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Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

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Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#121

Post by dannyr »

hswolff wrote: post #25

>“We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input,” the three employees wrote. “Please follow along as we share some of our ideas and stories. We’d love to hear yours, too. What would you like to see from Project Glass?” Why would you ask that? This type of product is so different from what's available on the market that I doubt the Project Glass team woul…

Some people see the infinite possibilities to what Google is doing.

While others see only what's wrong to what Google is doing.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#122

Post by switz »

doktrin wrote: post #66
Symmetry wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its not that Google's automated cars haven't been in an fatal crash, its that they haven't been in a crash at all. The US _crash rate_ is a bit over 5 per million miles traveled, you you would expect about one crash in the 200k miles already covered if it was a human driver. The circumstances probably aren't identical, but what evidence we have suggests that these automated vehicles are at least comparably safe to a…

You can't be serious. The evidence may support it, but the evidence is incredibly limited. Can you imagine the potential liability Google faces if they try to bring this to market without having done due diligence? This is a car , not an iPad.

No one said the car should ship tomorrow, but the reasoning: "Because you don't ship when it still kills people" is ridiculous. Cars have killed people for 90 years and they still ship. And not every death is due to human error. The fact is, the Google car has yet to even be hit by another car, let alone hitting something itself. It hasn't even remotely injured anything, let alone killed a human being.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#123

Post by k-mcgrady »

switz wrote: post #29
jonknee wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you don't ship when it still kills people. Google launches stuff in betas all the time (arguably too much and for too long), but I'm glad they're not out there letting anyone test self driving cars or augmented reality contacts. Apple's difference isn't that they iterate, it's that they don't talk about their new stuff until it ships.

The automated car has driven over 200,000 miles and has never once been in an accident. I don't know many humans that can live up to that.

It has been in accident. It wasn't in one it caused but it was rear ended.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#124

Post by jordhy »

indiefan wrote: post #89
hswolff wrote: post #25

>“We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input,” the three employees wrote. “Please follow along as we share some of our ideas and stories. We’d love to hear yours, too. What would you like to see from Project Glass?” Why would you ask that? This type of product is so different from what's available on the market that I doubt the Project Glass team woul…

Typical Google. Treating what should be platforms like products and treating what should be products like platforms.

This is a great point. In the Project Glass video all of the products are Google's. Imagine if, instead of a product, the Google glasses were an open platform for AR like Android is for smartphones. If this were so, Google could create a new app store for AR applications, a new distribution platform for web searches, AR open web apps, and (maybe) a first-person version of YouTube (reality TV 3.0). This platform would mobilize the development community and deter some companies from building apps for the iPhone (if delivery on the Google Glass platform would be more convenient).

As a developer who is working on a product that's very well suited to take advantage of this product I'm very ashamed of Google's lack of third-party developer involvement and business vision. Sure the product looks great, but is not solely about products; it's about people, about delivering value for customers the world over. And the full value of this product would only be realized if Google takes a platform approach, opens up the ecosystem and lets everybody in (including, and, especially Facebook).

Summary of the good things I saw in the demo:

- Very clean user interface

- Nice hardware design

- Interesting functionalities

- Nice integration with Google products

- Slick animations

- Seems to be pretty fast

Initial concerns:

- Video calls in version one? What about battery life? Sometimes is better to keep some things out on first iterations

- No hints to integrations with other platforms

- Too much use of voice (we all know the state of the art in voice recognition and how long voice processing currently takes)

- I didn't see a single Web search in the video... how come?

All and all this is a VERY promising product and a very important one for the whole industry. I hope Google opens up this platform so that it can reach all the momentum and followers it deserves.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#125

Post by kami8845 »

Symmetry wrote: post #57
teej wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

200k miles is nothing. Over 8 billion vehicle miles are spent per DAY in the US. One person is killed for every 75 million miles driven. 200k miles isn't enough to test every terrain, under every weather condition, in every lighting, etc. There's too many variables in the equation. The Google car won't be truly safe until it has logged 1000x miles.

Its not that Google's automated cars haven't been in an fatal crash, its that they haven't been in a crash at all. The US _crash rate_ is a bit over 5 per million miles traveled, you you would expect about one crash in the 200k miles already covered if it was a human driver. The circumstances probably aren't identical, but what evidence we have suggests that these automated vehicles are at least comparably safe to a…

The Google car is only driven in controlled conditions in sunny California. For example the car simply doesn't work when it snows, so they just turn it off for that duration.

The project looks promising but it still has a long way to go.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#127

Post by fudged »

jasonlotito wrote: post #55

What this will provide for disabled and autistic people is amazing. It's too easy to get caught up in the "social sharing" part of this and forget that something like this can really help change people's lives. Edit: To expand a bit, take an autistic adult that wants to do something, like go to the movies. It's simple for us, we wash up, get dressed, go outside, go down the straight, hope on the 132 Bus for 3 stops,…

It's too easy to get caught up in the "social sharing"

It's also hard not to recognize that consumer technology shifts further towards entertainment than utility. It's bizarre and selfish how consumer technology alerts you immediately about friend requests but not local emergencies. It's bizarre and selfish how your phone can show people your apps, contacts, and calendar, but not emergency medical information. Having apps x, y, and z can someone solve these for an individual, but as a society we haven't progressed much with this technology. The idea that the person beside me might have a heart attack, and I'd have to navigate their phone to find an ICE contact just baffles the hell out of me.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#128

Post by fudged »

jordhy wrote: post #124
indiefan wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typical Google. Treating what should be platforms like products and treating what should be products like platforms.

This is a great point. In the Project Glass video all of the products are Google's. Imagine if, instead of a product, the Google glasses were an open platform for AR like Android is for smartphones. If this were so, Google could create a new app store for AR applications, a new distribution platform for web searches, AR open web apps, and (maybe) a first-person version of YouTube (reality TV 3.0). This platform would…

Does webpage searching really have much relevance to AR? A lot of useful services for this application are on different platforms like twitter, facebook, chat, video, maps. I don't think this AR will/should be text-heavy.

Re: Google Begins Testing Its Augmented Reality Glasses

#130

Post by JanezStupar »

siavosh wrote: post #72

I loved the video, but it didn't show the glasses on his face. Besides the technical/usability challenges, I think the cultural connotation of the device will be an equally deal/no-deal situation. Like the Segway, significant portions of the society might associate negative connotations with the device ("dorky", antisocial, pretentious etc). I remember when a friend bought a pair of Oakley sunglasses with built in he…

This is nothing like Segway. Segway users are bound to be seen as too lazy to walk.

But imagine having these glasses on while performing a complicated technical procedure providing you with checklist of activities, enabling you to take pictures as you go.

Or giving a lecture/presentation without having to turn away from the public to peek at your presentation/notes.

Plus in comparison to Segway and bluetooth headphones these would make you look cool.

It just lacks a Brain Computer Interface.

I want one, of both.

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