Google/Android glasses to be available at the end of the year?

The Google X laboratory is full of surprises. Google glasses, under Android and calling on augmented reality, could be commercially released by the end of the year for a few hundred dollars.

In their secret Google X laboratory, the search giant is developing projects based on futuristic ideas. The American group is also working on electronic clothes with sensors that communicate with a smartphone. They are also looking at the idea of special glasses full of electronics that are capable of displaying information by superimposing onto the users view via augmented reality, like in the a lot of futuristic actions films.

The project appears to be well advances according to the New York Times Bits techno blog, with Google’s glasses (which don’t yet have an official name) to possibly be released by the end of the year for between 250 and 600 dollars.

Running Android, they could come with 3G/4G connectivity, a GPS module and movement sensors.  As pointed out by the site 9to5 Google in December 2011, they could come with an interface that is driven by head movements.

These movements should be easy to learn and should only require slight movements, which means that accessories may not be required for users of the telephone when walking down the road.


A futuristic dream to soon be realised?
According to the blog, these glasses haven’t been designed to be worn all the time (except for possibly geeks). The use of augmented reality will require the integration of a camera lens into the glasses, which will then lead to discussions about the respect of user’s privacy.

The first version of Google’s glasses will call on localisation services and should be interfaces with Google’s Maps and Latitude services (social location), with its functioning assured by the integration of a modem and cloud connection.

The project, for which Sergey Brin was one of the supervisors, doesn’t really have a commercial objective but was rather a feasibility study (unless other companies then follow on, building on the release for real commercial uses), placing Android in the core of their solution. While the project should receive a fair amount of attention with the general public, any plans to associate this with other services to generate revenue are only secondary. For the moment.