Google Heads Up Display Coming By the End of the Year

kodiaktau writes "Google is working to deliver a heads-up display allowing users access to email, maps and other tools through a wearable interface. According to the NY Times' sources, the device will be available later this year, and sell for prices comparable to smartphones. 'The people familiar with the Google glasses said they would be Android-based, and will include a small screen that will sit a few inches from someone’s eye. They will also have a 3G or 4G data connection and a number of sensors including motion and GPS. ... The glasses will have a low-resolution built-in camera that will be able to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings and friends who might be nearby, according to the Google employees. The glasses are not designed to be worn constantly — although Google expects some of the nerdiest users will wear them a lot — but will be more like smartphones, used when needed.'"

Comments

Googloid

[Jmanamj]

I will be plugged into the Google at all times. I will fear no evil for Google will be with me, and will guide me to safety. The Google provides divine inspiration, and is the light of the world. The Google protects. You should be plugged in to the Google. Otherwise you are a lesser bing. All hail the Google.

Re:Googloid

[game kid]

Otherwise you are a lesser bing.

I see what you did there.

Perspective

[StripedCow]

So now google is able to literally look through our eyes... great.

Re:Perspective

[JaredOfEuropa]

My thoughts exactly. I got exited at the prospect of practical AR glasses finally arriving on the market ("practical" meaning more or less affordable, and well designed so that you can actually wear them in public), but got disappointed when reading that it is Google releasing them. Remember that they will not just be looking, but analysing and interpreting as well.

Give them a few years to develop this further and combine it with their other data (face recognition for instance), and you get something like the following sitting in a Google server somewhere.
SUBJECT: John Doe (Google ID 1312.11.552.874.5)
EVENT: Observation of known person
OBJECT: Jane Doe (Google ID 7823.14.461.551.6)
Identified by tagged photo, 78 hits, average match 87%, confidence after cross-correlation 99.12%
DURATION: 14 seconds total, eye motion analysis breaks down as follows:
- face: 2 seconds
- chest: 5 seconds
- posterior: 4 seconds
- legs: 3 seconds

Re:Perspective

[93 Escort Wagon]

So now google is able to literally look through our eyes... great.

Listen, troll - stop the mindless Google bashing. Google Interceptors aren't scheduled for beta release until Q2 2016.

Re:Perspective

[Tharsman]

SUBJECT: John Doe (Google ID 1312.11.552.874.5)
SUBJECT AGE: 24
EVENT: Observation of known person
OBJECT: Jael Bate (Google ID 7823.14.461.551.6)
Identified by tagged photo, 1,264,243,452 hits, average match 87%, confidence after cross-correlation 99.12%
OBJECT AGE: 17 and 11 months
DURATION: 2 minutes and 9 seconds total, eye motion analysis breaks down as follows:
- face: 2 seconds
- posterior: 4 seconds
- legs: 3 seconds
- chest: 2 minutes

PEDOPHILE BEHAVIOR DETECTED, CONTACTING POLICE DEPARTMENT, ELECTRICALLY STUNNING SUBJECT UNTIL POLICE ARRIVAL.

Sounds interesting

[pseudofrog]

And six months after Google releases it, Apple will invent it.

Re:Sounds interesting

[Sqr(twg)]

And everyone will buy from Apple, because "wearing iGlasses" sounds so much more plesant than "wearing a Galaxy HUD".

Re:Sounds interesting

[ConceptJunkie]

And three years after Apple pre-invents it, Microsoft will re-invent it poorly, call it "innovation", completely botch the marketing and end up having to pull the product within a couple months.

Re:Sounds interesting

[ConceptJunkie]

Actually, to be fair, Microsoft Research probably had it 5 years ago but the monkeyboy is always too busy exhibiting Tourette's syndrome about Google to notice.

Re:Sounds interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

And everyone will buy from Apple, because "wearing iGlasses" sounds so much more plesant than "wearing a Galaxy HUD".

Apple iGlass users will be happy with their purchase, willing to pay a premium for simpler interfaces, unified experience, and first-rate hardware.

Google Android HUD users will be happy with their purchase, opting for complex interaction, platform openness, and a variety of hardware.

The telling difference is that Android users will sneer at Apple users for being fashion slaves and clueless n00bs, while most Apple users will hardly even know what Android is and, when informed by an evangelizing Android user, will continue not to care.

A message to evangelizing Android users: you can stop your religious war because nobody fucking cares.

First design image leaked

[Rhaban]

Here it is: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/685/locutus.jpg/

Re:First design image leaked

[SuricouRaven]

In-the-link-must-control-thoughts-must-not-think-about-hot-porn-with-that-oh-shit-did-he-hear-that-act-cool-focus-on-the-work...

Cue the brain tumor posts...

[rbrightwell]

I guess cell phones just weren't radiating close enough to our heads.

I'd rather have the glasses only ...

[Lazy Jones]

... connected to my smartphone. Perhaps even one without maximum privacy impact. Existing designs: terminally-incoherent.com blog

Missing an important feature.

[Lumpy]

I don't see where they turn completely black when they sense danger.

One step closer to the Darknet

[Anonymous Coward]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(technothriller_series)

Interesting

[lucian1900]

I've often wished for a HUD to allow me to read while walking around.

But why would this be an Android device of its own, rather than just an input/output device for my existing Android phone?

Lenses

[Bensam123]

I'm actually quite interested in when these will be available as normal prescription glasses lenses. I think this is a lot of geeks wet dream. Heck you could even possibly replace the lenses themselves with a modified display that uses a camera and alters the image to your prescription. Given the imaging resolution would have to be high enough and it would have to have a fast enough response time. This is like the holy grail of all technology beyond being directly connected to your computer via your brain.

Honestly, just using a modified pair of prescription lenses would work... for now.

I see what you did there

[e.coli]

"The glasses are not designed to be worn constantly — although Google expects some of the nerdiest users will wear them a lot — but will be more like smartphones, used when needed.'"

Great, now there will be idiots driving AND wearing these. And at restaurants, theaters, and everywhere else cell phone users abusers currently annoy people.

Still, I would love to have one, or two.

Head bobbing

[michaelmalak]

"The navigation system currently used is a head tilting to scroll and click," Mr. Weintraub wrote this month. "We are told it is very quick to learn and once the user is adept at navigation, it becomes second nature and almost indistinguishable to outside users."

Like this?

No thanks, Google

[mcgrew]

I wore glasses (thick ones) for 45 years until medical technology came to my rescue. I'm not going back. Sunglasses, maybe, but a headsup display at all times with your email and such?

You know, there are some things that should not be invented and this is one of them. You think people talking on their phones while driving are dangerous, wait until they're wearing these glasses! It will be bad enough on the sidewalk with idiots paying attention to the HUD and not where they're going, running into you... better than driving with them, though.

What's worse It's a completely unnecessary device. Doesn't your phone beep when you get a message?

However, this will probably go over big with the hipsters. Kind of like the Segway was so popular. It does have one good feature -- nopbody wearing these will EVER get laid, so their genes will no longer pollute the pool. And the ones who wear them driving (and they will, you know they will) may kill themselves, but unfortunately take an innocent or two with them.

Re:No thanks, Google

[tomhudson]

It's inevitable, as I predicted here last August. But don't worry, you won't have to look nerdy.

Pretty much every electronic device can interact with your video SPEKZ, which can be anything from a pair of plain-jane NokiaSofts to the latest cool shades from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). Cars, streetlight surveillance cams, water meters, televisions, and even your clock radio are all talking to each other -- and your SPEKZ are piggybacking on their data streams. There's not a single laptop, desktop, smartphone or tablet computer in sight.

It's an amazingly seamless experience. The tiny twin cams on your SPEKZ let you share what you see with your friends and stream a copy to your home server. Your watch and charm bracelet contain sensors to detect your wrist movements and the muscles and tendons of your fingers flexing, all descended from Nintendo WiiMote technology.

As for driving with the future versions, it will be safer, since:they will give the driver full night vision, as well as the ability to display an enhanced view of traffic despite road glare, sun in the eyes, torrential rain, etc. It would be nice to see that deer well before it goes through your windshield.