June 2013
Alfie Carlisle reports on the latest trend in technology
By Alfie Carlisle
oogle Glass, or simply Glass... There ' s a buzz on Twitter about it, there are videos about it. People are wearing it! In case you didn ' t know, Google Glass is the latest wearable technology, it looks like a pair of regular spectacles, albeit futuristic ones! The glasses feature a small thick piece of glass in front of the users ' right eye. The left eye is completely empty and doesn ' t even feature regular lenses.
Google Glass has Bluetooth capabilities, you connect it to your phone and you ' re ready to go! You can leave your phone in your pocket or bag and enjoy smartphone-like features layered over your normal vision. Glass can accomplish simple, and advanced tasks following a voice command.
To make sure it doesn ' t do anything you don ' t want it to, you always start your command with " OK Glass," then the device starts to listen. You can ask it to send a text, give you directions, Google something and much more! Video chatting is also a key feature in Glass, the device has a built in 5MP camera above the users ' right eye, so, whomever you ' re chatting with, they see what you see! For example, Google ' s I / O Conference last year started with a live video feed( from Google Glass) of a Skydive. The Skydiver then entered the conference room whilst his view was being seen by everyone through their computers, smart-phones and tablets.
You may be wondering how this works, how can the Human eye focus on a screen so close? Well, in truth, your eye doesn ' t focus on the screen! As the image above shows, a mini colour projector to the right of the
6 block of Glass, projects the image directly into the users ' retina, giving the illusion that its actually on the piece of glass. This works quite well, allowing people to film the piece of glass with video cameras to share the experience of Glass all across the Internet!
The device also features speakers above the users ' ears and a microphone for phone calls and voice commands. The side of Glass has a single button which can perform different tasks depending on the application being used. For example, if you say, " OK glass, record a video," the button could start and stop that recording!
So, how can you get a pair of these snazzy new glasses? Well, they ' re only in Beta testing at the moment and sadly, testers must be U. S residents. Fortunately, many of the Beta testers over in the States have been blogging and making videos, for nonusers to enjoy! Oh, and if you are in the U. S, you ' ll need a lot of luck to get picked and $ 1500 to spare!
One day, Glass could be more readily available and in the future, they could become as accessible as computers and phones are today!
What do you think about Glass? Join the discussion with # DHSBSpectator or send us an email – spectator @ dhsb. org