Google Glass Teardown • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Glass Teardown

#51

Post by gcb0 » Wed, Jun 12, 2013, 7:00 PM UTC

dreeves wrote: post #25

"Although functional, the experience was subpar, because the head proximity sensor was very unreliable when next to a lens." I turned off my proximity sensor (that's an option in settings -- "On-Head Detection") because the false positives (like turning on or off because my finger covered the sensor briefly) were more annoying than having to turn it on and off with the power button. So unless there's more use for the…

people haven't learned from microsoft office clipper!

Everyone rather have control than implied ominous prediction.

i hate that i can't press a button on my phone and switch from landscape/portrait modes. rotation sensor is silly most of the time.

Re: Google Glass Teardown

#52

Post by danellis » Wed, Jun 12, 2013, 7:05 PM UTC

miahi wrote: post #39

danellis wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then why does it need the MyGlass app running for GPS?

Probably for AGPS and a better positioning using both GPS chips and other positioning sensors (cell towers, wifi). The Glass GPS antenna is tiny, it can take ages to synchronize without aid.

"Ages" must mean more than half an hour inside a car, then. If I don't have the MyGlass app running on my phone, the location accuracy is so limited that I can only assume it's based on WiFi.

But what do you mean "without aid"? Even without MyGlass running, Glass still has WiFi-based location and an Internet connection (tethering is separate from MyGlass) -- isn't that sufficient for AGPS?

Re: Google Glass Teardown

#53

Post by Wingman4l7 » Thu, Jun 13, 2013, 12:36 AM UTC

danellis wrote: post #28

Wingman4l7 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A watch computer != a HUD. A watch could never do augmented reality overlays -- heck, even a phone can do those better than a watch ever could. IMO that's like saying the iPad will go head to head with laptops -- it's an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Glass can't do AR overlays either, unless you only wanted to overlay a small area in the upper right of your vision.

It's still a step up from holding your smartphone at arms length in front of your face. You have to start somewhere =)

Re: Google Glass Teardown

#54

Post by Wingman4l7 » Thu, Jun 13, 2013, 3:33 AM UTC

bengillies wrote: post #43

Wingman4l7 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A watch computer != a HUD. A watch could never do augmented reality overlays -- heck, even a phone can do those better than a watch ever could. IMO that's like saying the iPad will go head to head with laptops -- it's an apples-to-oranges comparison.

And yet the iPad _is_ going head to head with laptops and seems to be destroying them, despite their obvious differences. You're right: a watch != a HUD. However, in the current iteration, people would be using a watch for pretty much the same purpose as Glass (which can't really do full on augmented reality either) so, despite their differences, they would definitely be in direct competition with each other.

Is it? Maybe the iPad is supplanting laptops in some niches, but I'd argue that those are ones were maybe a laptop wasn't the proper device in the first place.

AIUI Glass can't do augmented reality only because the API is currently too restrictive, which is really too bad. Using a HUD as a glorified head-mounted camera seems like a huge waste of opportunity. Even if they never open up the API, a HUD can still do things that a watch is going to struggle to replicate.

This[1] is a good overview of what it takes to make an AR device, and it examines the Glass hardware in respect to that. The verdict? The hardware is there (although it's not stereoscopic) but the software is behind. You have to start somewhere, though.

[1]: http://blog.integratedrealities.com/?p=261