Augmented-reality eyewear is the next step toward a future in which we never again have an unmediated view of the world
Posted 02.22.2012 at 2:14 pm
31 Comments
Terminator Vision
Orion Pictures
Google announced yesterday that before the end of 2012, you will be able to buy augmented-reality smart eyeglasses from the search giant. The Android-powered glasses will have an onboard camera that monitors in real time what you see as you walk (or, heavens preserve us, drive) down the street. The lenses will then overlay information about people, locations, and whatnot directly into your field of view.
We knew this day was coming, but I certainly didn't suspect it'd be so soon. Never again will you have to wonder Where is the closest Pizza Hut? or What make of car is that? or Don't I know her from somewhere? Ubiquitous smartphones have already given us the ability to swiftly look up information with only a moderate disruption. Smartglasses completely remove the mediating step of pausing to wonder and ponder and research: data is simply there, an inseparable part of your visible world.
Overlay Google Maps onto the real world, and navigation becomes effortless. Overlay reviews and menus onto restaurant storefronts as you pass them; overlay nutritional data onto your plate as you eat; overlay purchasing info if you particularly admire your co-worker's new shoes; overlay translations of foreign signage, breaking news, hilarious kittens romping at your feet.
As smartglasses become popular, the world will start to seem naked and inaccessible without a glossy data layer on everything.As smartglasses become popular, the world will start to seem naked and inaccessible without a glossy data layer on everything. Everyday activities, maneuvering through the physical world, socializing, working, learning, will all be increasingly eased by the use of glasses; increasingly, until these activities start to feel almost impossible without the glasses. Who's going to have patience to laboriously explain facts to a non-data-overlaid person? Give you my business card? Point you in the direction of Fifth Avenue? I don't even remember how to spell my name! Where are your Googles?
Will businesses see the need for physical signs and billboards? Will municipalities bother to maintain physical street signs and traffic signals? Will smartglasses make the university lecturer's blackboard and salesman's PowerPoint obsolete as well?
What comes after that? With everyone wearing glasses (or, at this point in the future, contact lenses or implants), individual appearance becomes as malleable on the street as it is now on the Internet. You can overlay your real body with a digitally altered one, saving money on subtle nose surgery or just completely living life as a furry avatar.
What, though, will it take to get us to that tipping point, when head-up augmented reality suddenly shifts from a novelty to a ubiquity? Wearing cumbersome goggles on your face as you proceed through your day is a bit more of an intrusion than I for one am ready for. Sony's 3DTV goggles are impressive and designed only to be worn in the comfort of your couch, and still I have yet to meet someone who owns a pair. The gear will have to be small and easy to integrate with your basic life processes. Perhaps AR windshields in our cars will become common first, before we put them on our faces.
But, however it comes -- the fully mediated future has begun.
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Google is very focused on having a seamless user experience, to that end I'd expect those glasses to look almost like regular glasses. It would be a major fail if Google came out with some heavy, ugly, cumbersome unit.
That said, I doubt these glasses will work without having an Android phone or tablet with you, that also has an internet connection. Why? The batter for these glasses is probably stored somewhere inside the frame, which means they don't have very much capacity. They probably can't afford to both augment reality and maintain processing, upstream, and download, and go the whole day doing this. They will probably have a short distance (bluetooh) transmitter and process all the requests through your smartphone.
What I'm curious about is how they're getting an image onto the lense, if that image is projected or if the lenses themselves are transparent lcd technology or something similar.
To answer the question of the author, I think technology uptake like this won't be all that fast. While its extremely useful, and intended to make many aspects of life easier, I think it will just take some time for people to get used to. Mainly because its not something you can put in your pocket like an iPhone (which took off in a major way). These glasses are intended to be worn during most waking hours of the day. But once they do become common place, I'd say give the rest of our economy another 20 years to fully catch up (eliminate street signs, etc.) We will however start rethinking advertising early on though, within 5 to 10 years.
"As smartglasses become popular, the world will start to seem naked and inaccessible without a glossy data layer on everything"
Much better will be the fact that apps will be made to make others appear naked. Want to turn a lowly concubine into Jennifer Aniston? Can anyone say holodeck beta?!?
dont be evil my ass
lmfao @ Martin Gillespie
But if you think about it this could be Google's answer, albeit clunky, to Siri. Why talk to your phone, when the phone can visually respond before you even ask the question?
I'd bet there is a fair deal of Sixth Sense technology in there... don't know what I'm talking about? Google it, or go to TED.com and search for the video there. I always imagined it would be implemented as a projector built into a bluetooth earpiece, but these glasses are a lot easier to execute.
Look at a periodic table of elements and see examples of the elements. It would be even better if the glasses could track your fingers against objects in your field of view, basically eliminating screens as we know them. You could 'click' a billboard 500 ft away to make a video play, for example.
I'd imagine the first iteration of these things may be a bit clunky in terms of speed of image analysis. This of course raises all sorts of new privacy concerns with things like identifying people through facial recognition associated with Facebook pictures and such.
Please cite your source for Google making an announcement at all related to them developing AR eye-wear. Please do NOT cite any reference to 9to5google or any other person who said they received their information from Google employees that didn't want their names used or any Google employee who was breaking non-disclosure agreements.
You said "Google announced", show me the announcement from Google.
Haha I can see myself trying to read a street sign when a big advertisement pops up.
On a more serious note. I think this technology would really take off if they could integrate it with contacts.
re: JimmyDB - He's RIGHT. Google DID NOT ACCOUNCE THIS - the article is DEAD WRONG!!!! Very poor reporting.
I can't wait to have a pair of these for motorcycling.
Following GPS signals from inside of these glasses would be SO much easier.
@Martin Gillespie:
What's worse is if you trace this article, and many other articles like it all the way back to their root sources,... all of the hype seems to be coming from a couple of blog articles that one person wrote, and then writers have added to them, misquoted them and taken information out of context.
I thought it was bad when there was an entry at Bit at the New York Times,... but now it's even hitting PopSci.
I hate to drive traffic to a rumor site, but read the original source articles carefully, then re-read this article.
Actually, you don't need to re-read this article, nevermind.
-internet-in-one-site...
-driverless-cars...
-smartGlasses...
Google says, Google does ^^
---
bored? lets go mine the stars... ^^
AHA! . . . This is what the Motorola acquisition was all about . . .- smart move.
Broadband connected , augmented reality glasses.
I_don't_want_to_live_on_this_planet_anymore.gif
I can't wait to see what the people who make those "We're addicted to our phones and internet and stuff!" articles think of this...
Hmm...interesting and yeah, a bit exciting too. But yet, I can't help but think of this as another step closer in the total integration of the synthetic with the organic. The rise of The Borg seem to be imminent. Resistance is futile!
I will probably own a pair as soon as they get out on the market
The Genius
bjorn,"....dont be evil my ass..."
Why do you have this worry and concern to tell us readers on POPSCI of your ass becoming evil? lol
Will Google goggles save us when we have too much to drink and are wearing our bear goggles?
If while wearing the Google goggles, it displays wrong data, can I sue Google for misleading me?
.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
LOL, bear goggles,snort....
I meant to write beer.. I kill me.... lol.
.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
My one and only question. Can I get these in prescription?
Playing Devil's Advocate since 1978
"The only constant in the universe is change"
-Heraclitus of Ephesus 535 BC - 475 BC
@CodeZero
Maybe they can adjust to the eyes of the user... That would be cool.
Google did not "announce" anything. Your source is a New York Times article that cites "several Google employees familiar with the project who asked not to be named"
Please fix the article, your mis-informing people.
Please tell me that I'm not the only one appalled at the idea of these becoming an commonplace device.
By what the article describes as it's intended use and function, I can see it very easily eliminating whole slews of basic human interaction; no longer will you need to ask someone for directions, what today's Special is at the diner, which shop they got that jacket from, the history of the man who created that masterpiece in the museum.
The world will become one in which people mill around in increasingly enclosed personal bubbles, in which any information that they may desire will never, ever, require talking to another live person- ever.
Just a cold, casual glance- and then continuing on your way towards the next distraction.
This makes me think of Wall-E. everyone is oblivious to the world around them with a screen right in front of their face. I'm not sure this overload of data 24/7 is a good thing...
@SC1ENCEGUY I'm sure the HUD could be adjusted for the users's eyes... however everything beyond the HUD would still be distorted, would still need the lenses to be prescription.
Playing Devil's Advocate since 1978
"The only constant in the universe is change"
-Heraclitus of Ephesus 535 BC - 475 BC
my roomate's aunt makes $83/hr on the laptop. She has been without work for 8 months but last month her pay was $8682 just working on the laptop for a few hours. Read more on this site...Nuttyrich . com
@cober319 Teens stand in front of each other and text instead of talk now. While the Wall-E scenario is a bit up the road, you bring up a valid concern.
@CodeZero Prescription lenses are almost too costly now without having info overlays. I'd imagine the first optical lab to produce a pair would cost somewhere close to $1000. I'd wait for a 2nd or 3rd generation release of the drivers before I go that extreme. More realistic and affordable(?) would be a clip on frame with flip up lenses.
Whether the article is accurate in it's sources or not, AR glasses are very close. All you need to do is go to vuzix.com and search for the progress they're making on AR tech. If not in 2012, definitely in early to mid 2013.
The world is just becoming to modernized, and nobody seems to care. I wish I would of grown up in the 20s!
Can't wait for the videos of people wearing these things and walking into poles.
Glasses, text Jeff; "I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle."
Glasses; Texting Jeff "I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle". Okay?
Affirmative.
This product is out of imagination can't believe google is into such a good product, if this project comes into existance im sure it would take our world into next generation, what an imagination and what an effort for this wonderful peoduct hats off to google. I got to know the srtucture of this google glass released from this sit "http://tech2wonder.com/google-glasses.html" im not sure whether the structure is perfect given by them..