Project Glass: a vision for tomorrow

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Futurist technology

A hobby of mine lately has been investigating futuristic technology. Granted, most of the concepts and project ideas that I come across are completely ridiculous and never going to happen. But then there are those ideas that you run across and simply say "wow."

Google is one of the coolest companies on earth in my humble opinion. They offer so many services and products, it amazes me how the company stays organized. My life revolves around Google products. I use Gmail, Talk, Calendar, Hangouts, Google+, Google Apps, Docs, Maps, Search, and News on a daily basis. My whole personal organization and business technology structure is built off of Google apps -- I couldn't live without them.

Once I made the decision to say goodbye to my iPhone 4S and switch over to Android, all these services that I used every day amalgamated once I was on a Google smartphone. Everything is easy to use. Notifications work seamlessly, apps run fast, and the elegance of the OS is awesome. I absolutely love Android. Purchasing the Samsung Galaxy S3 was a very smart choice.

Now that my technology life revolves around Google services and products, hearing about Project Glass is very exciting to me.

For those who have never heard of Project Glass, here is a brief description from TechoPedia: "Google glasses provide an experience that is referred to as augmented reality, where images are superimposed over what the user is seeing in real life. With Google glasses, these images are generally icons that provide directions, alert the user to messages from contacts or give weather updates. Although this technology's potential has been praised as a futuristic way to deliver hands-free computing, critics have pointed out its ability to distract walkers or drivers and questioned its utility for those who already wear corrective eyeglasses."

Project Glass is essentially a look into the future of computing. Could you imagine wearing these glasses for most of your day? You simply ask what the weather is right now, what time it is. Email notifications pop up in front of your eyes. You can get turn-by-turn navigation -- the technology is incredible.

Time magazine has dubbed Project Glass one of the best inventions of 2012. Although the technology is not available to the public yet, many Google employees have been utilizing the product on a daily basis and making sure to take pictures of themselves wearing the glasses out to Google events.

TechoPedia continues: "Google Glasses is an informal name for a type of wearable computer created by the Google's Project Glass. These futuristic glasses provide augmented reality for users by visually connecting them to an Android-run heads up display that offers many of the features of an Android smartphone and connects users to many of Google's key cloud features, such as maps, calendar, Gmail, Google+ and Google Places.

In April 2012, Project Glass launched a Google+ page and revealed that Google researchers were testing the technology and hoped to have it on the market in the near future. Google expects the technology to cost about as a much as a smartphone." The price tag is the only downside to these glasses. Google thinks it will be able to charge $1,500 a pair. That sounds quite outrageous, does it not? You could buy an impeccably fast and beautiful laptop, desktop, or tablet for that price. The sad, non-augmented reality is that I would totally buy these glasses for $1,500.

What I really want to express and get across is that Google is the future. They are day in and day out pumping out absolutely incredible products, services, and ideas. They work off of such a great platform, and can build and revolve products around it. Just holding my beloved Samsung Galaxy S3 in my hands right now gets me excited about Google's Project Glass because I know that it will sync and work seamlessly. For all of those who do not use anything Google, start. Whether it's switching over your email from Hotmail to Gmail, do it. I strongly believe that getting with Google now, and using and loving their applications, will be a smart move because the futuristic technology that they are cooking up is going to be based around the simple services like Gmail and Google+.

Another few interesting futuristic technologies too look into are: Baxter, Tesla Model S, Self-Inflating Tires.

Thanks very much for reading guys, hope you enjoyed the column! I just wanted to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas. Have a great time with your friends and family.

David Bell (@thedavidbell) is a young entrepreneur in Winnipeg. He specializes in emerging technology and online aspects of business, including web and social media consulting. Access his company online at iBXMediaGroup.ca. He is an active member of the YouTube community (http://www.TheDavidBell.com), with more than two million views and 5,000 subscribers. He was also a Dragons' Den contestant. Email: db@thedavidbell.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 23, 2012 A15