Google Project Glass, Fiction or reality? Helpful or Overwhelming?
Fiction or reality? Definitely reality! but are they helpful or overwhelming? Judge for yourself…
Google original video (already 15 million views!):
Modified video by ”ADmented Reality” (remixed by Jonathan McIntosh):
Behold the first video recorded while using Google Project Glass, the glasses that I believe will rock our world. The idea behind this sci-fi project, is to have these glasses project augmented reality images into the wearers’ field of vision, real-time.
Why do I believe that these google augmented reality glasses will rock our world?
1) It takes great pictures and video images, but most importantly…
2) The glasses can perform many tasks performed by smartphones – so we might not need cellphones after all. While wearing them, you can smoothly perform daily activities such as:
- See weather forecasts before you leave home to choose what to wear for the day,
- Check what’s on your calendar for the day
- Buy online and on site!
- Interact with others through phone calls, text messages and emails to friends and family
And all of this will be done right in front our eyes without even having to look down to see any device (and look incredibly distracted as we look today always staring at our phones like zombies)
This second video shows a person that is actually wearing Google Glasses while doing backflips on a trampoline. In the video, you can see the image shown by the glasses is almost camera-perfect: it handles motion really well and it is all pretty clear with counted interruptions.
But! although it seems a really “cool” product, do you think google glasses will have constant advertising displayed as “Admented” reality predicts? I personally believe it is very likely to happen. Thus, Will the product stop being 100% helpful to be an annoying and intrusive devise full of Ads?. To me the answer is YES, but I also believe that although it will become more annoying, it will be equally helpful as advertising should be more targeted and relevant to us. So why not coping with some ads as long as it is relevant to us?
Will we be willing to buy these glasses? Well, I believe purchase intention should be high for early adopters but I do not have any data to support it. Regarding pricing, information on the google project glass points out to a reasonable range of $250 to $600 dollars and they too mention that the glasses might be available by the end of 2012.
So what are the consequences of such breakthrough product in our world and the consumer behavior? I believe:
- It will change tourism and place branding in general as it will be much easier to understand our location
- It will enhance the use of social media as it will be easier to take pictures, videos and share information
- It will replace hardware: smartphones, tablets, even PCs.
- Branding will be more focused on location and online stores will increase its sales
- Eyewear brands are likely to embed the system into their glasses… I would invest in eyewear producers!
Sources: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/google-begins-testing-its-augmented-reality-glasses/
MGCabral
Maggie… se ve muy bien, es fantastico… Solo cuidado cuando se pone fuera de foco y cuando produce distraccion al conducir o al ir caminando en calle.. Cuando saldra? Quiero uno..
Si la verdad que puede ser muy interesante y se debe usar con precaución para actividades que requieran atención como conducir. Saldrá a finales de 2012 pero entiendo que todavía no se tiene una fecha de venta al mercado.
Ever read “The Feed” by M.T. Anderson? If not – do so – and then be afraid of the “Google Goggles”. This is not a step forward for us as a society. I am an IT professional with 25+ years of experience so I am not a technophobe, but this is a grade A bad idea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed_(Anderson_novel)
Dear Tilmer,
Thank you for speaking up and showing us your interesting views on this quite delicate situation. This is definitely a breakthrough product and it is normal for people to feel rejection for it – almost FEAR! I am scared. It can be great but it can also be disastrous for our privacy.
I have not read the novel by M.T. Anderson, but the Wikipedia article that you have provided is quite useful to help us understand your views further and the potential problem that the Google Glasses can lead us to in a near future.
But is it so different from today? Yes it is, because we have not yet put a chip into our brains but still every day we see, smell and hear marketing, even more than the day before. Marketing is the art of manipulation, it has existed since the beginning of our race and it has evolved to become more and more effective through a series of tools that help them understand us better and satisfy our needs. We have to admit that at least some brands/products really do make our modern lives easier and better. Although I do agree that Google can be a threat for our privacy, I believe we are still free to choose whether we buy it or not, use it or not.
I believe this is always a delicate subject, especially now with all the advancements in the area of NEUROMARKETING where our “free will” is annulled by our animal instincts – while some marketer is pulling the strings on the other side of the curtain to really “force us” to buy a product against our rational thinking using our subconscious and instinct. Hopefully we ourselves will evolve and become aware of these unconscious manipulations in order to avoid them and defend our privacy and free will.