Google has been making waves with its new Google Glass device, a wearable interface that projects a computer screen directly into your field of vision. Beyond showing you information, Google Glass can respond, with a built-in camera, microphone, touchpad, and gyro sensors. It’s more or less a means of wiring your sensory experience directly to the internet. Check out this interview with members of the Google Glass team to see what this new technology does, and where it might go in the future. Wired has the story.
Some people are saying you can do everything Google Glass does with a smartphone, and they’re right. Almost. This little gadget has an advantage over smartphones in that it’s right there, next to your eyes and ears, all the time. So whatever you’re seeing and hearing, it’s seeing and hearing. And recording. You don’t need to be holding a phone and pointing it at everything forever.
Second, Google Glass gives you information at the speed of conversation, which is much faster than looking up something through a smartphone. Enough so that it can help you solve problems, while you’re working on the problem. That’s a big step up.