Now that Google’s Glass Explorer program is open to just about anyone in the U.S. that wants to signup for the $1500 head-mounted computer, we’re bound to see more and more people test the product in new scenarios. Today we get word from a VentureBeat report that The New York City Police Department has invested in a few pairs of the wearable in order to test Glass as a surveillance tool during patrols. Expand Expanding Close
Google has released five new mini-games for Glass in the hopes that developers will be inspired to create games for the system. The games include Tennis, Balance, Clay Shooter, Matcher, and Shape Slicer. The games use the built-in sensors, camera, and microphone in Glass to control simple sets of colored shapes.
Balance uses the motion sensors to manipulate a stack of blocks that move with the player’s head. The object is to keep the blocks balanced by keeping your head as steady as possible. Clay Shooter uses voice controls and the various motion sensors to allow players to shoot down simulated clay discs without the need for a trap range. Shape Splitter resembles the popular Half Brick Studios game Fruit Ninja. In the Glassware version, players slice colored shapes by waving their hands in front of the Glass camera.
Google unveiled four new frames for Glass today—dubbed “The Titanium Collection”—that are compatible with prescription lenses. The frames will come in several different colors and styles to suit most users’ tastes. The actual Glass hardware attaches to the side with a single screw. Two different clip-on sunglasses will also be available.
The frames are, as the name implies, manufactured from titanium to make them as light as possible in order to counter the weight added by the Glass hardware attached to the right side. All of the designs are created in-house by a team at Google led by Isabelle Olsson.
Perhaps even more impressive, the New YorkTimes notes that all of the frames will be covered under plans from VSP, the nation’s largest optical insurance provider.
An episode of The Simpsons poking fun at Google Glass has appeared on YouTube, but as it’s on an unofficial channel, don’t expect it to be there long …
The Hulu version, available in 1 country and on limited platforms is below:
While there have been cases of Google Glass wearers being told they must remove them to enter anywhere from bars to workplaces, and even one ticketed by police for wearing them while driving, you wouldn’t generally expect wearing them on a night out to lead to being questioned by the Department of Homeland Security. But that’s exactly what happened to one man, who wore a pair of prescription Glass to a movie theatre, in an email to The Gadgeteer.
About an hour into the movie, a guy comes near my seat, shoves a badge that had some sort of a shield on it, yanks the Google Glass off my face and says “follow me outside immediately”. It was quite embarrassing and outside of the theater there were about 5-10 cops and mall cops … Expand Expanding Close
If ever there were a rock-solid case for needing hands-free information fast, firefighting would be it. Full-time firefighter and spare-time Glass developer Patrick Jackson has already developed two of the apps shown in this video, and is working on two others, reports The Verge … Expand Expanding Close
Vivek Ranadivé, owner of the Sacramento Kings, has tweeted that selected players, cheerleaders and announcers will be wearing Google Glass at Friday’s NBA game against the Indiana Pacers, allowing fans to “see the game from an entirely new perspective” … Expand Expanding Close
The Associated Press reports that a California woman who was ticketed for driving while wearing her Google Glass has had her charges thrown out by the San Diego police commissioner. According to the report, the woman’s charge did not hold up against the language of the current law because it couldn’t be proven that the device was powered on at the time.
The court didn’t necessarily rule that it’s legal to wear Glass while driving, and the commissioner said there’s a chance the law could be interpreted to cover Glass as a TV-like system, which would move the device from the gray area it’s currently in and make using Glass while driving illegal. There’s no word yet on how the law would apply to a smart contact lens.
Google published a blog post today detailing its newest project: a smart contact lens that can monitor glucose levels for diabetic users. The lens uses a small embedded sensor to measure the glucose in tears and a set of LED lights to signal when levels reach certain thresholds. Google says it has experimented with prototypes that can take readings up to an incredible once per second and completed several clinical trials.
Earlier this month, Google X employees met with the FDA staff responsible for biosensors and medical apps, and it was speculated that the company could be working on a smart contact lens. Google has said it is still discussing the future of such a product with the FDA, and that it will take time before a product like this is mature enough to release to the general public. When the time finally comes for this project to go to market, Google plans to work with unnamed partners to manufacture the devices and get them into the hands of patients and doctors.
And if you think Google is going to stop at glucose monitors, check out the Solve for (X) video below with one of the heads of Google Glass discussing putting the hardware in your contact lens…
While wearing a heads-up display and driving might not be the best idea, or even legal in some locations, the developers behind DriveSafe are doing their part to counter that.
Using the sensors available on Google Glass, the Glass app will present a prompt to you if it determines you could be nodding off at the wheel. Of course driving while on the verge of falling asleep is extremely dangerous on its own, so DriveSafe goes a step further and uses voice input to help you find a safe place to stop and refresh yourself before getting back on the road. Expand Expanding Close
Bloomberg reports that a recent meeting between Google’s secretive Google X team and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raises “the possibility of a new product that may involve biosensors.” While it’s not that surprising that the Google X team behind Glass would meet with FDA staff that regulate eye devices, it’s also said to have met with those in charge of diagnostics for heart conditions. Bloomberg adds that four of the Google employees in attendance “have done research on sensors, including contact lenses that help wearers monitor their biological data.” Expand Expanding Close
Since the initial release of Google Glass at Google I/O last May, people have been calling for the ability to attach prescription lenses to the product. Over the last month, talk of this has heated up with images of Glass with prescription lenses being leaked and much more. Today, however, Glasses company Wetley has released its prescription frames and lenses for Google Glass and they are available for ordering now, dubbed GGRX.
Easily mounted, no tools required – takes seconds to mount/dismount
Frame is stainless steel – 30% lighter than typical frame materials – extremely durable
Lens are polycarbonate – highly impact resistant and durabl
Comes with Crizal Premium Anti-Reflective coating at no additional cost – reduces eye fatigue and strain
Made decision early to eschew cheaper materials (plastic frame, CR-39 lenses.)
Can accommodate almost any prescription
Also offer lens upgrades, tinting options, and anti-fog coating (some units, not all)
The frames are made of stainless steel and the company touts that the mounting process is incredibly simply and requires no tools whatsoever. There are a variety of options available for purchase and they start at $99. The first option is the frame only. In order to get lenses, you would have to take the frame to your local optometrist. The next option are single vision prescription lenses, which start at $149.99. Next up are progressive prescription lenses at $249.99. Sunglasses with a gray tint and no prescription are available for $139.99, while sunglasses with prescription capabilities are also available.
GGRX frames are available now at OpticsPlanet.com. Full press release after the jump:
There’s been no shortage of critique regarding Google Glass, its future, privacy, and of course cost. A new Google+ write-up by the most famous “Glasshole” Robert Scoble raises a number of issues relating to Glass and the potential for it to be both wildly popular and doomed before it even gets started. Scoble lists a number of reasons why it’s possible that Glass could be both successful or find itself on the shelf of great Google products that were introduced before their time.
I’m not always in full agreement with Wired’s Mat Honan, but his I, Glasshole piece definitely struck a chord with me and my mostly similar experiences with Google Glass. I can agree with almost everything he’s said on the experience of owning and operating them, at least to an extent.
The biggest point to bring home is the outward awkwardness, but I wouldn’t characterize it as 100% negative across the board like Honan’s experience. He said that even in a room full of Wired writers he’s still ostracized for wearing them. That may be true, but at certain events like his Google event image, they felt pretty normal. I wasn’t at the one pictured, but at Google I/O every 4-5 people at the show were wearing them, even if Google’s own presenters weren’t. No one was uncomfortable in that environment. I imagine it isn’t uncomfortable at Google or any number of the places that are beta testing the Glass in large numbers relative to the population.
At home or in the general public, I agree – it is definitely jarring wearing them around. You get the same kind of attention that you’d get if you had a massive headwound at the grocery store or if you were waving a light saber around on the way to the coffee shop. The attention isn’t entirely negative, but it is certainly one of discomfort and curiosity. Some people ask about them and want to find out what the experience is like. I’ve let tons of people wear mine, and those who’ve tried have usually thought they were ‘cool’.
I’ve found a good way to mitigate the attention is to wear a low lying baseball cap coupled with the Oakley Blades wrap around shades attachment. With this setup, about 90% of the people don’t notice the Glass and just think you are some dork wearing Oakley Blades from 1987. Clearly, Google could innovate here – getting them on normal glasses hides the appearance. They’ve already promised a prescription lens attachement and even shown off some demos.
The 2014 model Glass, as I am now calling them, won’t do much for the appearance. The inclusion of a mono or stereo headset is just going to complicate the setup rather than simplify it. Note the left stereo earpiece comes out of the same right side hole as the right side ear piece.
I feel a little claustrophobic looking at them, and I imagine the final consumer version will have the earpiece coming out of either the back or the other side of the glasses.
Google has been inviting more and more people to buy their way into the $1500 Google Glass Explorer program in recent months. It recently started sending invites to select developersr and allowing Glass owners to purchase a second unit for a friend, and today Google has begun inviting subscribers of the Google Play Music All Access streaming service.
Your Chance to Buy Google Glass
With the launch of Google Play Music on Google Glass, we’ve secured VIP invitations for All Access customers to join the Glass Explorer Program. Interested in rocking out while exploring with Glass? Sign up to receive your invitation below!
Google has a sign-up page for All Access subscribers here and as always the invites are only available to those in the US.
Google Glass is making its way onto the football field in the friendly confines of the Stanford football program. The university that graduated both of the Google founders as well as many of execs and programmers is evaluating the Google Glass according to the LA Times. Stanford’s football offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren went through Friday’s Rose Bowl media session wearing Goggle Glass.
“It’s my my way of paying homage to Nerd Nation,” he said, adding, “Our relationship with Google is obviously very strong and I’m the tech member of our staff. “I’m the guy that wants to unwrap toys like this on Christmas.”Bloomgren said he could envision the practical application of the video technology eventually making its was onto the field.
It isn’t just the coaching staff. Stanford’s cheerleaders are also checking out the headgear for practical purposes. During the Stanford vs. Notre Dame game a company called Crowdlogic outfitted the Stanford cheerleaders with Glass to broadcast what they were seeing to the Jumbotron in real time.
As we look to the end of 2013 and turn around to see the Google of the last year, we know it’s been a good year. Forget concerns over Google’s purchase of Boston Dynamic’s Robotic program and the joke notion that Google and Skynet will eventually be one. This is a company that surpassed the 1,000 share price in the stock market and brought Google Glass to market as a new form of wearable technology. With these stories and more in mind, let’s take a look at the top 5 Google stories on 9to5Google in 2013. These stories were selected in order by the amount of traffic they had in a single 24 hour period and don’t necessarily reflect the importance of the story itself. In other words, these are the stories you read the most over the course of this year.
When Google announced Glass, people instantly became worried about the privacy implications that came with it. One of the biggest questions surrounded the potential to use the device for some sort of facial recognition. Google quickly confirmed that it would not allow such apps to be officially installed on the device, but as we all know, there are multiple ways to install an app to Glass and Google can’t stop everything.
Forbes reports on a new app, dubbed FaceRec, that will collect and catalog images of faces a user sees throughout the day. In addition to faces, the app will also work with things like computer screens and license plates. The app will integrate the image data collected with location coordinates to create a map. This will allow users to go back and see exactly who they saw and where they saw them.
Google just dropped a few more updates for Glass via Google+ to help end 2013 in the best way possible. Included in this shiny new update are the Wall Street Journal, Weather Alerts, Winkfeed (different from yesterday), Upload to YouTube and Hangouts. All in all, it’s a pretty hefty update for Glass fans and offers a few more reasons to consider shelling out $1500 courtesy of the money you got from returning all those ugly sweaters your grandparents are preparing to give you on Christmas day.
Google today officially released its latest update for Google Glass, XE12, alongside the news that its MyGlass for iOS app will arriving later this week. The app briefly made an appearance on the App Store today but was quickly removed. The update also includes a number of new features including enhancements to the Google Play music feature it first started rolling out earlier this month, a new screen lock security feature, improved integration with Hangouts and YouTube, and brand new winking gestures.
For those times you might miss a shot, try capturing the moment with a wink. The Wink feature is a exploratory feature that lets you take a picture with a wink. It’s even faster than the camera button or voice action and it even works when the display is off…Wink is a exploratory feature. To use it, you’ll need a device purchased or swapped after October 28th, 2013. If that’s you, give it a shot and tell us what you think in the Explorers Community.
Also new in the update is a new “Listen” action menu for Google Play Music, new YouTube options, the ability to set up a unique pattern as a screen lock much like on Android, and Hangouts Glassware for sending and receiving video calls. Expand Expanding Close
If you weren’t interesting in forking over $1500 for a pair of Google Glass before, perhaps the addition of this new game will change your mind. The folks at Android Central just discovered a new game called Glass Hunt, developed by Derek Johnson and Jason Malashock.
There’s little question Google Glass is slowly gaining more traction in the tech world, for better or worse. Things might go even better or even worse if this Conan Google Glass Helper edition became a reality.
A couple of days after Google started inviting Glass Explorers to upgrade to the second generation model, Google employee Brian Matiash posted photos showing Glass mounted on a pair of prescription glasses – then later removed them. You’d have thought Google of all companies would know you can’t erase things from the Internet …
It appears that the modified Glass unit has a slot in the top into which the glasses are fitted. It looks from the photos like quite a few designs of prescription glasses and sunglasses would be compatible with the unit.
Roll-out of Glass Explorer program is very gradually expanding, with existing Explorers recently invited to buy Glass for a friend after previously being given three invitations to pass on back in September.
Back in October, Google announced the first hardware revision of its Glass product and that it would be available to current Explorers this year. Tonight, our own Seth Weintraub received his invitation to reserve the new revision of Glass for himself. Users who receive the invitation have until February 5th to make their decision on whether to upgrade or not. Should you choose to upgrade, you must fill out the form from Google and choose what color you would like the unit to be. The process is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so don’t wait too long to make your decision.
Once the updated unit is available, Google will send you a return box and return label for your original pair of Glass. After you send it back, your new and improved unit should arrive within a 3-5 days. It’s unclear when exactly Google will begin sending out the return boxes to Explorers.
As far as what’s new with this hardware revision of Glass, Google says that these units are made to support upcoming prescription lenses, and also include a new mono earbud.
Glass users who purchased Glass before October 28, 2013 are eligible to upgrade their units, so be on the lookout for an email to hit your inbox soon. Read the full invitation after the break.. Expand Expanding Close
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