Google Glass Project

Posted by Renato

In the previous post we went through an article written by Robert Rice in 2009.

That vision is now becoming reality:

Google’s augmented reality eyewear (or “eyeware”) will provide hands-free access to maps, weather information, message notifications and more, all displayed as a virtual layer on top of the user’s regular vision.

In the official website Google reveals some of the Glasses features:

• Say “take a picture” to take a picture
• Record what you see. Hands-free
• Share what you see. Live
• Speak to send a message
• Translate your voice

At the University of Western Australia, architecture students have been developing other novel uses for this technology.

The study of past and present buildings is obviously a vital part of an architect’s education. Students currently study images of buildings and plans from history books or the internet.

As part of their course, students constructed an array of virtual buildings in Perth and the surrounding area. The most outstanding project was a real-scale model of a 30-metre-tall cathedral.

This building was “placed” (in a virtual sense) on the UWA lawn using GPS positioning in Google Earth’s 3D Buildings feature.

After downloading an app to their iPhone or iPad, students could walk through and around the building and get a real feel for the space, rather than just seeing a drawing or computer model.

This works by projecting the real environment using the devices camera and the relative GPS co-ordinates. The latest devices can also track the motion of the device.

This creates a simulated space in the real space, all experienced through the screen.
The development of AR glasses would make this experience even more immersive.

We could imagine the city of the future as a white, blank, empty environment, with no shop signs or banners.
Information layers will be read or added through intuitive devices.

When the internet will recline on a physical layer, there will be few brand-new challenges for artists, social thinkers, governments.

People who will not be able to afford such an expensive gadget (Google Glass will be probably sold for the amount of 1.500 $) will not only be unable to communicate, they will not perceive or detect a large part of “realities”.

So, we could theorise the rise of new disability-typologies, such as tech-driven-blindness or… even between the circles of Glass owners, we could imagine that small groups of humans will be able to access to some specific information layers, not reachable (visible, usable) to the masses.

A true search for an answer to the need of responsibility is the first challenge to build a more fair future.

https://theconversation.com

http://www.google.it/glass/start/

FiveWordsForTheFuture - May 26, 2013 | Technologies, Virtual Reality, Visions
Tagged | ar, augmented, features, future, glass, glasses, google, project, reality, responsibility, virtual