Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a discontinued brand of smart glasses developed by Google's X Development (formerly Google X), with a mission of producing a ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using a head-up display. Wearers communicate with the Internet via natural language voice commands. Google started selling a prototype of Google Glass to qualified "Glass Explorers" in the US on June 27, 2012, for a limited period for $1,500, (with distribution of those purchases beginning on April 16, 2013), before it became available to the public on April 15, 2014. Google Glass was launched in 2013 but pulled in 2015, just seven months after its UK release, after a backlash around price and privacy. It has an integrated 5 megapixel still/720p video camera. The headset received a great deal of criticism amid concerns that its use could violate existing privacy laws. On January 15, 2015, Google announced that it would stop producing the Google Glass prototype. The prototype was succeeded by two Enterprise Editions, whose sales were suspended on March 15, 2023. More than a decade later, Google would return to the extended reality space with Android XR, an operating system that will power headsets and smartglasses.
Development and release Google Glass was developed by Google X, the facility within Google devoted to technological advancements such as driverless cars. The Google Glass prototype resembled standard eyeglasses, with the lens replaced by a head-up display. In mid-2011, Google engineered a prototype that weighed 8 pounds (3.6 kg); by 2013 they were lighter than the average pair of sunglasses.
The product was publicly announced in April 2012. Google co-founder Sergey Brin wore a prototype of the Glass to an April 5, 2012, Foundation Fighting Blindness event in San Francisco. In May 2012, Google demonstrated for the first time how Google Glass could be used to shoot videos. In a demo presented by Brin at the Google I/O conference in June 2012, four skydivers wearing Google Glass jumped from a blimp and landed on the roof of the Moscone Center (where the conference was taking place), with the glasses livestreaming their descent for the audience. It was announced that the beta version of the glasses, called the "Explorer Edition", would be made available exclusively for pre-order for the developers and programmers in attendance for $1,500. In February 2013, interested potential Glass users were invited to submit an entry via Twitter or Google+, with hashtag #IfIHadGlass, to qualify for a chance to win access to purchase Google Glass Explorer Edition. The 8,000 selected qualifiers, dubbed "Glass Explorers", were notified in March 2013, and would be required to visit one of three Google pop-up shops (referred to as "basecamps") in Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco to purchase the glasses, still priced at $1,500, following "fitting" and training from Google Glass guides. The purchases of this prototype version, both those from the conference and those from the contest, began distribution on April 16, 2013. In January 2014, Google introduced four frame choices for prescription lenses for an additional $225 each. In March, Google also entered in a partnership with Luxottica, the Italian eyeware company which owns Ray-Ban, Oakley, and other brands, to offer additional frame designs. Google briefly opened purchase of Google Glass to the general public in the US, first on April 15, 2014, reporting that the relatively limited stock sold out in a single day, and then again a month later on May 14. In June, Google Glass was also made available for consumers in the United Kingdom, priced at £1,000. In January 2015, Google announced the end of the Google Glass Explorer beta program and halted sales of the product. In February 2015, The New York Times reported that Google Glass was being redesigned by former Apple executive Tony Fadell, and that it would not be released until he deemed it to be "perfect". In July 2017, it was announced that the second iteration, the Google Glass Enterprise Edition, which had been deployed for testing in factories of US companies such as Boeing and GE, would now be available for other companies. The new edition also featured several significant upgraded features, such as higher camera resolution and longer battery life. Google Glass Enterprise Edition has reportedly been successfully used by Dr. Ned Sahin to help autistic children learn social skills. In May 2019, Google announced the Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2. Google also announced a partnership with Smith Optics to develop Glass-compatible safety frames.
Features
Touchpad: A touchpad, similar to that of one on a laptop, is located on the side of Google Glass, allowing users to control the device by swiping through a timeline-like interface displayed on the screen. Sliding backward shows current events, such as weather, and sliding forward shows past events, such as phone calls, photos, and circle updates. Camera: Google Glass has the ability to take 5 MP photos and record 720p HD video. Glass Enterprise Edition 2 has an improved 8MP 80° FOV camera. Display: The Explorer version of Google Glass uses a liquid crystal on silicon (based on an LCoS chip from Himax), field-sequential color system, LED illuminated display. The display's LED illumination is first P-polarized and then shines through the in-coupling polarizing beam splitter (PBS) to the LCoS panel. The panel reflects the light and alters it to S-polarization at active pixel sensor sites. The in-coupling PBS then reflects the S-polarized areas of light at 45° through the out-coupling beam splitter to a collimating reflector at the other end. Finally, the out-coupling beam splitter (which is a partially reflecting mirror, not a polarizing beam splitter) reflects the collimated light another 45° and into the wearer's eye.
Software
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
