One of the most important aspects of first-person shooter video games is the Heads-Up Display. It displays pertinent information regarding ammunition counts, health and objective points, and in more realistic titles, the HUD can help in information gathering and sharing.
Games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Syndicate and the upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier are built with the HUD representing a core gameplay mechanic. But what if we had the technology for use in our regular, everyday lives? How would we use such technology? Google is here to answer exactly that.
This morning, via Google+, a segment of the illusive Google[x] labs shared the latest on a project involving augmented reality eyewear. It isn’t new news that AR glasses are being worked on at Google’s secretive research facility alongside concepts for a space elevator and self-driving cars, but this is the first time we have a prototype of what the first model will look like and the sort of features that could be worked on. Why would they share this? Because Google’s team working on Project Glass wants your thoughts to help improve it. After all, it will be you (and me) who will make use of this tech some day.
We think technology should work for you—to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t.
A group of us from Google[x] started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment. We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input. So we took a few design photos to show what this technology could look like and created a video to demonstrate what it might enable you to do.
Please follow along as we share some of our ideas and stories. We’d love to hear yours, too. What would you like to see from Project Glass?
Impressed?
Augmented reality games are a normal part of many iPhone apps, even games on the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita. And it won’t be long before it’s part of everything we do.
And hey, it’s better than having cybernetics built in… (see: Deus Ex).
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Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.
Source: Google
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These would be somewhat useful, if only to eliminate the need to carry around a cell phone, but the only way I would buy one is if it comes with an app for reading someone’s power level.
It’s over 9000!!!
Yep another cause for car accidents and people walking off the top of parking garages. I mean if people get distracted by something that isnt infront of their face by choice then this would be bad news. Cool idea but just as deadly.. I want 8 pairs
This would be amazing. I knew that one of these days something like this would come out. Imagine playing call of duty on this? Wielding an actual gun in your home or outside in a field? So cool! I hope this project follows up and become marketable instead of staying a concept.
For all the people saying this will only make humans “lazier”, I pose a question: What is the purpose of technology? To make us lazier?
No, it’s usually applied to save time. These would be a massive time-saver. Just think of the thousands of applications these could have? Allowing firefighters to instantly access an exact floor-plan of a building engulfed in flames. The same idea applies for military personnel etc. Not to mention simpler applications like checking weather or traffic conditions on the fly, product reviews, barcode scanning etc.
Saying this technology is useless or unneeded is ignorant at best. ALL of technology is unneeded; but it helps us progress by eliminating menial tasks.
It depends on what your perception of progression is. Technology has definitely made our lives easier, but we have also become much lazier because of it. Most of the world is completely dependant on electricity, refrigerators, fossil fuels, automobiles, ect. Technology is great as a tool, but when it’s with you at all times it eliminates much of the critical thinking involved in coping with the world around you. I’m not saying it’s useless, I’m saying it’s TOO useful.
If it comes in mirrored aviator style….
So we could walk around looking like Adam Jenson…
amazing idea, that is still in its first stages.
until we find out a way to have the peripheral itself unobtrusive, i cant imagine this becoming mainstream.
on the other hand, being able to use this connected to a computer, or in an office environment, or even synced to a home gaming console opens up countless opportunities for the next stages in tech and consumer immersion.
great info, and good read, Rob!
This is cool, i’d love to have something like this… Have a vital monitor and radar on the edges of my sight.
I think if they made them to go with an iPhone, it would reduce how much they’d cost since u can download an app instead of putting so much tech in them.
Can it look up porn?
You guys ever hear of the phrase “use it or lose it?” I truly believe that the mind is definitely one of those things that saying applies to. I look around today, and everything is automatic this, automatic that. Cars start themselves, lights turn themselves on, the a/c keeps the temperature automatically, phones automatically spell things for you (albeit sometimes wrong in some amazingly funny ways…), etc. etc. I mean, seriously, am I wrong to say that I shake my head every time I see someone take out their cell phones to use the calculator just to add or subtract two numbers?? I mean, seriously, that’s simple freakin’ math, do it in your BRAIN you braindead zombie mor0n…
But people wonder why we see more and more people doing dumber and dumber things… I am seriously worried about our future…
Well, I don’t think starting a car or turning on a light has required much brain power for some time now, but yeah, we’re definitely becoming very dependent on computers these days. People might’ve said something similar about people’s ability to walk when cars and trains came around, though. Life is a tower; everything’s built on top of what’s already there, and you adjust your existence to fit the top level. Probably won’t be a problem unless we somehow lose some important kind of tech permanently. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it… but I expect that an inability to do mental math will probably be the least of our worries at that point.
… I can imagine a lot more people getting hit by cars and falling down stairs after these things come out.
I’m not saying that every individual task requires a lot of brain power, but at least it’s something rather than nothing. People don’t really play with puzzles or anything really engaging anymore, the only thing we really do have left are the little things we do throughout the day. Take those away and we truly have absolutely nothing. Soon we’ll just walk around through life like a zombie while everything happens around us automatically…
Wall-E
I can’t wait to see how this pice of technology plays out. At the very lest could help alleviate some stress and at most inspire people to go into science, technology, engineering, and math.
@Chris
And why would they go into science, engineering, and math? They’ll have some computer that would solve all of those things for them without them having to fire one neuron…
I’m sure even playing pool will not require the concept of physics anymore, the glasses will project lines to show you where the balls will go when you hit them…
Yeah, I can see this kind of technology being a great boon to the productivity of actual scientists and engineers, etc., but I don’t think it’s gonna inspire anyone to change careers.
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!
*throws my money at the screen*
im throwing my money at the screen… BUT IT’S NOT WORKING!!!
Power level app would make my day!
IT’S OVER 9000!
i think its cool as long as people don’t get distracted and have a pop up box blind them while driving, cause you know people will do it! otherwise i would only care if they had an addon that let you see a health bar/radar/ammo, just for fun so you always feel like you are in a video game
My suggestion, make it now!
Now all I need is an app that will wash my dog clean my house and do my job. smh. These kind of things won’t ever hit the general public to better our miserably unproductive lives any further, we all know the moment they are perfected they will be seized by the military and used until it’s ‘old’ technology 10-20 years down the line, then we’ll get in on it.
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