GOOGLE GLASS: Designed For those who Move !

Google Glass is a type of wearable technology with an optical head-mounted display (OHMD). It was developed by Google with the mission of producing a mass-market ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format.Wearers communicate with the Internet via natural language voice commands.Google started selling Google Glass to qualified "Glass Explorers" in the US on April 15, 2013 for a limited period for $1,500, before it became available to the public on May 15, 2014 for the same price.

Google Glass was developed by Google X, the facility within Google devoted to technological advancements such as driver-less cars.

Google Glass is smaller and slimmer than previous head-mounted display designs.

Features

Loïc Le Meur controls Google Glass using the touch pad built into the side of the device

• Touchpad: A touchpad is located on the side of Google Glass, allowing users to control the device by swiping through a timeline-like interface displayed on the screen. Sliding backward shows current events, such as weather, and sliding forward shows past events, such as phone calls, photos, circle updates, etc. 
• Camera: Google Glass has the ability to take photos and record 720p HD video.
• Display: The Explorer version of Google Glass uses a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS), field-sequential color, LED illuminated display. The display's LED illumination is first P-polarized and then shines through the in-coupling polarizing beam splitter(PBS) to the LCoS panel. The panel reflects the light and alters it to S-polarization at active pixel sites. The in-coupling PBS then reflects the S-polarized areas of light at 45° through the out-coupling beam splitter to a collimating reflector at the other end. Finally, the out-coupling beam splitter (which is a partially reflecting mirror, not a polarizing beam splitter) reflects the collimated light another 45° and into the wearer's eye.

#Google Glass applications are free applications built by third-party developers. Glass also uses many existing Google applications, such as Google Now, Google Maps, Google+, and Gmail.

Many developers and companies have built applications for Glass, including news apps, facial recognition, exercise, photo manipulation, translation, and sharing to social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.

    (A snap from CHiPSET G.D:1.0)

Google offers a companion Android and iOS app called My-Glass, which allows the user to configure and manage the device 

Voice activation

Other than the touch-pad, Google Glass can be controlled using "voice actions". To activate Glass, wearers tilt their heads 30° upward (which can be altered for preference) or tap the touch-pad, and say "O.K., Glass." Once Glass is activated, wearers can say an action, such as "Take a picture", "Record a video", "Hangout with [person/Google+ circle]", "Google 'What year was Wikipedia founded?'", "Give me directions to the Eiffel Tower", and "Send a message to John" (many of these commands can be seen in a product video released in February 2013). For search results that are read back to the user, the voice response is relayed using bone conduction through a transducer that sits beside the ear, thereby rendering the sound almost inaudible to other people.

 (A snap from CHiPSET G.D:1.0)

Google provides four prescription frame choices for $225.00 U.S and free with the purchase of any new Glass unit. It is necessary to remove a small screw in order to move the Google Glass from one frame to another. Google entered in a partnership with the Italian eyewear company Luxottica, owners of the Ray-Ban, Oakley, and other brands, to offer additional frame designs.

CONTRIBUTORS: 

• VIKASH SINGH
• ANSHUMAAN CHANDRAKAR
• SHREYASHI CHOWDHURY