You’ve probably heard of Google Glass by now. But if you’ve missed the hype, Google finally released the first wearable computer produced specifically for a consumer market this spring. In development for several years, this prototype can take photos, shoot video, send email and browse the Internet — and much more. Early adopters applied on Google+ or Twitter with a 50-word pitch accompanied by the hashtag “#ifihadglass.” Individuals who were chosen by curators (and some who weren’t) could then purchase the $1500 glasses and pick them up in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.
Mixed Reviews
As Glass is slowly introduced to the public, there’s already been headlines in the news declaring debates over privacy concerns, pornography and even a call to “Stop the Cyborgs.”
A particular nerdy demographic is partial to wearing them out and about (as evidenced on this funny Tumblr blog.) And they’ve already been mocked on the Daily Show and Saturday Night Live, so you know they’ve officially arrived. But it has its fans as well, and with a competitor already in the works — wearable computers are here to stay.
For Science!
As an Interactive Producer for KQED Science, I’m able to indulge my love for science-related stories on a regular basis. So when I saw the call for Glass Explorers go out this past February, I was eager to apply. We’ve produced videos where scientists climb high up into redwoods trees, zoom around in driverless cars, explore the ocean deep and fly through the skies. With Glass, we could experiment with capturing their personal experiences out in the field and show a more direct, point-of-view perspective. Maybe we could be in an operating room or give students a live walking tour of a research facility like this Michigan physics teacher, Andrew Vanden Heuvel, who showed his students the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.