Sunday Times 2
Google reveals the hilarious prototypes for its Glass wearable computer
Google has revealed the decidedly low-tech prototypes is used to perfect its Glass wearable computer.
They range from a bizarre contraption built on top of a bicycle helmet to a pair of mobile phones strapped to a head.
The finished product: Google Glass team members wear Google Glasses at a booth at Google I/O 2013 in San Francisco
The rare glimpse into Google’s production process also revealed the firms plans to mass produce ‘google-loads’ of the gadget.
Project Glass Staff Hardware Engineer Jean Wang revealed the prototypes at Google’s I/O developer conference in San Francisco.
‘We wanted to minimise the barrier to information with this device, she said.
‘We looked at ease of use, for instance whether we could still look at people while using it.’
Miss Wang, who wore glass herself throughout the talk, then revealed the early versions of Glass were actually bicycle helmets.
‘We built a helmet mounted version to see how the technology could work,’ she revealed.
‘We played around with a bunch of projectors.’
Miss Wang also explained the goals of the project, which has enraged some privacy campaigners and already been banned in dozens of public places amid privacy fears.
‘Power consumption and weight were they keys in deciding if we could wear a system all day – and if we could create a system we would want to wear all day.’
She admits the first attempts were basic.
‘We went for the lowest hanging fruit, and strapped two phones to the head with a display.
‘We then, over time, shifted from off the shelf components and glasses to a 3D printed frame.
Google glass in prototype. In the top left, an early version simply had two mobiles strapped to the side of the head. As they progressed, Google began developing its own plastic and metal before the final version, bottom right, was decided upon
‘We then began creating our own customised components, making our own plastics and metals.’
She claims the final design ‘provides a minimalist system we can run around enjoying ourselves with’.
Early versions of the system also relied on users moving their heads to issue commands, a feature recently parodied by Saturday Night Live.
‘We experimented with head gestures – and SNL was pretty close on this.
We also tried a keypad on the touchpad.
‘Minimising and stripping down was the key, we found.
Glass is both an innovation and a reinvention.’
© Daily Mail, London
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