We….no, I have not held back my disdain for wearable technology in the last weeks here at ValueWalk. Specifically Google Glass where I’ve gone so far as to, not unlike the 5 Point Cafe in Seattle, threaten bodily harm on the first person I catch wearing them. Unlike the good folks at the 5 Point Cafe, I may have to wait awhile to make good on my threats as I live in Guatemala. But living in Guatemala, where murder and mayhem are daily occurrences and only 0.1% of murders are prosecuted, I will likely get away with it. If you are a Glass Explorer you may wish to take that as a travel advisory before visiting the lovely colonial town of Antigua, Guatemala in the coming months.
All that said, because I do a fair amount of reading on Google Glass, a few nights ago they visited me in my dreams. And I was the one wearing them. If I’m being completely honest, I loved them. I felt like a member of the Borg who happened to know the exact distance to the hole for my seven iron approach shot (GPS) as I responded to an important email while playing “hooky” on the golf course.
While this of course never happened, when I woke up I couldn’t help but think, “wow that would be really cool.” The possibilities are truly endless I thought as I was having my first cup of coffee. What if in between shots, I could keep up on tech news, utilize the voice commands built in to the glass to dictate a quick article, and finally send it off to my editor? Wouldn’t that be great? I couldn’t help but hate myself quickly for this total U-turn in my thinking and briefly wish I was a Glass Explorer.
As stated, the possibilities for Google Glass are nearly endless. Thanks to the reporting of Mat Smith at Engadget, I’ve learned today that in addition to allowing me to work while playing golf, I should also be able to control my refrigerator, espresso machine, and since I don’t have one, your garage door.
“In response to identifying the garage door and determining that it is in a closed state, the wearable computing device may display a virtual control interface that is superimposed over the garage door,” the patent states.
The patent describes how with the help of sensors, RFID, Bluetooth, and QR codes, a wearable computer (Google Glass) could do all sorts of crazy stuff with a series of head motions, hand gestures, and voice commands.
I’m not there yet with Google Glass, but I’m slowing coming around I fear.
[via: Engadget]
