Tag: project glass

Patent pictures hint at a new design concept for the wearable tech.

Although not everyone is on board with Google Glass, one aspect regarding this wearable device on which most people agree is the fact that it lacks aesthetic appeal and does very little for a person’s looks, but this minor issue may be rectified down the road based on the latest speculations regarding a recent acquired patent.

The new design appears to be sleeker and thicker compared to the current eyewear.

Mitchell Heinrich, Google design and prototyping engineer involved with Project Glass, was granted US patent D710,928 S on August 12. The patent shows a Google Glass design that looks far more like thick framed normal eyeglasses compared to the relatively bulky projector that sits on the side of the current device.

Heinrich’s involvement in the project is described on his website as “Early stage mechanical architecture layout. Lead the consumer packaging development for the explorer release. Developed human factors numerical and physical models to fit Glass on as many people as possible. Co-developed the bone conduction audio system including component design and testing. Broad range of low and high fidelity prototype development.”

The patent application reveals relatively normal looking spectacles with a thick frame that features a display apparatus, which is tucked on the inside and is attached to the right arm of the glasses near the hinge. This would not only hide the projector, but make the wearable display device potentially more comfortable for the user, as they could receive information projected from the apparatus on the lenses instead of it floating in front of their eyes. This could also mean better image quality. On the other hand, this new design could end up being more obstructive to the wearer’s vision.

The new design may make people even more suspicious of Google Glass users.

Despite being more appealing to look at, this new design could raise more concerns among non-Glass users who may argue that it will make it easier for wearers to film others without these people being aware that they are being captured on film or that Glass users may find it easier to engage in other illicit activity. For instance, the smartglasses have already been banned at certain movie theaters in the US to prevent the illegal filming of movies.

Nevertheless, at the moment, the patent doesn’t reveal enough about the next-gen Google Glass for anything official to be determined. However, what has been seen certainly does appear to be a notable evolution in the product.

Project Glass not likely to offer augmented reality at launch

Google’s Project Glass has been receiving limited attention in recent months, largely due to the fact that Google has pumped the brakes on its promotional campaigns concerning the augmented reality glasses. Project Glass remains in a state of early development, but several prototype models have been seen in the real world, outside of Google’s laboratory. There have been rumors circulating that Project Glass will not actually include augmented reality technology, a feature that drew in the majority of attention concerning the high-tech eyewear. These rumors may actually be true.

Head engineer notes that augmented reality is not an immediate goal

Project Glass head engineer Babak Parviz has announced that augmented reality is not an immediate goal for the project. This may come as a shock for consumers that have been looking forward to the high-tech eyewear because Google has been very adamant about the inclusion of augmented reality technology in Project Glass. When the glasses were first unveiled in early 2012, augmented reality was billed as one of the project’s primary features.

Google faces criticism for hyping augmented reality

For several months after the unveiling of Project Glass, Google has been pushing the idea that augmented reality would be one of the cornerstone features of the glasses. According to Parviz, however, augmented reality has been difficult to incorporate into the project. As such, augmented reality may be completely absent from the commercial launch of Project Glass. Instead, the eyewear will come with an application programming interface that will allow developers to create their own applications.

Developers able to create their own applications for Project Glass

The application programming interface will be able to support augmented reality applications and Project Glass itself will certainly be equipped with the hardware necessary for these applications to run smoothly. Future incarnations of Project Glass may include augmented reality of its own, but the technology is not likely to be seen in the first commercial products that are released from Google.