for this. Media coverage doesn't mean anything. Look at the media coverage Google Wave got. As for an App store, yes - they might follow the Android model and make these things somewhat open. Equally likely is that they might make them as open as Google+ or Siri - which is very much what the videos seemed to be illustrating.
- Aethaeryn 15y ago> Media coverage doesn't mean anything. Look at the media coverage Google Wave got. I still think media coverage counts for something here. Without media attention, most people might not hear about this device. Of course, if the product sucks, then simply knowing it exists won't save it. It's easy to get something noticed if it is from Google, but that's not going to guarantee quality. > As for an App store, yes - they might follow the Android model and make these things somewhat open I hope that they do keep it open. The really interesting apps for this type of device are probably going to be third party apps. A closed ecosystem is one of the biggest mistakes that Google could do on the software side. There are all sorts of niche or unexpected things you could do with this hardware if it was popular, given the right apps.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- theon144 15y agoHey, don't bad-mouth Microsoft out of all giant tech companies. Have you seen what Microsoft Research has been putting out? (Not to mention they finally brought 3D scanning/mo-cap into the consumer price range)
- fatjokes 15y agonot really. i know they publish a lot of good papers though. the only exception is kinect. that was a game-changer.
- laconian 15y agoMSR developed the idea further, but Kinect originally came from an acquisition.
- drucken 15y agoThis is probably the general public's idea of Microsoft's version of augmented glasses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwModZmOzDs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwModZmOzDs
- po 15y agoHe wore this at a "Dining in the Dark charity event for the Foundation Fighting Blindness" event? Does anyone think that seems a bit… insensitive? I mean I guess they have audio as well but is version 1.0 going to be blind-accessible?
- Tyrannosaurs 15y agoDo you stop using your eyes around blind people just to avoid being insensitive?
- mcrider 15y agoYes, if its a charity event for blind people and the most media attention this event gets is for a product that is possibly the coolest thing to ever happen to your eyeballs.
- melling 15y agoI find your lack of imagination disturbing. I guess it's kind of vogue to be a politically correct whiner these days. Plus, it has been quite a few years since Star Trek Next Gen has been on so let me help you here. Let's say we are both blind and we have a pair of glasses like these with a camera, a computer, some image recognition, perhaps even the ability to read. Now, we're blind so none of this technology is useful to us right? Siri, please help this HN reader.
- melling 15y agoUgh, I got downvoted for my sarcasm. It also seems like the original message to which I replied was changed so I guess my message was received, but my reply does seem out of place. Anyway, if you're bind, your lenses will be opaque and you'll be using audio, and maybe ... just Google Jordy on Star. This type of device will change your life if you're blind. You could "read" HN, for example.
- Tyrannosaurs 15y agoYou think if he'd gone to the charity before and said "hey, I'm going to be wearing a prototype pair of glasses to this thing, it's likely to get you a whole bunch of publicity, would you rather I took them off?", they'd have said anything other than "Hell no, keep them on"? Everyone I've ever met who works for a charity is massively pragmatic about these things. They would understand that he's not doing it to mock the blind and accepting that would very quickly move on to the potential good for the charity.
- bestes 15y agoThese Google links have become worse than Flash for me. I would really rather just read the article and look at the pics and not have to "sign in" and everything that entails.
- zrgiu_ 15y agoHow do these work ? Do they project on the lens, or on your retina ? Is there any possibility these might be good for people who already wear glasses?
- jordhy 15y agoThey project on the lens, on a peripheral area that doesn't obstruct vision. I guess you can wear contact lenses behind them.
- replax 15y agoAlso, it would probably be possible to use lenses in the glasses with a certain dioptre strength applied, so that people could use those instead of their regular glasses.
- jahewson 15y agoBut there are no lenses in these "glasses"...
- teraflop 15y agoI'm not sure now where I read it, but I've seen speculation that the glasses contain a flat holographic optical element which takes the place of a lens. There seem to be existing products that use this approach: http://www.konicaminolta.com/about/research/core_technology/optical/mgt_001.html http://www.konicaminolta.com/about/research/core_technology/... http://www.digilens.com/Head_Mounted_Display.html http://www.digilens.com/Head_Mounted_Display.html
- tommi 15y agoFor all we know those might've been regular glasses without any functionality.
- tspiteri 15y agoThere was a blueish light flashing on Brin's eyes.
- wickedchicken 15y agoMaybe he had a little too much spice that night?
- forgotusername 15y agoYou'd have thought the company would be capable of subtler PR than pimping an AR headset at a blindness awareness event.
- nextparadigms 15y agoI think that's exactly why he used it there. This device could be amazing for blind people if it has accessibility features built-in (like the voice controlling part).
- abbasmehdi 15y agoAn ear piece would suffice for the blind, unless they need to use the nose bridge as a stand.
- option_greek 15y agoThat's true but the advantage with a generic device is that, same applications can be used by both normal and blind people with a (hope fully) little tweaking on the app's part. For example, if it is a route finding app, a tweak to provide more frequent and detailed audio when set in disabled/blind mode will make it compatible for a larger user base. If they release some device only for the blind , then you will have to find developers who are willing to develop to a niche market.
- masterponomo 15y agoYou mean like the Opti Grab? We learned a lot about blindness from having guardianship of our blind teenage nephew for a year. True, the ear piece would be the big benefit for him (though one eye was very slightly sensitive to light). Others at his school had varying degrees of low vision and might at least benefit from bright flashes of light. But the big gain would be something that describes his environment out loud. Blind people do still aim their faces toward things. And it's much better than a similar capability in a handheld device such as the iPhone or iPod Touch, because for the blind, orienting a handheld device correctly can be a major problem. We turned on the accessibility features for our nephew's iPod, but the thing would switch from landscape to portrait as he turned his hand slightly. Head-mounted is the way to go. And for the sighted, it will be great for games, as I found out from the prototype glasses I got: http://youtu.be/lQGpOibUsyo http://youtu.be/lQGpOibUsyo
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- vladekm 15y agoYes. Share your location, check in, record everything. Enjoy your yoke. Big brother is watching, idiots.
- nightpool 15y agoSo? Even if you don't trust the software, the hardware is still extremly interesting. I would love to get my hands on these, if only to start coding drivers and interface. One thing I can becoming big with AR is gloves that let the glasses use your finger taps and pinches as user interface. That's something I see lacking from google's implementation, which seems mostly voice based. Great for finding a moive, but I'd doubt you'd be able to get any real work done
- VikingCoder 15y agoYou use the internet? You use a credit card? You pay taxes? You have a driver's license or state ID? You have a social security number? You have a mortgage, or pay rent? Your birth was recorded with a birth certificate? You went to a public school? You have a credit rating? You use a bank? You use customer loyalty cards from vendors? You use email? You walk on streets with security cameras on them? You have an employer? You have a CELL PHONE?!?! GET OFF THE GRID, MAN! You don't need to share your location, you don't need to check in, you don't need to record everything - your location is already known, and everything is already recorded. Unless you've already rejected all of the technologies I've listed above, objecting to this new one is pretty absurd.
- fl3tch 15y agoTo be fair, that data is distributed across many entities. What people worry about is any single company aggregating too much data. Google can get all your searches, email, some purchases (through Wallet), social connections and interests, phone calls, voice mails and location data. Now they could literally record everything you see. I think that's why some people might be reticent about using this.
- jrockway 15y ago
- nightpool 15y agoAm I the only one who wants these only to write new software for them? Voice-controlled is nice and flashy, but I doubt would suffice for any "real" work. I, personally, like the idea of gloves and a windowed interface on HUDs, the kind of gloves that let you tap your fingers to do certain actions, along with some identifier for tracking so you could "click" on the screen. I was also thinking about looking into a 3d windowed interface, relative to your glasses, but detachable into the enviroment so you could put you virtual keyboard on your desk and go get coffee; when you came back, it'd still be there.
- theon144 15y agoAbsolutely. The concept video they released did nothing for me, but I'd absolutely love to tinker with them. Let's hope they aren't going to be too expensive, and that they will be open to modifications (though knowing that this is Google, I'm not too worried about it).
- DasIch 15y agoI really hope we can remove the gloves and use image recognition instead.
- nightpool 15y agoThe reason I like the gloves is it provides you with the 8 click-like functions, more if you use more then two fingers, and you don't even have to have it in the field of vision of the camera to use it, letting you keep your hands by your sides and maybe use eye-tracking for "mousing"
- zephjc 15y agoGloves would be a '90s throw-back solution when the Google Glass device should be using the camera to detect your finger/hand positions.
- DanBC 15y agoData-input gloves honestly sound like an awful idea. At least when typing you have something to rest your arms on. Just waving them in the air for however long sounds like hard work. But your general point is something I strongly agree with. I can't wait for better man machine interfaces and a better metaphor than "the desktop" or whatever is being used for mobile nowadays.
- benologist 15y agoSummary spam. https://plus.google.com/u/0/111091089527727420853/posts/EuMZWxrWtQa https://plus.google.com/u/0/111091089527727420853/posts/EuMZ...
- swalsh 15y agoI'm pretty excited for these glasses, but I'm curious. Is there any speculation on the potential damage this could do to an individuals vision?
- WiseWeasel 15y agoI can only speculate on the damage to your social life.
- swalsh 15y agoI got out of the office at 11pm last night, and I moved to the other side of the charles river.... so, not much to damage :D
- villagefool 15y agoIn the image he looks like a borg.
- lessallan 15y agoAnyone seen the spoof? http://youtu.be/5vrxfiXU5lo http://youtu.be/5vrxfiXU5lo
- ericdarnell 15y agoYeah, it's quite violent. But I loved it.
- nirvana 15y agoThis was a big thing in the 1990s. A lot of people walked around with heads up displays attached to their glasses. I'm sure technology has gotten smaller, but I've not seen anything indicating that google has made a break thru. The google promo video is very much like the kinds of promo videos people made in the 1990s. Here's a picture of what they looked like back then: http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/349371/enlarge http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/349371/enlarge
- dpark 15y ago> A lot of people walked around with heads up displays attached to their glasses. No they did not. You make it sound like this was a popular trend. Wearing an awkward head-mounted display connected to a crappy laptop was something only a few super-geeks with disposable money did.