How Google Glass Is Evolving As It Heads For Release To Developers

hypnosec writes "Babak Parviz, the founder and head of Project Glass at Google, has revealed that the feature set of Google Glass and state of apps is still in flux and that there is a lot of testing going on at the moment. In an interview with IEEE Spectrum, Parviz provided insights into Project Glass, the reasons behind having such a gadget and what's there for the project in near future. Parviz said that they are trying out new ideas and ways in which the platform can be used while also trying to make the platform more robust. There is no specific feature set that Google has been talking about and 'It is still in flux.'" My favorite question / answer pair: "IEEE Spectrum: What kind of business model is associated with Google Glass? Babak Parviz: This is still being worked on, but we are quite interested in providing the hardware."

Does not bode well

[Dan East]

This does not bode well. You cannot just have a new computing form factor and throw stuff at it to see what sticks. I figured this far in development google would have a very clear direction for the platform. I hate to constantly make comparisons to apple, but if you look at their successful products, you'll see they had a clear focus and vision for it from the software standpoint. One of the main reasons the iPhone was a success (besides the capacitive touch breakthrough) was the software. That's how apple beat Microsoft's Windows Mobile, which even after a decade, never managed to provide a proper 100% touch only (aka no stylus) experience.

It looks to me like Google is treating google glass like a hardware web browser, for which they will have a bunch of "beta" projects and see what works and what doesn't. They'd better be careful, or software-wise a competitor will come along with a focused, unified, well rounded software experience and blow them out of the water.

Re:Does not bode well

[Nerdfest]

I'd rather have a pure hardware platform that can do anything, try it at a series of things and see what it's most useful for. That's how actual creativity and innovation happens. A 'targetted' product is a more limited product. I'd like to see things run as open platforms, not appliances.

There was a sci fi book ...

[perpenso]

I read it as a teenager and can not remember the title or author's name, but there was a book where everyone wore glasses with a camera built in. The result was a society heavy on surveillance. There was no need for the government to setup a lot of cameras. Ordinary citizens were constantly submitting their videos to the police or relevant authorities.

And ordinary driver would find it useful ...

[perpenso]

A person driving a car would find it useful for the same reason that military pilots find it useful. A heads up display would keep the drivers eyes on the road. No more looking down at instruments, the screen with maps or rear view camera image; or looking at road signs for hazard warnings and other alerts.

And of course since it is google there will probably be ads from the businesses that you are driving past. :-)

Re:Inputs.

[sandytaru]

The Kinect has shown that gestures are a completely useful and acceptable means of input. If they have any technology similar, then we'll be making sign language - esque gestures to interact with the glasses.

Re:one business model: military

[rocket rancher]

The military aren't the only ones that could really benefit from this technology. I ride motorcycles for fun and profit, and I can assure you having gear, engine, and lap data displayed in my visor is pretty awesome. Adding location/terrain data in real time would be nirvana. If google can do it as well as or better than the existing offerings, and I'm fairly certain they can, then I can look forward to becoming a faster, safer rider with more (read: economically viable) commercial options for my HUD. I'm working with a friend who is passionate about aerial photography to hack together a way to stream video data from a gopro mounted on a quadcopter right to my visor so I can "see" over hills and around blind turns when I'm taking a ride on my favorite winding mountain road. Streaming it to a Nexus 10 bungeed to my tank works pretty good right now, even with the 2 second video lag that plagues the preview mode on the gopro app, but I'd *love* to be able to see the same data without having to take my eye off the road to glance down. As it is, being able to see that sheriff's deputy lurking in hull-defilade beyond the next rise five seconds before his lidar can see me is *priceless.* If google can help make that happen, more power to them. I think every snowmobiler, skier, kayaker, and off-road enthusiast would be a very likely target for this technology.

Re:Go ahead

[Anonymous Coward]

Works for the Amish I suppose.

No it doesn't. The Amish have their own government, The Church. And believe, the same shit goes on in the Amish communities, neighbors running to the church to tell on their neighbors all the time. "I saw old man Joseph playing with his tally-whacker!! Sinner!", and then the church comes and whips his mule or something for punishment.

No technology, but still a "Government" watching you. People are big time afraid of the church officials in the Amish communities.

Still Waiting For Some Skydiving Goggles

[Greyfox]

I'm still waiting for some skydiving goggles with a heads up display. Looking at my altimeter fucks up my airflow while I'm tracking. It'd also be really helpful to know my fall speed as I'm falling, so I can work on falling more slowly. I fall like a bat out of hell -- normal human terminal velocity is around 120 mph, but this is largely weight dependent. I know Galileo fans just had an aneurysm but you know what, fuck that guy! If you want to fall faster in skydiving, you add weight! Look it up! Anyway, I fall around 140 mph. Body position can also affect this, and I can fall much more slowly, but not consistently. Having some way to practice this other than exiting linked with someone and trying to maintain my speed relative to them would be really nice.

Recon instruments has some heads up display ski googles and are releasing a modified set for skydiving, I'll give these a try, but it'd be neat if there were more options.