I will be speaking at xPotomac this February 25. Co-organizer Patrick Ashamalla and I are presenting together on Google Project Glass and augmented reality. Here’s a sneak preview of our session.
Google Project Glass promises to take ubiquitous mobile Internet access and layer unprecedented information into our day-to-day existence. While Google doesn’t like the term augmented reality, wearable computing could move this concept from a geeky work in progress to a breakthrough Internet application.
This glass monocle features a wirelessly connected computer built into it. A half-inch display allows you to take and share photos, chat and access information like calendars and maps on the Web. Bone conducting audio will allow information to transmit without interfering with outside sounds.
Scheduled for release in 2014, Project Glass holds so much promise Apple and Microsoft have competing projects.
Wearable computing empowers two things: Sharing and accessing information anywhere.
It’s likely that wearing the Internet will bring incredible utility, particularly to mobile workforces and those of us who find ourselves out about frequently.
If successful, Glass will render the mobile phone irrelevant. We can pull our heads out of our mobile phones. Thank god, less car accidents and, um, telephone pole incidents.
But in doing so it may actually worsen the problem of mindless access to the Internet.
We will no longer have to punch in our security code, swipe the phone, and access an application to access our networks, work, personal projects, entertainment information, and other distractions. Instead, we will simply need to voice a command and go.
Another outcome will be a reduced reliance on text. Voice communications, from search via Siri to social updates, will dominate wearable computing. After all, typing while wearing Glass doesn’t seem like an easy input method.
This last point is not something to fantasize about. Losing text as a primary search and input method will shake up both the PR and advertising sectors, and put an even stronger emphasis on visual and audio communications. All those Instagram posts and YouTube videos will become even more powerful.
With great new technology, we will have different challenges. Such is the rise of new media.
What do you think about the impact Project Glass (and its competitors) will have?
Register for xPotomac this February 25 to learn more about Project Glass and augmented reality. This post is an updated version of a Google Project Glass post on the xPotomac site.