GOOGLE GLASS
GOOGLE ON YOUR FACE
Google Glass is a wearable computer that responds to touch and voice commands. This is a prototype Explorer version.
Also known as project glasss.
Google is one of several companies creating a solution to the problem comes in the form of a wearable device. It looks like a pair of glasses with one side of the frames thicker than the other. It's called Google Glass, and it might open your eyes to a new digital world.
Mac smith & Mitch heinrich helped in making google glass.
PRICE
Early it was $1,500.That’s still the price of glasses but its not the final price of the explorer glass.
WHAT GOOGLE GLASS DOES
Remind the wearer of appointments and calendar events.
Alert the wearer to social networking activity or text messages.
Give turn-by-turn directions.
Alert the wearer to travel options like public transportation.
Give updates on local weather and traffic.
Take and share photos and video.
Send messages or activate apps via voice command.
Perform Google searches.
Participate in video chats on Google Plus.
Google Glass is tightly packed with chips, sensors and feedback devices.
How Google glass works
There are a few different ways to control Google Glass. One is by using the capacitive touch pad along the right side of the glasses. The touchpad responds to changes in capacitance, which is essentially a weak electrostatic field generated across the screen. When your finger makes contact with the panel, a controller chip detects the resulting change in electric capacitance and registers it as a touch. Swiping your finger horizontally allows you to navigate menus on the device. Swiping downward on the touchpad backs you out of a choice or, if you're at a top-level menu, puts the glasses in sleep mode.
Another way to control Google Glass is through voice commands. A microphone on the glasses picks up your voice and the microprocessor interprets the commands. You can't just say anything and expect Google Glass to respond -- there's a set list of commands that you can use, and nearly all of them start with "OK, Glass," which alerts your glasses that a command will soon follow. For example, "OK, Glass, take a picture" will send a command to the microprocessor to snap a photo of whatever you're looking at.
While you can use Google Glass to take photos and videos without having it connect to the outside world, to get the most from the product you'll need to connect to the Internet. The two
ways to do that are over Bluetooth (connecting to some other device, such as a smartphone) or WiFi. A single chip inside Google Glass provides support for either type of connection. Another chip, the SirFstarIV, is a global positioning system (GPS) microchip that allows Google Glass to determine its location via satellite signals.
Cameras, Speakers and Sensors
While the guts of Google Glass are interesting, the most eye-catching component is the prism-like screen. When turned off, it appears to be a clear prism. Viewed from the top, you can just make out a diagonal line that bisects the prism's width. This diagonal line is where the prism has an angled layer that acts as a reflective surface.
Images from Google Glass project onto the reflective surface in the prism, which redirects the light toward your eye. The images are semi-transparent -- you can see through them to the real world on the other side. As of early 2014, the resolution for the display is 640 by 360. It's not exactly high definition, but at such a close distance to your eye it doesn't appear to be low resolution.
If you look just to the side of the display toward the outer edge of the glasses, you'll see a camera lens. According to Google, the camera can take photos with a resolution of 5 megapixels. It can also capture video at 720p resolution.
The speaker on Google Glass is a bone conduction speaker. That means the speaker sends vibrations that travel through your skull to your inner ear -- there's no need to plug in ear buds or wear headphones. Using the camera and speaker together allows you to make video conferencing calls. Just know that the person on the other end of the line will be seeing what you're seeing since there's only a forward-facing camera on the glasses.
Also on board the glasses are a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor. These sensors help the glasses figure out if they are being worn or removed. You can choose to have your Google Glass go into sleep mode automatically if you take them off and wake up again when you put them on. These sensors can also detect if you take an action such as winking, which opens up the option to send commands such as "take a picture" just by giving a big wink.
One last sensor inside Google Glass is the InvenSense MPU-9150. This chip is an inertial sensor, which means it detects motion. This comes in handy in several applications, including one that allows you to wake up Google Glass from sleep mode just by tilting your head back to a predetermined angle.
All of these chips and features need power to work. That power is provided by a battery housed in a wide section of the stem. It fits behind your right ear. It's a lithium polymer battery with a capacity of 2.1 watt-hours. Google says that charging the battery takes just 45 minutes when using the charging cable and plug that come with the glasses.
FEATURES
Touchpad: A touchpad 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, circle updates, etc.
Camera: Google Glass has the ability to take photos and record 720p HD video.
Display: The Explorer version of Google Glass uses a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS), field-sequential color, 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 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.
My Glass
Google offers a companion Android and iOS app called My Glass, which allows the user to configure and manage the device.
Voice activation
Other than the touchpad, Google Glass can be controlled using "voice actions". To activate Glass, wearers tilt their heads 30° upward (which can be altered for preference) or tap the touchpad, and say "O.K., Glass." Once Glass is activated, wearers can say an action, such as "Take a picture", "Record a video", "Hangout with [person/Google+ circle]", "Google 'what year was Wikipedia founded?'", "Give me directions to the Eiffel Tower", and "Send a message to John" (many of these commands can be seen in a product video released in February 2013). For search results that are read back to the user, the voice response is relayed using bone conduction through a transducer that sits beside the ear, thereby rendering the sound almost inaudible to other people.
Criticism and privacy concerns
Concerns have been raised by various sources regarding the intrusion of privacy, and the etiquette and ethics of using the device in public and recording people without their permission. Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, claims that Glass could be seen as a way to become even more isolated in public, but the intent was quite the opposite: Brin views checking social media as a constant "nervous tic," which is why Glass can notify the user of important notifications and updates and does not obstruct the line of sight.
Additionally, there is controversy that Google Glass would violate security problems and privacy rights such as the Secrecy paradigm (see privacy). Organizations like the FTC Fair Information Practice work to uphold privacy rights through Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPS), which are guidelines representing concepts that concern fair information practice in an electronic marketplace.
Privacy advocates are concerned that people wearing such eyewear may be able to identify strangers in public using facial recognition, or surreptitiously record and broadcast private conversations. The "Find my Face" feature on Google+ functions to create a model of your face, and of people you know, in order to simplify tagging photos. However, the only current app that can identify strangers is called MORIS (Mobile Offender Recognition and Identification System), and is a $3,000 iPhone app used by police officers.
Some companies in the U.S. have posted anti-Google Glass signs in their establishments. In July 2013, prior to the official release of the product, Stephen Balaban, co-founder of software company Lambda Labs, circumvented Google’s facial recognition app block by building his own, non-Google-approved operating system. Balaban then installed face-scanning Glassware that creates a summary of commonalities shared by the scanned person and the Glass wearer, such as mutual friends and interests. Additionally, Michael DiGiovanni created Winky, a program that allows a Google Glass user to take a photo with a wink of an eye, while Marc Rogers, a principal security researcher at Lookout, discovered that Glass can be hijacked if a user could be tricked into taking a picture of a malicious QR code, demonstrating the potential to be used as a weapon in cyberwarfare.
Other concerns have been raised regarding legality of the Glass in a number of countries, particularly in Russia, Ukraine, and other post-Soviet countries. In February 2013, a Google+ user noticed legal issues with Glass and posted in the Glass Explorers community about the issues, stating that the device may be illegal to use according to the current legislation in Russia and Ukraine, which prohibits use of spy gadgets that can record video, audio or take photographs in an inconspicuous manner.
Concerns were also raised in regard to the privacy and security of Glass users in the event that the device is stolen or lost, an issue that was raised by a US congressional committee. As part of its response to the committee, Google stated that a locking system for the device is in development. Google also reminded users that Glass can be remotely reset. Police in various States have also warned the Glass wearers to watch out for muggers and street robbers.
Lisa A. Goldstein, a freelance journalist who was born profoundly deaf, tested the product on behalf of people with disabilities and published a review on August 6, 2013. In her review, Goldstein states that Google Glass does not accommodate hearing aids and is not suitable for people who cannot understand speech. Goldstein also explained the limited options for customer support, as telephone contact was her only means of communication.
Several facilities have banned the use of Google Glass before its release to the general public, citing concerns over potential privacy-violating capabilities. Other facilities, such as Las Vegas casinos, banned Google Glass, citing their desire to comply with Nevada state law and common gaming regulations which ban the use of recording devices near gambling areas.
There have also been concerns over potential eye pain caused by users new to Glass. These concerns were validated by Google's optometry advisor Dr. Eli Peli of Harvard, though he later partly backtracked due to the controversy which ensued from his remarks.
Concerns have been raised by cyber forensics experts at the University of Massachusetts who have developed a way to steal smartphone and tablet passwords using Google Glass. The specialists developed a software program that uses google glass to track finger shadows as someone types in their password. Their program then converts the touchpoints into the keys they were touching, allowing them to catch the passcodes.
GOOGLE ON YOUR FACE
Google Glass is a wearable computer that responds to touch and voice commands. This is a prototype Explorer version.
Also known as project glasss.
Google is one of several companies creating a solution to the problem comes in the form of a wearable device. It looks like a pair of glasses with one side of the frames thicker than the other. It's called Google Glass, and it might open your eyes to a new digital world.
Mac smith & Mitch heinrich helped in making google glass.
PRICE
Early it was $1,500.That’s still the price of glasses but its not the final price of the explorer glass.
WHAT GOOGLE GLASS DOES
Remind the wearer of appointments and calendar events.
Alert the wearer to social networking activity or text messages.
Give turn-by-turn directions.
Alert the wearer to travel options like public transportation.
Give updates on local weather and traffic.
Take and share photos and video.
Send messages or activate apps via voice command.
Perform Google searches.
Participate in video chats on Google Plus.
Google Glass is tightly packed with chips, sensors and feedback devices.
How Google glass works
There are a few different ways to control Google Glass. One is by using the capacitive touch pad along the right side of the glasses. The touchpad responds to changes in capacitance, which is essentially a weak electrostatic field generated across the screen. When your finger makes contact with the panel, a controller chip detects the resulting change in electric capacitance and registers it as a touch. Swiping your finger horizontally allows you to navigate menus on the device. Swiping downward on the touchpad backs you out of a choice or, if you're at a top-level menu, puts the glasses in sleep mode.
Another way to control Google Glass is through voice commands. A microphone on the glasses picks up your voice and the microprocessor interprets the commands. You can't just say anything and expect Google Glass to respond -- there's a set list of commands that you can use, and nearly all of them start with "OK, Glass," which alerts your glasses that a command will soon follow. For example, "OK, Glass, take a picture" will send a command to the microprocessor to snap a photo of whatever you're looking at.
While you can use Google Glass to take photos and videos without having it connect to the outside world, to get the most from the product you'll need to connect to the Internet. The two
ways to do that are over Bluetooth (connecting to some other device, such as a smartphone) or WiFi. A single chip inside Google Glass provides support for either type of connection. Another chip, the SirFstarIV, is a global positioning system (GPS) microchip that allows Google Glass to determine its location via satellite signals.
Cameras, Speakers and Sensors
While the guts of Google Glass are interesting, the most eye-catching component is the prism-like screen. When turned off, it appears to be a clear prism. Viewed from the top, you can just make out a diagonal line that bisects the prism's width. This diagonal line is where the prism has an angled layer that acts as a reflective surface.
Images from Google Glass project onto the reflective surface in the prism, which redirects the light toward your eye. The images are semi-transparent -- you can see through them to the real world on the other side. As of early 2014, the resolution for the display is 640 by 360. It's not exactly high definition, but at such a close distance to your eye it doesn't appear to be low resolution.
If you look just to the side of the display toward the outer edge of the glasses, you'll see a camera lens. According to Google, the camera can take photos with a resolution of 5 megapixels. It can also capture video at 720p resolution.
The speaker on Google Glass is a bone conduction speaker. That means the speaker sends vibrations that travel through your skull to your inner ear -- there's no need to plug in ear buds or wear headphones. Using the camera and speaker together allows you to make video conferencing calls. Just know that the person on the other end of the line will be seeing what you're seeing since there's only a forward-facing camera on the glasses.
Also on board the glasses are a proximity sensor and an ambient light sensor. These sensors help the glasses figure out if they are being worn or removed. You can choose to have your Google Glass go into sleep mode automatically if you take them off and wake up again when you put them on. These sensors can also detect if you take an action such as winking, which opens up the option to send commands such as "take a picture" just by giving a big wink.
One last sensor inside Google Glass is the InvenSense MPU-9150. This chip is an inertial sensor, which means it detects motion. This comes in handy in several applications, including one that allows you to wake up Google Glass from sleep mode just by tilting your head back to a predetermined angle.
All of these chips and features need power to work. That power is provided by a battery housed in a wide section of the stem. It fits behind your right ear. It's a lithium polymer battery with a capacity of 2.1 watt-hours. Google says that charging the battery takes just 45 minutes when using the charging cable and plug that come with the glasses.
FEATURES
Touchpad: A touchpad 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, circle updates, etc.
Camera: Google Glass has the ability to take photos and record 720p HD video.
Display: The Explorer version of Google Glass uses a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS), field-sequential color, 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 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.
My Glass
Google offers a companion Android and iOS app called My Glass, which allows the user to configure and manage the device.
Voice activation
Other than the touchpad, Google Glass can be controlled using "voice actions". To activate Glass, wearers tilt their heads 30° upward (which can be altered for preference) or tap the touchpad, and say "O.K., Glass." Once Glass is activated, wearers can say an action, such as "Take a picture", "Record a video", "Hangout with [person/Google+ circle]", "Google 'what year was Wikipedia founded?'", "Give me directions to the Eiffel Tower", and "Send a message to John" (many of these commands can be seen in a product video released in February 2013). For search results that are read back to the user, the voice response is relayed using bone conduction through a transducer that sits beside the ear, thereby rendering the sound almost inaudible to other people.
Criticism and privacy concerns
Concerns have been raised by various sources regarding the intrusion of privacy, and the etiquette and ethics of using the device in public and recording people without their permission. Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, claims that Glass could be seen as a way to become even more isolated in public, but the intent was quite the opposite: Brin views checking social media as a constant "nervous tic," which is why Glass can notify the user of important notifications and updates and does not obstruct the line of sight.
Additionally, there is controversy that Google Glass would violate security problems and privacy rights such as the Secrecy paradigm (see privacy). Organizations like the FTC Fair Information Practice work to uphold privacy rights through Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPS), which are guidelines representing concepts that concern fair information practice in an electronic marketplace.
Privacy advocates are concerned that people wearing such eyewear may be able to identify strangers in public using facial recognition, or surreptitiously record and broadcast private conversations. The "Find my Face" feature on Google+ functions to create a model of your face, and of people you know, in order to simplify tagging photos. However, the only current app that can identify strangers is called MORIS (Mobile Offender Recognition and Identification System), and is a $3,000 iPhone app used by police officers.
Some companies in the U.S. have posted anti-Google Glass signs in their establishments. In July 2013, prior to the official release of the product, Stephen Balaban, co-founder of software company Lambda Labs, circumvented Google’s facial recognition app block by building his own, non-Google-approved operating system. Balaban then installed face-scanning Glassware that creates a summary of commonalities shared by the scanned person and the Glass wearer, such as mutual friends and interests. Additionally, Michael DiGiovanni created Winky, a program that allows a Google Glass user to take a photo with a wink of an eye, while Marc Rogers, a principal security researcher at Lookout, discovered that Glass can be hijacked if a user could be tricked into taking a picture of a malicious QR code, demonstrating the potential to be used as a weapon in cyberwarfare.
Other concerns have been raised regarding legality of the Glass in a number of countries, particularly in Russia, Ukraine, and other post-Soviet countries. In February 2013, a Google+ user noticed legal issues with Glass and posted in the Glass Explorers community about the issues, stating that the device may be illegal to use according to the current legislation in Russia and Ukraine, which prohibits use of spy gadgets that can record video, audio or take photographs in an inconspicuous manner.
Concerns were also raised in regard to the privacy and security of Glass users in the event that the device is stolen or lost, an issue that was raised by a US congressional committee. As part of its response to the committee, Google stated that a locking system for the device is in development. Google also reminded users that Glass can be remotely reset. Police in various States have also warned the Glass wearers to watch out for muggers and street robbers.
Lisa A. Goldstein, a freelance journalist who was born profoundly deaf, tested the product on behalf of people with disabilities and published a review on August 6, 2013. In her review, Goldstein states that Google Glass does not accommodate hearing aids and is not suitable for people who cannot understand speech. Goldstein also explained the limited options for customer support, as telephone contact was her only means of communication.
Several facilities have banned the use of Google Glass before its release to the general public, citing concerns over potential privacy-violating capabilities. Other facilities, such as Las Vegas casinos, banned Google Glass, citing their desire to comply with Nevada state law and common gaming regulations which ban the use of recording devices near gambling areas.
There have also been concerns over potential eye pain caused by users new to Glass. These concerns were validated by Google's optometry advisor Dr. Eli Peli of Harvard, though he later partly backtracked due to the controversy which ensued from his remarks.
Concerns have been raised by cyber forensics experts at the University of Massachusetts who have developed a way to steal smartphone and tablet passwords using Google Glass. The specialists developed a software program that uses google glass to track finger shadows as someone types in their password. Their program then converts the touchpoints into the keys they were touching, allowing them to catch the passcodes.
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