Google Goggles: A New Twist to Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) phones are gaining popularity quickly, as phones process more information about the world's places. Juniper Research analysts reported that the quantity of AR-supported smartphones represented 8 million in 2009 and sharply inclined to over 100 million in 2010 as the technology proved increasingly reliable. Not surprisingly, rumors of Google creating and selling Heads-Up Display (HUD) glasses within a few months arose in early February. Of all companies, why would Google come up with consumer-targeted HUD glasses? Google Maps, a dominant service which provides centimeter-accurate mapping, can definitely be used to locate nearby stores or addresses in a portable fashion. Like Google's experimental self-driving cars, Google Maps can be used in the form of glasses to display local data in an augmented reality aspect.

The reason why many popular news services are publishing news on this unverified product, unlike other theoretical rumors, is that a HUD glasses project at the Google X Labs, a secretive laboratory near the main campus, has already been initiated. This information was leaked by several Google employees familiar with the project. Reports seem to indicate that Google was finishing the prototype in December.

A tipster has actually seen the glasses and reports that it looks similar to the Oakley Thump model. This model will feature a front-facing camera, the ability to take pictures, and may support camera-flash. 9to5Google reports that "I/O on the [Google] glasses will also include voice input and output, and we are told the CPU/RAM/storage hardware is near the equivalent of a generation-old Android smartphone." As perceived, the employees stated that the glasses would be Android-based. Furthermore, the glasses will likely feature GPS connectivity and may support 3G/4G connectivity.

One major privacy flaw that Google is attending to includes the possibility of people being unknowingly recorded by others wearing the device. Unlike a video camera, AR glasses are inconspicuous and therefore present this potentially hazardous privacy risk. Google X is currently working on a solution to this proposed problem. As data is acquired by the AR glasses user, a synchronized cloud will update the information on all other AR glasses; technically, we're doing the detailed mapping work for Google as we travel with the glasses. New York Times author Nick Bilton reports that the glasses may interlace Google Latitude, Goggles, and Maps together in an attempt to create a portable AR browser.

Nick Bilton also adds that Google is still depicting how the glasses should be released, and speculates that a pilot program similar to the CR-48 Chromebooks is a likely technique. Google may be speculating the project as a collaborative experiment that anyone will be able to join, instead of Google selling perceived business models. This attempt by Google may be a life-changer, but we just hope that the future doesn't entail a Second Life-like world.