Concept Video Shows Google Glass Used as a Targeting Display - Webmaster News

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Google Glass’ negative reputation stems partly from the fact that it doesn’t offer enough practical applications, but a new concept video shows how the device could transform the way law-enforcement agencies and the military operate.

TrackingPoint, a maker of precision-guided firearms, created a concept video that illustrates how Google Glass would be used to give the shooter a safer vantage point from which to aim and fire.

Shotview, the company’s app for iOS and Android, has the ability to send live images from TrackingPoint’s networked tracking scope to Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as smartphones, tablets and a range of wearable devices. However, the demo shown in the video just a look at what could be in the near future.

“We have not developed any apps for Google Glass that are consumer-facing, only for our own development,” TrackingPoint spokesperson Oren Schauble told Mashable. “We showcase Glass here simply as an example of wearable technology in eyewear form; this concept could work with any wearable, goggles etc. Eyewear is the most compelling for tactical purposes.”

“The app is ready … It works on any smart device that runs [iOS or Android],” Schauble added. “We were just shooting from a smartwatch today.”

An example of how ShotView already works in real life with an iPad can be seen in an earlier video from the company, below:

Giving shooters what they call “augmented marksman ability,” a live video stream for Glass would make Google’s much-critiqued wearable-computing device a must-have for marksmen.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/06/04/concept-google-glass-targeting-display/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Google Glass Gets Glanceable Notifications - Webmaster News

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With a new software update, Google Glass users will now be able to see notifications just by moving their eyes.

Usually, when a Glass user receives an alert, the device will sound a chime, but the screen won’t show what the alert is unless the user either nods or taps the touchpad. With the new update, all a Glass wearer has to do is glance at the virtual screen.

In a Google+ post, Google said the feature was experimental. There’s no question it makes seeing alerts even more convenient than before, although it may end up making them too convenient — Glass has already been criticized for its potential to distract.

Making alerts “glanceable” adds a layer of social acceptability, however. If the wearer were, say, in a business meeting or in church, tapping his or her headset or nodding might be distracting to the people around them, whereas a quick glance would probably go virtually unnoticed.

Glass owners can enable the feature via a “Notification glance” card in the device’s settings. Like other experimental features, such as “Wink for picture,” the new glanceable notifications may not make it into the final product for the general public, which will reportedly be available this year. A beta version of Glass is currently available to the public.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/06/04/google-glass-glanceable-notifications/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss

Dyson (Almost) Invented the Precursor to Google Glass - Webmaster News

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Twelve years before Google Glass arrived, Dyson was working on a version of its own.

In light of Dyson’s 21st anniversary, the company known for its vacuum cleaners and blade-free fan released long-kept secrets about other inventions it had been working on aside from its popular air-moving products. The Dyson Halo was a virtual reality headset whose prototype was first dreamed up in 2001. However, it never made it off the ground and the project was canned in 2004, freeing up inventors to focus on marketing Dyson in the U.S.

Halo featured two mirrors that reflected the headset’s full-color, 3D computer screen into the viewer’s line of vision. In 2001, however, the technology necessary to contain a computer within the device itself had not yet come to fruition. Rather, the computer was Walkman-sized and was connected to the glasses via cords.

In a move ahead of its time, Halo’s design included a prototype of a virtual keyboard that allowed users to type on any surface, Dyson said in a statement to technology blog The Next Web. In addition, it had an audio-only mode that enabled users to complete voice-activated tasks, similar to iPhone’s Siri.

Dyson creator Sir James Dyson tries on a prototype of Dyson Halo.

Alongside Halo, Dyson also released previously covert information about a diesel engine filter and a fuel cell digital motor. Although many of Dyson’s inventions, like Halo, have not been fully developed, this does not necessarily mean the ideas go to waste.

“Prototypes are archived under lock and key, since they are often unprotected by patents. But the technology often resurfaces,” Sir James Dyson said in a statement. “Our work on the headset introduced Dyson engineers to vision systems, which in turn has informed our research into intelligent robotics. The path to a new product is rarely linear, but that’s the fun of it all.”

In February, Dyson announced plans to invest approximately $8 million in building a robotics lab at Imperial College of London, Digital Trends reported.

Reps for Dyson did not immediately respond for comment.

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Source: http://mashable.com/2014/06/02/dyson-google-glass-precursor/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss