Google launches Glass Dev Kit preview, shows off augmented reality apps

Native apps will finally unlock the full power of Google's futuristic headset.

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[icantbelieveitsnotbutter]

$10 says this fails. All of the Glass apps are going to be creepy as hell and what looks "cool" to Google employees and fans will be the exact opposite to the general public. Let's check back in a year.

 

[ljlego]

All of the limitations that Glass has - slow/slightly dated hardware, software that feels extremely limited and superfluous compared to more established technologies, etc. - really remind me of the limitations that Microsoft's smartphones and (especially) tablets possessed in the pre-iPhone world.

I think we will look back on Glass as a product that really outkicked its coverage, a peculiar footnote that significantly predated a future trend that it greatly resembles.

 

[Ars of Ares]

That translator application would be a godsend while traveling.

 

[abj]

OVER 9000!

 

[mikeht]

Do you think that in the future Glass (or something like it) will be as ubiquitous as mobile phones today? On Preddict only 8% of people think that Glass will be common in 5 years: https://preddict.com/p/00c8f8a91962

 

[JaceQuinn]

I can see Ingress being applied here, so that when you go to a portal you actually see one there. As well as the resonators and various other objects that you can't "see" with the naked eye

 

[Ars of Ares]

JaceQuinn[/url]":278p1eq5]I can see Ingress being applied here, so that when you go to a portal you actually see one there. As well as the resonators and various other objects that you can't "see" with the naked eye

It definitely opens up the possibilities.

 

[MilanKraft]

For the benefit of humanity (not increasing the number of inattentive douches on the road and sidewalks of the world), don't develop for this solution-in-search-of-a-problem technology. Glass is crap. It's the ear phone of eyeglass wear.

 

[jdale]

The video seems a little unclear but it seems like that is augmented reality only in a very limited sense. In the Wordlens example, you frame the text you want to translate in the Glass image. It zooms in. Then it displays that text in the little window, laid over the camera image in that little window. It's still off to the side, a tiny part of your view.

Don't get me wrong, that's pretty cool and useful as a translate function, but this is doing AR only to the extent that you are essentially pointing at things one at a time with the camera and viewing them in a little window. One step better than doing the same on your phone, but still a lot of steps below something that is actively overlaid on your view as you are looking around. If I understand the video correctly.

 

[coppercore]

I really... REALLY want that DBZ app. My god, the possibilities are limitless with the amount of pun you could inflict with that one.

But seriously, give me a Glass that doubles as sunglasses and has good battery life. I can live with a bulkier frame for more cells.

 

[Wes Felter]

jdale[/url]":3dtigatl]The video seems a little unclear but it seems like that is augmented reality only in a very limited sense.

AR is being redefined as "whatever is possible on Glass hardware".

 

[ninjaroll]

Cool. Now can we have AdBlock on it?

 

[Lee Vann]

AR is the future.

But, Google Glass is not there yet. It is to early to tell if it may get there in the near term. Nevertheless I look forward to seeing how this works out.

 

[StringMon]

Lots of comments here from people who have never used - probably never even seen - the technology in question, and know nothing about it other than the hype they've read. For that matter, Google never calls Glass AR - that's Ars' own addition to this news item.

On the one hand, Glass is not "true" AR, and doesn't pretend to be. Contrary to popular misconception, users don't see the world "through" Glass. It's an adjunct off to the side, more akin to a rear view mirror than a windshield.

On the other hand, it has a camera and (with the new GDK) can show information that's relevant to what's in view of the camera - the reality that's in front of your face. If that's NOT augmenting the reality you're seeing, then the definition of AR probably does need to be changed. Which isn't to say that EVERYTHING Glass does is AR, just that the GDK is now capable of it.

 

[glogloglo]

Ars of Ares[/url]":35lsawex]That translator application would be a godsend while traveling.

I came here to specifically comment on this aspect. When I see this level of technology, I think far into the future at what the advancements might be. I commonly wonder what the next major milestone of humankind will be, and perhaps overcoming a language barrier from people around the world might be just thing?

It is not too far off, if you ask me. I think that if we keep developing the technologies like this, we might eventually reach a point where you can communicate with almost anyone in the world, with the simple device, regardless of language barriers. What if you were able to have a conversation with someone, and it was translated in real time for you? Obviously, it might take a long, long time for A.I. and computers to understand the intricacies of human context, slang, accents, etc... But... seeing something simple like this makes me optimistic about the things to come

 

[glogloglo]

jdale[/url]":3bg6uors]The video seems a little unclear but it seems like that is augmented reality only in a very limited sense. In the Wordlens example, you frame the text you want to translate in the Glass image. It zooms in. Then it displays that text in the little window, laid over the camera image in that little window. It's still off to the side, a tiny part of your view.

Don't get me wrong, that's pretty cool and useful as a translate function, but this is doing AR only to the extent that you are essentially pointing at things one at a time with the camera and viewing them in a little window. One step better than doing the same on your phone, but still a lot of steps below something that is actively overlaid on your view as you are looking around. If I understand the video correctly.

While I agree with your opinion about how this technology is not there yet, I think we would be wise to assume that these slower stepping-stones are necessary for the type of product you would truly be impressed with.

 

[djbentle]

I'm waiting for it to tie into an app like Strava and give you a "ghost" of your friend's position on different segments so that you can not only compete against their times, but see their actual location at any point. It would be like competing against friends' ghosts in a racing game, only in real life.

Of course you'd have to be willing to bike with something relatively cumbersome and insecure, and worth $1500 strapped to your head, so there is that downside. Given the accuracy limits of GPS, it would probably be pretty amusing at times too.

 

[darkvine]

glogloglo[/url]":1hwb5vrw]
It is not too far off, if you ask me. I think that if we keep developing the technologies like this, we might eventually reach a point where you can communicate with almost anyone in the world, with the simple device, regardless of language barriers. What if you were able to have a conversation with someone, and it was translated in real time for you? Obviously, it might take a long, long time for A.I. and computers to understand the intricacies of human context, slang, accents, etc... But... seeing something simple like this makes me optimistic about the things to come

I think you're quite optimistic. Translation is a tricky, tricky business, and it's sometimes quite hard enough for two people who grew up speaking English to communicate well. Until computers start understanding semantic content, automated translation will be tremendously lossy. Even expert human translation is inexact, and loses quite a bit of content. Human languages is beautifully complex, highly context-sensitive, and heavily linked to culture. I'm not sure that the language barrier is fully amenable to a technological solution. I'm pretty sure that if it is, it's a long ways off.

 

[Midnitte]

ninjaroll[/url]":in90rsja]Cool. Now can we have AdBlock on it?

I do believe, for the time being, that ads are not allowed in apps on Glass.

 

[benvenutto]

Word Lens: great augmented reality demo, very futuristic if somewhat impractical for everyday use. But wait! I've had Word Lens on iOS for over 2 years now! All that Glass adds is having the screen in my face, not my hand.

And for me this is the issue, where is the killer Glass app? E.g.: a hands free cookery book that follows me about the kitchen is definitely more convenient, but it's not a step change from glancing over to a tablet or printed page. As for tracking my focus of attention, how would that benefit me more than 3rd parties? And what about voice recognition, does Glass offer an edge here? Etc.

It will come, surely, but so far I am waiting...

 

[SocialAR]

Augmented Reality(http://wowsomeapp.com/augmentedreality.html) connects the real world with the unlimited possibilities of online media. It means that digital, situation based content can be “attached” to objects in the environment around you.