Focus on Google Glass at Applied Industrial Optics
Arlene Smith, Ph.D.
Moore’s conjectures have held (for the most part); now phones are smaller, lighter and take better photos than my Dad’s old SLR. And now we've moved on to the era where we don't even need our hands on a keyboard: case in point, wearable technology. The world wide web is not only at your fingertips – it’s right in front of your eyes. In 2013, Google released a video introducing Google Glass, an optical head-mounted display, designed to perch just above the wearer’s right eye. With over 26 million views, it’s clear the "How it Feels (through Google Glass)" video, and this technology, has caught people’s attention. Not just the social media aficionados - among the fastest adopters are professionals such as the medical community.
At the AIO 2014 Plenary Session, Dr. Bernard Kress, Optics Lead, Advanced Technology Team, Google [X], will present the technology behind this new product and the application-dependent optical hardware used in those devices. Dr Kress's work is a key example of how applied optical research can have an immense impact on our lives. I'm looking forward to this session in July and I expect a full house. An opportunity to learn more about the driving technologies behind these devices, along with the process of moving from prototype to product, will certainly be popular among AIO attendees.
So whether you want to capture a get-together, find the nearest cafe or get live remote assistance from a colleague during surgery, Glass is ready. In fact, just this month, it has been reported that the Medical School at UC Irvine are incorporating Glass into the curriculum. Applications for this much-lauded device abound and mobile developers are rightly enthused… let’s face it, tech lovers do not need a second opinion about Google Glass!
I still think fondly of my first Nokia and the delight of basic text messaging, but I’m excited about where we’re headed (pun intended).
