While there are plenty of things to love about this country, one thing I don’t like is the fact that you don’t always get access to innovative tech that is usually made for more tech-savvy markets in the US or Europe. Anyway, a gadget that was unveiled a few weeks back deserves particular attention: Google’s Augmented Reality Glasses (AKA project glass) and hopefully it will make landfall here if it is ever actually released into the mass market.

 

Augmented Reality is a live view of the real world, which is augmented with computer, generated audio, video and other elements. If you still don’t get it then just imagine Iron Man’s helmet in the first movie, where it starts scanning everything and giving him all the information as he flies, or maybe the system in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Unfortunately, what Google has in offer is not nearly that sexy but it comes quite close to the concept.

 

The company released a video to demonstrate the idea where a person uses the glasses throughout the day with a variety of voice controls. Accordingly, the user was able to read and respond to text messages, access Google Maps, control music, initiate in a video conference, and buy concert tickets after scanning a poster, etc. The Glasses are designed to use 14 different Google services. The most appealing concept was the fact that the glasses were constantly connected to real world data, so for instance, when the person walked towards the subway station (the demo takes place in an US city) he gets a notification informing him that it is out of service.

 

Some estimate that the device will cost no more than $250-$600. If it’s any higher it will do a spectacular job of not appealing to the mass market. The glasses itself are not that bad looking and look like something out of a sci-fi movie but not too geeky.

 

 

Now, for the pinch of salt. Many experts believe that the device won’t be ready within the year or even the next two years and even if Google can pull this off, it may not be able to do all the things demonstrated in the video. Google has made it clear that they are still looking for feedback and may change the design as they move closer to production.

 

Users outside the US may not even get access to the glasses if they are released anytime soon since some of the key Google services are customised for the US market but hopefully that will change soon.

 

Google will also have to work hard to turn the concept into successful reality because Apple and other companies have also shown a lot of interest in developing something similar.

 

Text by Navam Niles