Behind the Google Goggles, Virtual Reality | Hacker News Reader

Behind the Google Goggles, Virtual Reality

nytimes.com

22 pointsCadsby10 comments

A guess. The likely demographic of early-adopters are also statistically likely to require prescription lenses. I also doubt the initial versions will cater to people who need prescription lenses.

I do hope that they've factored this in to their sales projections.

I could totally be wrong, but I feel strongly that this is going to flop big time.

This sentence sums it up: “It looks really weird to outsiders when you watch people navigate these spaces,”

I think most people will be too self-conscious to use this in public.

If the lenses were transparent and you could get decent prescription versions, I'd be all over it.

There could be niche applications - think any profession that constantly requires the use of both hands.

I think the people flailing their arms and dodging virtual stuff is not going to be the main use though.

I could imagine several less-intrusive, very useful things.

Go to an airport/train station etc.. and have a user-specific glowing arrow showing you where you need to go next.

Go to a conference and have a social network overlay telling you everyone's names and what they do.

Or Sims style public intent-bubbles - say a waiter surveys the restaurant and can see who's ready to order/pay.

I think a lot of people will want it, followed by a recession due to it being strange. Then google will make it more aesthetically pleasing for all consumers. If consumers want to dodge objects of fiction, there's an app for that (of course we will hear of the random person who trips and falls under a car or a bike or whatever, and google will be blamed) Then there will be busier consumers who will want to their hands free and be moving but still want to be able to see the stocks/news/messages etc. Some of them will likely be used as remote viewing, maybe it would come with a camera. One could stick this camera on the back of their car, or directed towards their blind spots.

I agree initially it will be awkward, but overall even the strange good things eventually become normal good things.

I'm not so sure. People sure look silly (well crazy, really) when they talk into a bluetooth headset walking down the street.

Indeed. All Google need to do is convince people that augmented reality headsets are the tools of a powerful, wealthy businessman and they'll fly off the shelves :)

What is the input going to be like? Speech recognition and motion detection via CV seem to clumsy to me - I'd love to have a small controller in my pocket, something like a wireless touchpad or a joystick.

Bluetooth to your android phone could be an option?

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