Amazon Is Reportedly Working On Alexa-Enabled Smart Glasses (techcrunch.com)

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Amazon Is Reportedly Working On Alexa-Enabled Smart Glasses (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday September 20, 2017 @10:40AM from the always-connected dept.

According to the Financial Times (Warning: source paywalled), Amazon is working on building a pair of smart glasses to house its Alexa voice assistant. The report also mentions a home security camera that is in the works, capable of linking up to Amazon's existing Echo connected devices. TechCrunch reports: According to the FT, the smart glasses are intended to be purely an earbuds-free housing for Amazon's Alexa AI -- with a bone-conduction audio system that would enable the wearer to hear Alexa without the need to be wired in. The FT reports the glasses would wirelessly tether to a user's smartphone for connectivity. They are also apparently being designed to look like a regular pair of spectacles, so they could be worn comfortably and unobtrusively. The paper notes that Amazon hired Babak Parviz, founder of Google Glass, in 2014, and says he's been closely involved in the project. It also points to several other Glass researchers, engineers and designers having moved to Amazon's labs -- per analysis of their LinkedIn profiles.

32 comments

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

This is exciting! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 10:44 · Score: 2, Funny

I can imagine zero uses for this!
1. Re:This is exciting! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 11:19 · Score: -1
  
  Why were so many níggers killed in the Vietnam war?? because when the sergeant said to "get down", they all got up and started dancing.
  What did God say when he made the first níggers? Oops! Burnt another one!
  A Mexican and a nígger are riding in car . . who's driving? A cop!
  What happens when you stick your hand in a jar of jelly beans? The black ones steal your watch and rings.
  What do you call a smiling black man? Snígger
  What's black and white and rolls down the Boardwalk? A nígger and a seagull fighting over a French Fry.
  What do black men do after sex? 15 years to life.
  Did you hear about the 9 year old African nígglet? He was going through a mid-life crisis.
  What's the difference between a black and a white fairytale? White begins, "once upon a time," black begins, "y'all motherfuckers ain't gonna believe dis shit!"
  What do you call a nígger in a tree with a briefcase? Branch manager.
  How do you stop a nígger from drowning? Take your foot off the back of his head.
  How do you get a nígger out of a tree? Cut the rope.
  What did the Alabama sherriff call the nígger who had been shot 15 times? Worst case of suicide he had ever seen.
  What do you get when you cross a retard with a gang banger? Someone who spray paints on a chain link fence.
  Why do níggers stink? So blind people can hate them too.
  How do you know Adam and Eve were not black? You ever try to take a rib from a nígger?
  What is a nígger? Proof that skunks fuck monkeys.
  What's the difference between a dead dog in the road and a dead nígger in the road? The dead dog has skid marks in front of it.
  What did Abe Lincoln say after a 3 day drunk? "I set WHO free?"
  What do you call a nígger with a peg leg? Shit on a stick! -joe
  Why do níggers always have sex on their minds? Because they have pubes on their heads! -Bo
  What does Pontiac stand for? Poor Old Nígger Thinks It's A Cadillac! -ricky
  Did you hear the one about the baby nígger who went to heaven and got his wings? He said, "God! Look! I'm an angel!", and God said, "No you stupid nígger! You're a bat, now eff off!"
  I like black people . . .. . I used to have some black friends 'till my dad sold them!
  What does a nígress and an ice hockey player have in common? They both change their pads after 3 periods! -ashmoor
  Why do blacks have white hands and feet? They were on all fours when God spray painted them!
  Why do black people have white hands? They were up against the wall when God spray painted them!
  Why do black people have white hands? Everyone has some good in them! -bonz
  Why do black people have white hands? It rubs off the cop cars! -bonz
  Why do more níggers get hit by cars in the winter? They're easier to spot! -brenden
  What do you call two blacks on one bike? Organized crime! -bobo
  Why are níggers getting stronger? T.V.s are getting bigger! -tim
  What happened to the nígger who had an abortion? Crime Stoppers sent her a check for $500! -tim
  Why don't nígger bitchs wear panties to picnics? To keep the flies away from the chicken! -michael
  What's the difference between a truck full of baby níggers and a truck full of bowling balls? You can't unload a truck full of bowling balls with a pitchfork!
  What does FUBU stand for? Farmers Used to Buy Us
  What does FUBU stand for? Farmers Used to Beat Us
  Why don't sharks eat níggers? They think its whale shit!
  Why do níggers call white people "honkies"? Thats the last sound they hear before they get hit! -davey
  What do they do with dead níggers in California? Gut them to make wetsuits! -kara
  Why does L.A. have so many fags and N.Y. so many níggers? L.A. had first choice! -David
  What do you call a chinese n
2. Re:This is exciting! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 17:01 · Score: 0
  
  I can think of one - replay arguments with dear wife before opening my mouth a second time.
PROOF! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 10:45 · Score: -1

Climate Change is FAKE NEWS!
1. Re:PROOF! by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 11:31 · Score: 0
  
  Climate Change is FAKE NEWS!
  Your father was a turkey baster because your mom went to a sperm bank.
Interesting by JohnFen · 2017-09-20 10:49 · Score: 1

Take Google Glass and literally remove everything that made it useful. Sounds like a win!
1. Re:Interesting by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 10:54 · Score: 0
  
  Given that there was nothing useful in Google Glass in the first place, they're removing nothing?
2. Re:Interesting by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 10:56 · Score: 0
  
  I was the king of the hipsters and looked down on everyone when I was wearing Google Glass. You can't put a price on that.
3. Re:Interesting by JohnFen · 2017-09-20 10:57 · Score: 2
  
  There was a lot useful in Google Glass, mostly around AR. The reason it failed wasn't a lack of usefulness.
4. Re:Interesting by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 11:00 · Score: 0
  
  Google glass! VR! 3D printing! AI! Private space! Meet the new future, same as the old future...
5. Re:Interesting by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 11:52 · Score: 0
  
  When out and about e.g. on holidays in a place I dont know
  I could imagine
  a gps that when I ask for a location show me an unobtrusive arrow in front of my field of vision indicating the direction
  look at something (art, buildings, a place of interest) and get relevant information just by asking
  shoping aroung and get info about the item im looking at, including nearby competitors pricing
  looking at someone and get a info card about the individual
  Gaming, imagine a pokemon kind of game where you have to find something in the city and there are clues and magic markings in buildings and were the participants get an overlay so they look like 18 century people
  and i didnt start thinking on uses in the work place, retail, health services.............
6. Re:Interesting by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 12:02 · Score: -1
  
  Maybe it could help you to not fuck up line breaks, you dumbass nygger.
7. Re:Interesting by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 14:22 · Score: 0
  
  Maybe it could help you to not fuck up line breaks, you dumbass nygger.
  Write it correctly to get around the bullshit censorship (on a site that claims to support the American First Amendment!!) Write the letter "i" as ampersand-i-acute-semicolon. Without the hyphens of course. Then it looks like this: nígger. See? It just has a slight accent-mark on the 'i" character. Bullshit political censorship: averted.
8. Re:Interesting by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 22:59 · Score: 0
  
  Until you got a kick in the face for being intrusive, sociopathic arshole, How do you like them glass shards in your eyes, hm?
Mira, joto. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 10:54 · Score: 0

Que chingados es tu pinche problema, maricon?
1. Re: Mira, joto. by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 11:10 · Score: 0
  
  Will Alexa-enabled smart glasses help us send all the beaners back to Mexico pronto?
People will think you are talking to yourself by jfdavis668 · 2017-09-20 11:03 · Score: 1

Alexa, tell me a joke. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha...
1. Re:People will think you are talking to yourself by coofercat · 2017-09-21 00:13 · Score: 1
  
  "Alexa! This meeting is really boring - Turn on fake eyes so I can go to sleep without anyone knowing"
2. Re:People will think you are talking to yourself by JohnFen · 2017-09-21 03:49 · Score: 1
  
  That's an amateur move. The pros know how to sleep with their eyes open while occasionally writing down some gibberish "notes".
One should never by taustin · 2017-09-20 11:24 · Score: 1

keep all of one's suck in one basket. If you drop it, you'll get suck all over your shoes.
Alexa by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 11:25 · Score: 0

Amazon will increase my websites Alexa rank soon :D
Download android paid apps and games for free
Alexa, how can l look even more pretentious? by elrous0 · 2017-09-20 11:30 · Score: 1

Already answered.

--
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
That might prevent smart birds ordering ... by angel'o'sphere · 2017-09-20 11:52 · Score: 1

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabul...

--
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
More surveillance by Rick+Schumann · 2017-09-20 11:53 · Score: 1

Do I need to elaborate?
1. Re:More surveillance by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2017-09-20 12:07 · Score: 1
  
  The report also mentions a home security camera that is in the works, capable of linking up to Amazon's existing Echo connected devices.
  Hey, so Amazon can snoop around your house, and suggest that you need a new toaster or coffee table.
  That would be very nice of them, wouldn't it . . . ?
  
  --
  Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
2. Re:More surveillance by Rick+Schumann · 2017-09-20 15:08 · Score: 1
  
  I used to scoff furiously at people who didn't believe that protecting their privacy was all that important because "they aren't doing anything to be ashamed of so why should they care?". I'd ask them how they'd feel if I came around and installed cameras and microphones in their houses so they could be watched and listened to 24/7/365; they'd always scoff at me and say "nobody is ever going to do that, that's ridiculous!". And now here we are, in 2017, and these same people are probably the ones installing internet-connected cameras and audio monitoring devices all through their homes, likely without a thought or a care in the world about who might be watching or listening. They are fools.
  
  Joking about all that surveillance gear being used for something as pedestrian as collecting marketing data
  
  Laugh-out-fucking-loud, I'd be so much happier if that's all they were doing with it!
Yet another... by VeryFluffyBunny · 2017-09-20 12:04 · Score: 1

...silicon valley wearable that makes you look like a dork and none of your friends want to hang out with you anymore because, you know, constant surveillance.

--
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
Equal opportunity insult by markdavis · 2017-09-20 12:21 · Score: 1

"Glasshole" knows no brand :)
1. Re:Equal opportunity insult by just+another+AC · 2017-09-20 15:56 · Score: 1
  
  I always kind of thought it more suited an Apple type brand.
  Google just never had enough salesmanship to turn "condescending self importance" into "cool" which is the hurdle these things must clear. Amazon will fail for the same reason.
  Only Steve Jobs era Apple could've pulled it off.
Color me impressed when..... by mark-t · 2017-09-20 12:25 · Score: 2

.... the tech cannot be distinguished from regular eyewear by any kind of cursory examination.
I have no interest in spying on people, but I do very much like the idea of having a life-recorder with which I can record my day's experiences without my having to reach for another recording device such as my smart phone, and I could go back later and review things that I experienced that I might wish to review some detail on for posterity that would otherwise be forever lost simply on account of an imperfect memory and the fact that I didn't have my phone ready to record at that precise moment.
However, I don't particularly want to get my ass handed to me by people who think I'm wanting to spy on them every time I go out wearing such a device... or interested in uploading content to the internet or whatever, so I would rather that the device be completely invisible to onlookers.

--
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
1. Re:Color me impressed when..... by Gilgaron · 2017-09-20 15:22 · Score: 1
  
  As with many things suggested on Slashdot these days, that's a Black Mirror episode... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
2. Re:Color me impressed when..... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-20 17:34 · Score: 0
  
  I'm usually first in line for neat toys, but wearables are the sort of thing where a walled garden has no place... and Amazon is notoriously unrelenting about their walled garden.