
Google Announces Project Glass - indiefan
https://plus.google.com/111626127367496192147/posts
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mdwrigh2
Previous discussion: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3798171>

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drostie
How do you solve the most obvious problems of focus? Is there a really strong
lens on the front of this thing?

I keep thinking of this problem when I hear about things like heads-up contact
lenses and so on. It is a tremendous eyestrain for me to focus on anything
within a meter, and so I'm often relaxing my eyes by looking away from my
laptop at distant things. Within 10-20 cm or so it is extremely difficult to
focus on anything; within 10cm it is actively impossible.

So are they really using a lens that can make a 1cm-away display look like
it's 100cm away?

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zalew
_"one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the
moment."_

uhmm, am I not in the moment when I walk the streets without popup
notifications on my eyes?

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zinssmeister
the video makes this technology look awesome. But I am still skeptical to how
well it will actually work.

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pslam
"Not in-game footage".

Just like the Google tablet mock-up video vs reality. Anyone can craft a mock-
up video. Not everyone can execute on it, and in recent years Google isn't
doing well on that score.

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johnpolacek
If you're into this stuff, check out Steve Mann, who's been doing wearable
tech since the 80's: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiFtmrpuwNY>

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wazoox
Don't forget Ted Nelson's Juggernaut :) (first wearable computer, around
1974).

PS: For some reason there's very little information about this one on the
internet, I probably should check Xanadu instead.

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qxcv
The entire photo-taking thing is a bit funny - with the price of storage the
way it is, there probably isn't much harm in leaving the camera recording by
default and have the user turn it off temporarily if they wish. There's no
telling how many amazing photos you could take in a single day with technology
like that.

I guess the flip side of that coin is the massive surveillance potential if
these glasses are controlled by a third party like mobile phones are; they're
even worse than mobile phones because they spend most of the day on your head
rather than in your pocket.

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forgotusername
Guessing this may be the first technology I'll make fun of my kids for using.
The mock-up looks pretty cool is any case.

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option_greek
I hope they will do something about people who already wear glasses for
various reasons. May be project images on to existing glasses ?

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nkassis
This reminds me of "Use the force Luke". I hope people don't start walking
around with things like this all the time. I feel like in a 10 years people
will walk around talking to themselves all the time and acting quite odd for
today's standards ;p (I still find the people talking on handsfree cells
phones weird at times.)

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dasmoth
Oh, I'm pretty sure they will, and probably rather less than 10 years. The
interesting part will be how well the overlays can be meshed in with the
"real" world.

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sown
We're living in the future now.

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itsmin
please say I'm not the only person who thought of the "eyePhone" from
Futurama.

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dasmoth
Videos are fun and all, but I want an SDK!

(Seriously, even if it's still pretty crude...)

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sreyaNotfilc
Why didn't the guy just use his glasses to purchase the ukulele book from an
online source? Say, Google Play?

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rbanffy
He's not shown paying for it. He could have scanned the ISBN and purchased it
automatically (or put it in his wishlist for purchase later)

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dhughes
99% of the technology is having a really good connection either wifi or your
phone company's wireless data.

I remember when I got a Nexus One and tried showing off the Google Translate
app to co-workers; one Japanese, one Portuguese, one Bosnian but it took so
long to connect it was embarrassing. I managed to get some Japanese translated
after about 10 minutes.

Now I have a Samsung Galaxy S 2 (translate still sucks) through my phone
company it has HSPA+ (21Mbps) but I have yet to consistently get anything
above 3Mbps, I tend to get 1Mbps.

Also imagine this in a movie theatre or some place where they claim everything
is copyrighted place or even walking towards police in a country where taking
video of police could get you arrested.

It seems simple enough but holy can of worms Batman!

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ttt_
Not to mention that Google would be empowered to a live/recorded stream of
video of every user.

That's a whole other can of worms for ya.

Coming up, put a Google chip on your brain and think like Google.

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dhughes

      A few years ago Google wanted to record a few seconds of sound from the homes of people using the microphones/speakers on their computers. 
    
      I'm quite sure it was the computer speaker since not every computer has a microphone but most if not all have speakers and a speaker is really a just a reverse microphone.
    
     People freaked out over that so I'd say recording live streams of video would be worse especially considering some things people may be looking at each day would be very private.

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JohnFritzen
Ed Grimley endorses this technology.

[https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A6pD_FWmYxg/T3xUSvVz8LI/A...](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A6pD_FWmYxg/T3xUSvVz8LI/AAAAAAAAABk/qdfLOQRlrXE/s150-c/photo.jpg)

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metatronscube
This is great an everything, but I think Google really needs to concentrate on
many of their half baked solutions they currently have. I am a huge fan of
Google, but with their whole social drive recently and this (their take on
augmented reality which to be honest just looks like another was of wrapping
you into their facebook clone rather than providing any real context aware
information) I'm beginning to feel they are really loosing it. I just bought a
chromebook (as a lightweight browsing machine) and im massively disappointed
because its just such a terribly laggy, glitchy and frustrating experience.
Its very quickly becoming a 300 quid paper weight.

Google have many brilliant sounding pie in the sky ideas, but when it comes
down to it they have to really ask themselves, will people actually be able to
use this? Is it really worth chasing after this or will they concentrate their
efforts and resources on other more achievable things.

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eli_gottlieb
This looks ridiculous.

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warmfuzzykitten
In fact, it does not. That's perhaps the best thing about the designs
currently shown - they look like something a normal, even attractive human
being might wear in public. For the first time, I'm starting to take this
project seriously. The key, of course, will be the integration with the
environment and the internet. But if the project dies, it will leave a good-
looking corpse!

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watty
For me the key is making them inconspicuous, or at least look like normal
glasses. I can't imagine adoption if they're bulky or have logos on them.

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pragmatic
Unless the logos are from Armani etc. Glasses already have logos on them.

Just got a new pair of glasses. Currently there are Nike, Adidas, Harley
Davidson and Armani (among many others). But the multi color Google logo...not
so much.

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jasonlotito
What this will provide for disabled and autistic people is amazing. It's too
easy to get caught up in the "social sharing" part of this and forget that
something like this can really help change people's lives.

Edit: To expand a bit, take an autistic adult that wants to do something, like
go to the movies. It's simple for us, we wash up, get dressed, go outside, go
down the straight, hope on the 132 Bus for 3 stops, get off, walk 2 blocks,
pay for tickets, and go into theater number 5. For someone with autism, they
can struggle with things like this. These glasses provide them with visual
cues base upon their location, so when they finally do get to the theater, the
glasses can show them what to do next, and give them that visual cue.

Currently working on an app for tablets for this sort of things, but having it
work in glasses would be simply amazing. God, what I wouldn't give to be apart
of this.

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laconian
Also face blindness, or people with failing memory. Imagine if this system
could automatically detect friends based on their face and summon their names
and relevant context (recent calendar appointments, pictures, etc.)

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ntkachov
heck, I think that a huge portion of the population would like that. I need to
meet a person twice to remember their name, Having a thing that blips up "This
is Eric, You met him 3 weeks ago at a workshop" would be worth early adopting.

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TechNewb
Prescription retro style inspired glasses please.

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ashishgandhi
A little off-topic. "Articles" like these make me think Google+ has become a
blogging platform more and a social network less.

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freehunter
It really is, and it was kind of designed for that. Robert Scoble mentioned
that he likes useing Google+ now more than sharing his news on Facebook or a
Twitter link to his blog because he gets much more engagement from Google+.
It's Blogger meets Wave with a built-in social network to allow for sharing
things to other people. Google+ was never meant to be "Facebook... but by
Google!" like I sometimes hear people talking about.

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waterlesscloud
I didn't see any situation in this video where glasses would be superior to
what I could do on my phone now.

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repsilat
The big step up is that you don't need to take these glasses out of your
pocket every time you want to use them. Phones can't really serve as an
"extension of the self" because you don't walk around with them in your hand
all the time.

Using "always on" eye-devices would allow them to become second nature.
Name/face/voice association would be automatic, looking up a word definition
would be accessing slow memory instead of an annoying context-switch. A lot of
the difference is not in that you _can_ do something with these glasses, it's
that you _will_.

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ryandvm
I dunno, maybe I'm a Luddite but I don't think the tendency to never be
disconnected is good for the human psyche. I know that personally my own
mental well being tends to suffer if I don't let myself have considerable
stretches of time where I'm not consuming any information.

Also, though cool, the video is probably a pretty inaccurate representation of
what that tech would actually get used for. It shows some guy getting
directions, scheduling events, and meeting friends. Nice enough, but the
reality is that, like most mobiles, it's probably more likely to be used for
Facebook addiction and sending pointless text messages.

[I guess the answer is "yes", I'm becoming a Luddite.]

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knieveltech
The potential for this kind of tech so far exceeds what's being shown in the
demo it boggles the mind. The demo itself is pretty depressing: it implies all
this tech is destined for is to provide a hands-off interface for phone apps.

For an example of real-world uses of AR (that don't involve hipsters or food
trucks) check this out:
[http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-10/augmented-r...](http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-10/augmented-
reality-goggles-make-marine-mechanics-twice-efficient)

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coopdog
I think the videos main point is that they're bringing it main stream, as a
new multiple times a day tech for the average person

No doubt developers will do some amazing things with it when we finally get
some practical hardware

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hcarvalhoalves
Great. Now we'll have Google Ads projected into our retinas.

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knieveltech
Personally I'm holding out hope that Google collectively has enough sense not
to torpedo this exciting new technology by turning it into a wearable AR
billboard system. While I could totally see voluntary opt-in for merchant ad
displays while walking around in downtown, I'm pretty sure it would have to be
voluntary.

I'm optimistic that Google realizes they aren't going to be able to get away
with anything more invasive than what's considered "acceptable" behavior for a
smartphone. Example: I don't have merchants sending me unsolicited SMS
whenever I'm within 200 yards of their storefront.

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joezydeco
It doesn't need to be an active system. Google could monetize the hell out of
it just by showing advertisers how effective their billboards, posters, and
audio commercials are in the environment through passive collection.

~~~
knieveltech
There's an interesting idea, and one I wouldn't object to.

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septerr
And I bought sunglasses today. Dang.

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edge17
where is the hardware? (processing hardware, power supply, and antennas)

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hornbaker
Googly Eyes(tm)

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naughtysriram
This looks like a copy of TEDx Sixth Sense by Pranav Mistry.

[http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potenti...](http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html)

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fatjokes
This is super cool and all, but it's all fun and games until someone walks in
front of a car.

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TheCowboy
I think with these glasses I might be less likely to do that as often as I
already do poking at my cellphone while I walk around the city.

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cwp
Very cool. Except...

They forgot to show the "Ukulele $350" ad that pops up when he looks at the
book. Also, "Monsieur Gayno Boxed Set - $24.95", "Feet hurt? Try walking shoes
from Reebok!" and "John Smith for Mayor! I'll make the trains run on time."

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thereallurch
It'll be only a matter of time before it's rooted and running AdBlock. :)

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jrockway
It's worth noting that Google devices typically do not need to be rooted. For
example, Chromebooks have a switch you flip if you want root. (And, Google
even _advertises_ AdBlock in the Chrome Web Store. So it's not certain that
you will be forced to see ads in Glass.)

It's the cell-phone carriers (or OEMs) that want to sell you non-rooted
devices, and that's a battle even Apple hasn't won.

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nkassis
I'm not sure Apple is fighting very hard(or at all) about this. That would
make them loose a lot of the control they need for the Appstore etc...

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nextstep
I know it has been said a thousand times, but Google could really take a cue
from Apple on how to launch a new product. The "closed beta" approach
generates a good deal of hype, but prevents early adopters from buying or
using your product, which is insane! Google is tipping their hand to the
competition. It may seem far-fetched that anyone else is working on a wearable
computer like this, but I guarantee Google is not alone. If Google is slow to
bringing this to market (which wouldn't surprise anyone), then this
announcement gives Samsung/Apple/lots of others a chance to catch up in a
potentially new market.

Ugh. Google, you have so many cool ideas and so little business acumen.

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joezydeco
Also, you're immediately setting up your product for a negative reception.
People expect all the cool stuff and tight integration shown in the concept
video. If you can't deliver that...

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furyofantares
Huh, I thought the video was actually really depressing except for two
features: taking a picture to send to my friends, and sharing a stream of what
I'm looking in a video call. I guess I don't really see the value of putting
apps in my eyes. But I do see a ton of value in sharing my eyes and having
people share their eyes with me.

~~~
jrockway
I see the value. For example, I like to monitor my heart rate and speed while
running. To do that, I have to move my hand out of ideal running form and look
at my watch. With a wearable display, I can continue looking straight ahead to
check on my information. Same goes for maps while driving or walking around.

I think a wearable computer that seamless integrates with me will be like
having a friend that's always around. If you've ever asked someone, "oh, do we
turn left here", then you have a use for a computer that can answer the same
question.

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FrojoS
I just saw a jogger this sunday, who had an acoustical feedback of his pulse.
Zurich, Switzerland. Might be an immediate solution to your problem.

~~~
jrockway
Yeah. I have a Garmin running watch that I can program to beep when my pulse
is outside a range I set. But I really like to see the numbers. (It's easier
when I'm cycling.)

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clipped
prediction: by end of 2015 these will be as popular as iPhone and iPad. the
future will have arrived : ) woohoo.
<http://clippedcomic.blogspot.ca/2012/04/google-glasses.html>

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pragmatic
What percentage of the population wears glasses now? If you believe the 150
million (1) number, than less than half the population.

How many people can you convince to wear glasses that do not normally?

What about sun glasses? Will I need two pair of Googgles (2)? One for day, one
for night?

Do you really think young women (or men) are going to wear these things?

My bet is that this project goes no where with Google in its current form. If
anyone has a chance, it's Apple. Apple is the only large company with enough
style to make something like this cool/socially acceptable.

If you can make the Camera etc, invisible, then that's a whole different
story.

1) [http://www.aao.org/newsroom/press_kit/upload/Eye-Health-
Stat...](http://www.aao.org/newsroom/press_kit/upload/Eye-Health-Statistics-
June-2009.pdf)

2) my term

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dgallagher
_How many people can you convince to wear glasses that do not normally?_

Probably the same number of people you can convince to buy and carry a
metallic/plastic rectangle in their pockets everywhere. If it offers utility
at an affordable price, people will embrace it.

 _My bet is that this project goes no where with Google in its current form.
If anyone has a chance, it's Apple. Apple is the only large company with
enough style to make something like this cool/socially acceptable._

Steve Jobs hired someone from MIT a few years ago who was a leading researcher
in wearable computing ([http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/apple-hires-
wearabl...](http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/apple-hires-wearable-
computing-engineer/)). Apple has likely been working on such a device for some
time.

It makes sense for Google to work on something too. How far will Google Glass
go? Who knows. This is a public unveiling of a research project, rather than
something that'll be sold in stores tomorrow (maybe by year-end though).
There's probably a lot left to go before you can buy one, at which point it'll
be a good time to evaluate it if it's any good or not.

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adziki
oh man, someone needs to trademark iGlass NOW

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jsz0
Too late. They do network monitoring solutions. (iglass.net)

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samrat
iSpecs? Maybe iShades?

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dhughes
iZ

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lifthearth
iSee or iC

~~~
dhughes
iLook

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agentgt
Its too bad Microsoft's not doing this. I was rather hoping for Clippy to make
a comeback ;)

For those that don't know Clippy:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Assistant>

~~~
agentgt
I guess HN people don't like my sense of humor. Oh well..

