The announcement almost went unnoticed in the stream of announcements for the opening of Google I/O on Wednesday evening, but the manufacturer made an interesting announcement on the side of connected glasses . Just ten years after the fanfare presentation of Google Glass , the firm has indeed unveiled new augmented reality glasses.
However, unlike Google Glass, these are not all-purpose glasses, equipped with a simple prism and which can film, orient you and display your notifications. Here, the use of these connected glasses seems limited to a simple use: instantaneous translation.
In an illustrative video, Google shows the example of a Chinese mother and her English-speaking daughter, who manage to communicate thanks to these new augmented reality glasses thanks to the display of real-time translation on the glass. glasses. To do this, the glasses seem to have microphones and a display system in the glass. Concretely, this is the translation algorithms of Google Translate pushed directly into a pair of glasses. Remember that Google already offers similar functions on the Google Translation application on smartphones, which in particular allows you to converse in a foreign language with the conversation mode .
However, the glasses go further in that they allow users to chat with each other without having to look away to observe their smartphone screen.
Glasses Also Suitable For People Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing
Moreover, in addition to people speaking a language different from yours, these glasses may be of interest to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, since they will allow them to read directly what you can say to them, even if you do not know the sign language.
For now, however, it is only a prototype. It is therefore unknown if Google intends to market these new glasses one day and if so, at what price or on what date.
What is Google Glass
Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a brand of smart glasses—an optical head-mounted display designed in the shape of a pair of glasses. It was developed by X (previously Google X) with the mission of producing a ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information in a smartphone-like, hands-free format. Wearers communicate with the Internet via natural language voice commands.
Google started selling a prototype of Google Glass to qualified "Glass Explorers" in the US on April 15, 2013, for a limited period for $1,500, before it became available to the public on May 15, 2014. It had an integral 5 megapixel still/720p video camera. The headset received a great deal of criticism amid concerns that its use could violate existing privacy laws.
On January 15, 2015, Google announced that it would stop producing the Google Glass prototype, to be continued in 2017 tentatively. In July 2017, Google announced the Google Glass Enterprise Edition. In May 2019, Google announced the Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2.
Google Glass was developed by Google X, the facility within Google devoted to technological advancements such as driverless cars.
The Google Glass prototype resembled standard eyeglasses with the lens replaced by a head-up display. In mid-2011, Google engineered a prototype that weighed 8 pounds (3.6 kg); by 2013 they were lighter than the average pair of sunglasses.
In April 2013, the Explorer Edition was made available to Google I/O developers in the United States for $1,500. The product was publicly announced in April 2012. Sergey Brin wore a prototype of the Glass to an April 5, 2012, Foundation Fighting Blindness event in San Francisco. In May 2012, Google demonstrated for the first time how Google Glass could be used to shoot videos.
Google provided four prescription frame choices for $225 and free with the purchase of any new Glass unit. Google entered in a partnership with the Italian eyewear company Luxottica, owners of the Ray-Ban, Oakley, and other brands, to offer additional frame designs. In June 2014, Nepal government adopted Google Glass for tackling poachers of wild animals and herbs of Chitwan International Park and other parks listed under World heritage sites. In January 2015, Google ended the beta period of Glass (the "Google Glass Explorer" program).
In February 2015, The New York Times reported that Google Glass was being redesigned by former Apple executive Tony Fadell, and that it would not be released until he deemed it to be "perfect".
In July 2017, it was announced that the second iteration, the Google Glass Enterprise Edition, would be released in the US for companies such as Boeing.Google Glass Enterprise Edition has already been successfully used by Dr. Ned Sahin to help children with autism learn social skills.
In May 2019, Google announced the Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2. Google also announced a partnership with Smith Optics to develop Glass-compatible safety frames.
Features
Google Glass can be controlled using the touchpad built into the side of the device
- Touchpad: A touchpad is located on the side of Google Glass, allowing users to control the device by swiping through a timeline-like interface displayed on the screen. Sliding backward shows current events, such as weather, and sliding forward shows past events, such as phone calls, photos, circle updates, etc.
- Camera: Google Glass has the ability to take 5 MP photos and record 720p HD video. Glass Enterprise Edition 2 has an improved 8MP 80° FOV camera.
- Display: The Explorer version of Google Glass uses a liquid crystal on silicon (based on an LCoS chip from Himax), field-sequential color system, LED illuminated display. The display's LED illumination is first P-polarized and then shines through the in-coupling polarizing beam splitter (PBS) to the LCoS panel. The panel reflects the light and alters it to S-polarization at active pixel sensor sites. The in-coupling PBS then reflects the S-polarized areas of light at 45° through the out-coupling beam splitter to a collimating reflector at the other end. Finally, the out-coupling beam splitter (which is a partially reflecting mirror, not a polarizing beam splitter) reflects the collimated light another 45° and into the wearer's eye.
Software
Applications
Google Glass applications are free applications built by third-party developers. Glass also uses many existing Google applications, such as Google Maps and Gmail. Many developers and companies built applications for Glass, including news apps, facial recognition, exercise, photo manipulation, translation, and sharing to social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Third-party applications announced at South by Southwest (SXSW) include Evernote, Skitch, The New York Times, and Path.
On March 23, 2013, Google released the Mirror API, allowing developers to start making apps for Glass. In the terms of service, it was stated that developers may not put ads in their apps or charge fees; a Google representative told The Verge that this might change in the future.
On May 16, 2013, Google announced the release of seven new programs, including reminders from Evernote, fashion news from Elle, and news alerts from CNN. Following Google's XE7 Glass Explorer Edition update in early July 2013, evidence of a "Glass Boutique", a store that will allow synchronization to Glass of Glassware and APKs, was noted.
Version XE8 made a debut for Google Glass on August 12, 2013. It brings an integrated video player with playback controls, the ability to post an update to Path, and lets users save notes to Evernote. Several other minute improvements include volume controls, improved voice recognition, and several new Google Now cards.
On November 19, 2013, Google unveiled its Glass Development Kit, showcasing the translation tool Word Lens, the cooking program AllTheCooks, and the exercise program Strava among others as successful examples. Google announced three news programs in May 2014—TripIt, FourSquare and OpenTable—in order to entice travelers. On June 25, 2014, Google announced that notifications from Android Wear would be sent to Glass.
The European University Press published the first book to be read with Google Glass on October 8, 2014, as introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The book can be read as a normal paper book or—enriched with multimedia elements—with Google Glass, Kindle, on Smartphone and Pads on the platforms iOS and Android.
MyGlass
Google offered a companion Android and iOS app called MyGlass, which allowed the user to configure and manage the device. It was removed on February 22, 2020 from the Play Store.
Voice activation
Other than the touchpad, Google Glass can be controlled using just "voice actions". To activate Glass, wearers tilt their heads 30° upward (which can be altered for preference) or simply tap the touchpad, and say "O.K., Glass." Once Glass is activated, wearers can say an action, such as "Take a picture", "Record a video", "Hangout with [person/Google+ circle]", "Google 'What year was Wikipedia founded?'", "Give me directions to the Eiffel Tower", and "Send a message to John" (many of these commands can be seen in a product video released in February 2013). For search results that are read back to the user, the voice response is relayed using bone conduction through a transducer that sits beside the ear, thereby rendering the sound almost inaudible to other people.
Source: Sekarangsayatahu.com
