Before Google Glass finally hits stores later this year, competitors are scrambling to release alternative versions. While many of these wearable devices - known as heads-up display or HUD because they allow users to view information without glancing down at a computer or smartphone screen - are aimed at niche markets, a select few offer similar services to Glass and seem set on cutting into Google's pool of potential customers. The most recent rival product to make waves in the tech community is the Eye, made by leading Chinese search engine Baidu.
Conflicting reports about the product's development were released earlier this week. Many media outlets described the Baidu Eye as prototype digital eyewear that would directly compete with Google Glass. Yesterday, however, Tech Crunch reported that Baidu had no imminent plans to develop such a product and that these announcements were the result of an April Fool's joke spun out of control. It seems that the truth is somewhere in between. In a recent interview, Baidu spokesperson Kaiser Kuo said, "We haven't decided whether it is going to be released in any commercial form right now, but we experiment with every kind of technology that is related to search." Kuo acknowledged that the project was in line with Baidu's research into image search and facial recognition technologies, key features of this type of wearable computer. Like Google Glass, the Eye features an embedded camera, microphone and GPS.
Electronics manufacturers such as Epson and Sony are already one step ahead in their research into HUD technologies. The Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses are probably the most comparable product to Google Glass currently on the market; when connected to Android devices, the Smart Glasses display a heads-up version of the content on your phone, allowing you to check email and use the search function. According to the Daily Mail, Sony recently published its patent application for a head-mounted display device that shares many features with Google Glass but allows wearers to view information with both eyes rather than just one. Epson's product, the Moverio BT-100, is specifically tailored for entertainment, allowing users to surf the Internet and watch TV and movies.
Initially developed to assist Air Force pilots with navigation and accuracy in targeting, HUD technology has since spread to the commercial aircraft, automobile and video game industries. Videogames have long used HUD to visually relay information to players about their health, time and speed, and car manufacturers are adapting that model. Companies including Toyota, BMW, Audi and General Motors now use HUD on certain luxury car models in order to display speedometer and navigation information on the windshield, allowing drivers to focus their attention on the road rather than the dashboard.
Additional splinter markets for HUD technology continue to emerge. Recon Instruments recently proposed a particularly niche product: a wearable computer specifically targeted to skydivers and BASE jumpers that would display their speed, altitude and glide ratio while in the air.
Glass is Google's effort to take these technologies mainstream, and its diverse functions should make it appeal to a broader audience. Glass combines the enhanced entertainment features of products like the Epson Moverio with the practicality of services such as GPS and search. It is also voice-controlled for maximum ease of use; dictating commands to the device will allow you to send an email or text, take a photo or download directions. Google has one more leg up on its competitors: a relatively sleek design. While most HUD apparatuses tend to be clunky or resemble the visor worn by Cyclops in X-Men, Google Glass is comparatively unobtrusive and comes in a range of colors with amusingly chichi names like Tangerine and Cotton.
Google also seems determined to make their HUD glasses functional for everyday use. As Latinos Post's Frank Lucci recently reported, users will be able to match the lenses to their prescriptions so that they can avoid the inconvenience of wearing two pairs of glasses at once. Despite these efforts, it may take a while for the public to grow accustomed to the sight of people wearing and interacting with miniature computers. If Blue Tooth users once received stares for seemingly conversing with themselves, early adapters of HUD devices can expect plenty of inquiring looks for asking their glasses to direct them to the nearest subway.