Google Project Glass

Google recently went public with its plan for an augmented reality technology that it is calling Project Glass. Using special glasses, a user of Project Glass will be able to access real time information on the environment around him such as road maps and traffic alerts. Google released a short video to tout the new technology which showed the day in the life of a typical young urbanite using Project Glass.

Walking down the street on the way to meet his friend at a bookstore, the character in the video accesses features such as alerts on the subway service and even video chat using just his voice. The video ends with him sharing his view of the sunset with a friend while he plays to her on his ukulele.


Part of the excitement over Project Glass surely comes from the strength of the Google brand among consumers. Only Apple Computer has shown a similar ability to cause this level of excitement with just the announcement of a new product. Project Glass is part of a general strategy by Google to branch out from its core business by offering services tied to but nevertheless independent from its search engine.

Many tech analysts and other commentators have remarked that Project Glass looks like the future. It is the kind of technology that you might have expected to see in a science fiction movie from twenty years ago. Despite this appearance of being the future, the technology to make Project Glass a reality is already readily available. Many Americans already use smart phones with similar capabilities to the ones shown in the video. The only real difference between Project Glass and the latest iPhone would be its display.

While Google has created much excitement with the announcement of Project Glass, there are also many notes of caution that have been voiced since its original release statement. Project Glass would bring a new level of immersion to technology use. Imagine walking down a crowded street where each person was using a pair of glasses that projected their own private reality. If we aren’t careful, the future could be a very lonely place.

Google has set no release date on Project Glass and it has yet to make clear how the devices will be produced. It’s possible that Google intends to manufacture the devices by itself. Otherwise, it could take a similar approach to the one taken with its smartphone operating system Android, which is licensed to a variety of different firms that all use it on their separate devices.

Though Google only showed a handful of different uses for Project Glass in its initial demo video, it is likely that there are many other possibilities for a technology of its sort. Many people have already been experimenting with augmented reality technology for a number of years. Internet pastimes like geocaching, where users search for hidden items using their GPS devices, have already helped to blur the distinction between computers and physical reality.

Google has yet to give any specifics on how the glasses for Project Glass will work. Tech experts have questioned how fragile the devices might be and how their power supply could work without getting in the way. These might seem like small issues but they could play a large role in determining how quickly the technology is adapted by new consumers.

Apart from the concerns over the practicality of Project Glass devices, there are also some safety concerns. There is already debate over the safety of cell phone technology and the ability of tech devices to distract their users. A technology that actually projected information onto someone’s vision could be even more dangerous in this way.

Project Glass products will likely be expensive when they first come out and they could also make their users more likely to be the victims of theft or robbery. There’s no real way to hide a technology that is displayed so prominently on your head. Ipod users have already had some experience with this problem due to the distinctive white ear-buds that come with their devices.

Despite some of the concerns over Project Glass, the announcement of this product has definitely caused more positive attention for Google. It shows the continued dynamism of the American economy that a company that did not even exist until a little over a decade ago could become so important in such a short period of time. Google is one of the great innovators in business today and the model for many technology companies.

Project Glass will likely receive much more scrutiny and generate much more conversation before it finally comes out. The announcement of new technology of this sort has become routine for many in today’s society. It seems like every few years another new product is being offered that has the potential to change all our lives. Sometimes this has proven to be overblown, but there’s no doubt that new technology has done much to change the world in the last few decades.

Twenty years ago, when today’s twenty-somethings were still children, it would have been hard to imagine devices like computer tablets and smartphones that could connect to the internet and provide unlimited media and information to people with just the press of a button. We already have an augmented reality and technology has already intruded into many parts of life that would have been unheard of before.

As with anything, this fact has both its advantages and disadvantages. When reacting to both the concerns over technology like Project Glass and the excitement, it would be wise to take both seriously. Technology is what you make of it. Project Glass could be intrusive on everyday life, but it could also be valuable and provide enchanting new experiences. The future is a choice that we all make together. To build a better world tomorrow all we really need to do is make careful choices today. The worth of Project Glass for society will be determined by its users and what they decide to do with the devices for themselves.