GOOGLE Project - Google Glass Is it just a rumour ?
ALL ‘HYPE’ or ‘REALITY’..??
Google fans hope the Internet search leader’s
proposed augmented reality glasses are more reality than hype, even if history
shows companies are more often releasing videos touting technology that may take
years to actually come to life.
Google released a concept video, titled
"Project Glass: One day...," on April 4 in which a man only using his
voice and other inputs does things commonly handled by smartphones, such as
scheduling meetings, taking pictures, checking the weather, getting directions,
and placing a video call. The difference is instead of having to hold a device
in your hand, the data you need hovers in your field of view.
Adding to
the hubbub, co-founder Sergey Brin was spotted the next day wearing a prototype of the glasses at a San Francisco social
event.
In response to the publicity, people seem to be pumped up about
the prospect of AR glasses anyone can wear; Google’s YouTube video already has
had nearly 9 million views with most of them liking what they see.
Yet in
spite of the hype and the fact that in February, The New York Times reported that Google was planning to release such
high-tech glasses later this year, not everybody is holding their breath for an
actual product like the one in the video.
According
to Wired, at least a couple of experts say the technology Google is
showing off can’t possibly deliver what the concept video depicted.
“In one simple fake video, Google has created a level of over-hype
and over-expectation that their hardware cannot possibly live up to,” said
Blair MacIntyre, director of the Augmented Environments Lab at Georgia Tech.
And according
to Pranav Mistry, an MIT Media Lab researcher and one of the inventors of a
wearable computing system called SixthSense, “The
small screen seen in the photos cannot give the experience the video is
showing.”
He also said that even if Google was able to overcome technical
barriers, you shouldn’t expect to see real AR glasses on the market for at
least two years. That’s because of limitations with what current head-up displays
can do and the fact that actual augmented reality in a display would
necessitate additional eye-reading hardware, allowing for dynamic focus.
Another concern is that creating a transparent display that is
easily viewable both inside and outside is tricky.
Defying the critics, consumers remain optimistic and hopeful that
Google Glasses are coming soon.
Microsoft
and Corning are examples of just two companies known for
cool futuristic concept videos that make consumers drool.
And while technophiles may cherish the idea of an incessant stream
of data floating in front of their eyeballs at all times, certainly there are
others who recoil at the thought. For one thing, how can you interact authentically
with the world around you when everywhere you look you’re prompted to check-in
to Google+, reminded that you have a meeting in 30 minutes, or fed instructions
about which path is the best walking route to take?
How about a little serendipity? For example, in Google’s concept
video the man wearing the glasses meets a friend in a bookstore by following
the most direct walking path to where his buddy had checked in.
Fine, but what if the man directed by the glasses missed out on a
couple of interesting books he might have stumbled upon if he had taken a more
circumventive and undirected route?
Not only
that, some people, such as Ed Oswald have
pointed out some concerns with all that data being fed into your line of
vision. Distracted driving as it relates to making phone calls and texting
pales in comparison with what could happen when people use AR glasses in their
everyday lives.
Even so, the technology is cool. But some people already bogged
down with too much information will gladly wait to see Google’s Glasses come to
fruition.
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