Augmented Reality Glasses Will Be On Sale This Year

One object that tends to be part of every science fiction novel, movie or comic is the glasses or viewers that allow the user to obtain a computerized view of their environment, in the purest Terminator, Dragon Ball or Metroid style.

According to a recent report from the New York Times, Google would be releasing augmented reality glasses later this year, literally "Google Goggles."

Google employees familiar with the project, who asked not to be named, said that the device would have the following characteristics:

- Android operating system

- 3G or 4G data connection

- GPS

- Motion sensors

- Low resolution camera to monitor the user's environment in real time and offer information to the user about where they are, friends who might be nearby, etc.

The lenses will not be designed to be used constantly, but rather like a smartphone, to be used on the occasions where they are necessary. (Personally, I use my smartphone a lot to consult Wikipedia and other sources in the middle of conversations, debates, discussions, etc. hehe)

Although this project is quite ambitious and innovative, it is not the only or first of its kind, the Japanese company NTT DoCoMo has already developed augmented reality glasses that are available.

According to the NY Times report, Google Goggles would be priced around 250US$ and 600US$.

Personally, I think that something very similar to the first cell phones and tablets could happen with this product, the first versions will not be so practical and may even just seem like a «geek fashion» accessory rather than really useful objects, however over time they should be polishing and optimizing until it will be a daily part of our lives in a few years.

As a curious fact, also according to the NY Times report, the lenses would be similar in design to Oakley Thump lenses.

What do you think the impact of this type of technology will be in the coming years?