The Advent of Optical Wearable Technology
Not all glass is created equal. Some glasses have higher purposes.
Wearable technology has been taking giant strides in recent times, with Sony and Samsung releasing their smartwatches earlier this year, and news of Apple developing its own version at the time.
With wrist computing on the simmer, head worn computing could not be far behind!
There are two very diverse, yet equally exciting adventures underway. Google Glass and META’s newly engineered “Space Glasses” represent a new breed of computers that might just be the way of the future.
For the un-informed, Google Glass is a product of the research and development at Google’s Project Glass, which deals with innovations in ubiquitous computers.
Project Glass is working on developing a hands-free computer/smartphone equivalent by integrating the technologies used on computers and smartphones with an optical head mounted display (OHMD).
Purpose? To enable you to text, call, navigate, record, search and use many more features by simple voice recognition and comprehension; completely hands free.
Released for developers in late 2012, Google Glass is widely regarded as one of the biggest innovations in technology since the development of the mobile phone!
META’s Space Glasses, are a fairly recently developed piece of technology, that expand on the Google Glass concept, combining its features with artificial 3D rendering — along the lines of what you see Tony Stark using in Iron Man, albeit slightly more bulky.
Lets take a longer look at some of the features of these two stellar examples of innovation.
Functionality:
Though they both might look like similar devices, it’s important to understand that Google Glass and the Space Glasses have, at least in their current form, very different purposes.
Google Glass is aimed at being an assistant (an extremely efficient, proactive and capable one at that), in your daily life. It leverages Google’s large collection of data, its various technologies and products to give you time-relevant inputs through a small screen on the top right of your eye.
Information like maps, flight schedules or even reminders are a simple voice command away. Think of it as wearing a really simple smartphone on your head.
Additionally, Google Glass can take pictures, videos, access the internet, and is really designed so that a person could keep Glass worn and have access to these features even while carrying out their day to day activities while being least obstructive the field of view — with a carefully located prism screen near the top corner of the eye and a track pad along the side of the gear.
The screen is rumored to have a 640X360 resolution and a 5 megapixel camera with the option of video recording (720p, HD) running on Android 4.0.4 and higher. The track pad will enable users to control the device through hand actions like swipes and clicks while voice commands will be accepted through microphones. Sound outputs will be taken care by bone conduction transducers.
Google Glass will also be featuring a provision to recognize acquaintances in a crowd using facial recognition algorithms. While the idea of having a map laid out in front of your eyes while driving is relaxing, and a comforting voice guiding you through voice support is also reassuring, one wonders about how much is Google glass drawing on Augmented Reality!
META Space Glasses on the other hand, markets them as a natural machine, a tool. It uses gesture recognition, much like something you would see on Microsoft’s Kinect, to artificially render three dimensionally or create an augmented reality over your present environment using a camera that recognises gestures, allowing your hand movements to control the entire virtual interface.
Using the Space Glasses, you could design 3D structures on the basis of blueprints or even free hand! At least in their current form, Space Glasses aren’t designed to be a worn-all-the-time unobtrusive device, but more like gear worn for specific purposes at specific times.
Once the META is worn, you will be able to interact with the virtual world created in your field of view using your own hands (Iron-Man-/Tony-Stark-style). META pioneers Meron Gribetz and Ben Sand have concluded that the “keyboard and mouse” will be rendered obsolete once the Space Glasses are worn and will feature voice control and Wi-Fi connectivity as well.
META insists the product is not a competitor to Google Glass since they differ significantly in concept and offer two different technologies.
Support:
For a notification device meant to display information, Google sure has a lot to display. This, coupled with the intent of having Google Glass work hand in hand with your Android smartphone, is where I believe Glass has an edge over its competition. Google’s already-established Google Now Cards and compatibility with your Android device give Google a big running start towards adoption and uptake.
That being said, META isn’t really planning to become big in the notification device market. Their aim is to hit the market with artificial rendering for specific purposes, and they’re doing it fast. While META being a new company, has a disadvantage of starting its development from scratch, however, by not being a multi-billion dollar company involved in so many different projects, it actually has an advantage in being capable of developing its product much faster than Google.
Pricing:
Both Google and META have so far released only developer versions of their devices, and they do not come cheap!
Google is selling the developer version of Glass or ‘Explorer’ version for a hefty USD 1,500 on its website. META, meanwhile, has tentatively tagged the Space Glasses at a significantly cheaper USD 677 price point.
While many people have been critical when it comes to the pricing of these gadgets, it wasn’t completely unexpected. These gadgets are prototypes of prototypes, the very first in their field, and they haven’t even been made commercial yet.
Google would probably price the commercial version of Glass cheaper when it is released.
Currently, there is no news regarding the price of the commercial SpaceGlass, or even when they might be made available to the general public.
Looks:
Both the devices haven’t received the most favourable of critique when it comes to their looks. While Glass has been accused by some, of looking like a “cyborg monocle”, the Space Glasses have been criticized for their bulky nature.
A concept design of the future versions of META’s SpaceGlasses
The good news is that looks, like price, will only get better with age. People can be very selective when it comes to what frames they choose and both companies seem to understand that.
Google and META have both promised better looking devices as the later versions, with both of them hinting at ‘Ray-Ban’ or other brand collaborations in the future.
Either way, these two companies understand that they are pioneering in a space that no man has ever been before. And its only a matter of time (and boatloads of work, luck and the advent of higher technologies) before they’ll have to consider any of our objections or concerns seriously. Till then, function overrides form, as has always been the case.
As mere onlookers, Chip-Monks wishes them both the very best of luck in their travails, and in exploring something, that could quite literally, change the face of mankind.
Originally published at Chip-Monks.
