Although Google will make this more popular due to their marketing efforts and brand, it's hardly their brainchild.

Tom Furness developed similar devices decades ago: Once out of the military lab, this was a key project of the Human Interface Technology Lab at UW in Seattle in the early 1990's.

Updating for smaller chips and components contributes to the current form-factor which includes the front-facing camera not present in the earliest versions.

The upside of course is that this might finally get some traction with Google's budget and efforts.