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Rich26189 writes:

"In a somewhat pre-emptive move Google is lobbying against state legislation that would ban drivers from using Google Glass while driving. I, for one, would like to see such legislation passed. There is enough distracted driving due to hand-held cell phones and Google Glass would just be just one more task for the brain to cope with.

This from Reuters:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/25/us-googl e-glass-lobbying-idUSBREA1O0P920140225"

janrinok writes:

MaximumPC offers the following story:

You may have seen reports indicating that the bill of materials (BOM) associated with Google Glass is a mere $79.78, well short of the $1,500 price tag it costs to join the Explorer program and bring a set home. Sounds like highway robbery, right? Even after factoring in other expenses that have nothing do to with the actual component costs, the markup seems downright obscene. But is it? Google denies its Glass device cost just $80 to make. So how much is it really?

freetown writes:

The verdict is out and it is what many had asserted. Google Glass is a failure: BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones.

The concern is that this product has been in the hands of developers for a year now but on the Glassware store, there are still only around 60 apps. I have seen various demos of what look like exciting augmented reality apps - services that overlay information on what you see through Glass - but so far these have not appeared in the store.

It would have been nice to have something like what Lumus is doing: Wearable Display without the usual 3D HMD problems but alas, they don't take orders from individual nobodies.

Hugh Pickens writes:

The Guardian reports that Drafthouse Cinemas, which has 20 sites across the United States, says that users of Google Glass will not be allowed to use them while watching films because the wearable glasses can be used to surreptitiously record video. "We've been talking about this potential ban for over a year," says Drafthouse CEO Tim League. "Google Glass did some early demos here in Austin and I tried them out personally. At that time, I recognised the potential piracy problem that they present for cinemas. I decided to put off a decision until we started seeing them in the theatre, and that started happening this month."

Attitudes towards Google Glass appear to be hardening in the US. In January, cinema chain AMC said the eyewear was "not appropriate" for use in cinemas, following an incident in which homeland security officers interrogated a Glass wearer during a screening of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit in Columbus, Ohio.

taylorvich writes:

The odds are you can't make out the PIN of that guy with the sun glaring obliquely off his iPad's screen across the coffee shop. But if he's wearing Google Glass or a smartwatch, he probably can see yours.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Lowell found they could use video from wearables like Google Glass and the Samsung smartwatch to surreptitiously pick up four-digit PIN codes typed onto an iPad from almost 10 feet away-and from nearly 150 feet with a high-def camcorder. Their software, which used a custom-coded video recognition algorithm that tracks the shadows from finger taps, could spot the codes even when the video didn't capture any images on the target devices' displays.

gewg_ writes:

iGyaan reports

Cochin-based Arvind Sanjeev has invented the "Smart Cap" which is basically a nerdier version of the sleek Google Glass. Now we, of course, need to cut him some slack as he didn't have the huge monetary resources backing those researchers at Google X.

Arvind's design, though rudimentary, is pretty functional. The raw materials that went into making the Smart Cap are easily available. The Smart Cap uses a USB Webcam, an LCD panel, aspheric lens, headphones, a Raspberry Pi Board, a sun board sheet, and glue which is a DIY guy's favorite tool.

[...]

What is really appreciable is that he put the entire project in DIY and posted it for anyone to create their own smart cap. He has been doing this for a while and has uploaded several DIY tutorials. He also owns a start-up called A.R.S devices which make devices for automation, connected devices, and safety purposes.

lhsi writes:

German researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS have developed a Google Glass app that recognises faces, but not the identity of the person. Emotions, gender, and age are recognised, and no images are sent over a network to do so.

Sophisticated High-speed Object Recognition Engine (SHORE) is the name of the group's software, which processes video on the Google Glass CPU. All calculations are performed in real-time by the CPU. By participating in the Google Glass "Explorer Program" Fraunhofer IIS was able to test the smart eyewear. The Google Glass app was made possible by adapting and implementing the Fraunhofer IIS SHORE software library as Glassware.

A software library of data built on C++ analyzes the face. Information about the person—happy, sad, angry, surprised, age estimation, gender—is superimposed next to the face. SHORE can also do eye-blink estimation and valence (emotion) recognition.

The researchers said the database has over 10,000 annotated faces. In combination with structure-based features and learning algorithms, they said they can train so-called models that boast extremely high recognition rates.

CNET's Seth Rosenblatt said the organization sees SHORE as a communication aid for people, for example, on the autism spectrum who may have difficulties in identifying emotions. "Fraunhofer also points out that its app could be applied to market analyses and other more commercial uses," he wrote.

n1 writes:

From an article published by Forbes which I can very much relate to:

Just came across an intriguing stat this morning from GlobalWebIndex that 71% of those aged 16 to 24 want "wearable tech." Which they define as a smart watch, smart wristband or Google Glass.

Globally, 64% of internet users have worn a piece of wearable tech already or are "keen to do so in the future." Men, at 69%, are keener in the aggregate than women, at 56%.

All of this reminded me yet again how dinosaurish I am, not that I need a whole lot of reminding, and how disconnected I am from most of the world. True story: When I was in high school back in the Pleistocene Era someone gave me a watch as a birthday gift. I wore it for three weeks, didn’t like having a piece of leather and metal attached to my wrist, didn’t enjoy the constant reminder of what time it was, took it off, gave it away and have never worn a watch since.

[...] Why do my minimalist needs and wants feel so radically different from those of most humans?

It’s not that I’m uninterested in technology. I just don’t want to wear it. I love the power of Twitter, and have thought about and written about the management implications of Google Glass. But do I need them as clothing items?

cmn32480 writes:

According to the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30831128 Google will cease selling Google Glass on January 19.

This is not a permanent stop to the sales. Google continue working toward the next version of Glass and releasing it again.

The company insists it is still committed to launching the smart glasses as a consumer product, but will stop producing Glass in its present form.

Instead it will focus on "future versions of Glass" with work carried out by a different division to before.

Can it be that the general public, and the backlash against "Glassholes" has made Google pull the product?

takyon writes:

Google Glass came back from the dead to assist cardiologists completing a difficult surgery:

Cardiologists from the Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland have used Google Glass in a challenging surgical procedure, successfully clearing a blockage in the right coronary artery of a 49-year-old male patient and restoring blood flow, reports the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Chronic total occlusion, a complete blockage of the coronary artery, sometimes referred to as the "final frontier in interventional cardiology," represents a major challenge for catheter-based percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), according to the cardiologists.

[...] Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) is increasingly used to provide physicians with guidance when performing PCI for this procedure. The 3-D CTA data can be projected on monitors, but this technique is expensive and technically difficult, the cardiologists say.

So a team of physicists from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling of the University of Warsaw developed a way to use Google Glass to clearly visualize the distal coronary vessel and verify the direction of the guide-wire advancement relative to the course of the blocked vessel segment.

The procedure was completed successfully, including implantation of two drug-eluting stents.

First-in-Man Computed Tomography-Guided Percutaneous Revascularization of Coronary Chronic Total Occlusion Using a Wearable Computer: Proof of Concept [abstract]

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Terrorism will cast a continuing shadow over future generations and government electronic surveillance is a small price to pay to combat it, a leading historian said Wednesday, a day after the carnage in Brussels.

British author and journalist Max Hastings gave a robust defence of electronic intelligence-gathering in what he called a new world that would never know absolute security.

"Our tolerance of electronic surveillance, subject to legal and parliamentary oversight, seems a small price to pay for some measure of security against threats that nobody—today of all days—can doubt are real," Hastings told Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondents' Club.

Twin attacks by Islamic State jihadists killed around 35 people in the Belgian capital Tuesday.

Hastings, a former war correspondent and newspaper editor, is author of 26 books mostly on military history.

His latest, "The Secret War", tells the story of behind-the-scenes intelligence operations in World War II.

Future wars "will almost certainly" be fought on similar turf.

The expert named did not explain how the current total surveillance did not prevent the Brussels attacks. In other news, he taped a "Dox me and SWAT me" sign to his own back.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Drivers commonly perform secondary tasks while behind the wheel to navigate or communicate with others, which has led to a significant increase in the number of injuries and fatalities attributed to distracted driving. Advances in wearable technology, particularly devices such as Google Glass, which feature voice control and head-up display (HUD) functionalities, raise questions about how these devices might impact driver attention when used in vehicles. New human factors/ergonomics research examines how these interface characteristics can have a deleterious effect on safety.

In their Human Factors article, "Driving While Interacting With Google Glass: Investigating the Combined Effect of Head-Up Display and Hands-Free Input on Driving Safety and Multitask Performance," authors Kathryn Tippey, Elayaraj Sivaraj, and Thomas Ferris observed the performance of 24 participants in a driving simulator. The participants engaged in four texting-while-driving tasks: baseline (driving only), and driving plus reading and responding to text messages via (a) a smartphone keyboard, (b) a smartphone voice-to text system, and (c) Google Glass' voice-to-text system using HUD.

The authors found that driving performance degraded regardless of secondary texting task type, but manual entry led to slower reaction times and significantly more eyes-off-road glances than voice-to-text input using both smartphones and Google Glass. Glass' HUD function required only a change in eye direction to read and respond to text messages, rather than the more disruptive change in head and body posture associated with smartphones. Participants also reported that Glass was easier to use and interfered less with driving than did the other devices tested.

IOW, wait until you're in a self-driving car before you mix texting and driving.

Original Submission

Fnord666 writes:

If you thought that Google Glass was killed by a lack of practicality and privacy concerns, think again. Alphabet X, Google's "moonshot" branch, has unveiled a reboot of the original eyeglass-like wearable called Glass Enterprise Edition. As the name suggests, it's not aimed at the public at all. Despite its many foibles, Glass turned out to be very useful for workers, so the new version targets businesses to help workers do their jobs better.

In early 2015, Google shuttered the Google Glass site, thanking users for "exploring with us," while promising that "the journey doesn't end here." However, while the original $1,500 Glass Explorer's Edition was no longer available to the public, Alphabet continued to supply it to US companies like GE, Boeing, DHL and AGCO.

With Glass, AGCO managed to reduce production times by 25 percent, while DHL increased supply chain efficiency 15 percent. It's also been a boon for healthcare professionals, reducing paperwork loads by over 20 percent and allowing doctors to spend 50 percent more time with patients.

We've ... made improvements to the design and hardware so that it's lightweight and comfortable for long term wear. We've increased the power and battery life too.

With that success, Alphabet X has quietly been working on Glass Enterprise Edition with a design that's more comfortable and can withstand the rigors of work environments. It's also got a bigger display prism, foldable design and speedier Atom processor. "We've ... made improvements to the design and hardware so that it's lightweight and comfortable for long term wear. We've increased the power and battery life too," Alphabet X's Jay Kothari writes.

Source: Engadget

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Google Glass could help children with autism socialize with others

Google Glass may have failed as a high-tech fashion trend, but it's showing promise as a tool to help children with autism better navigate social situations.

A new smartphone app that pairs with a Google Glass headset uses facial recognition software to give the wearer real-time updates on which emotions people are expressing. In a pilot trial, described online August 2 in npj Digital Medicine, 14 children with autism spectrum disorder used this program at home for an average of just over 10 weeks. After treatment, the kids showed improved social skills [open, DOI: 10.1038/s41746-018-0035-3], including increased eye contact and ability to decode facial expressions.

After her 9-year-old son, Alex, participated in the study, Donji Cullenbine described the Google Glass therapy as "remarkable." She noticed within a few weeks that Alex was meeting her eyes more often — a behavior change that's stuck since treatment ended, she says. And Alex enjoyed using the Google Glass app. Cullenbine recalls her son telling her excitedly, "Mommy, I can read minds."

Q: What does the scouter say about his emotional state? A: He is confused... Now he has recognized this device as Google Glass and has become enraged.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

China can apparently now identify citizens based on the way they walk

China is home to the world’s largest network of CCTV cameras — more than 170 million — and its police have adopted Google Glass-like “smart specs” to seek out suspects in crowds, but now its surveillance efforts have hit a new level with technology that can apparently identify individuals based on their body shape and the way they walk.

The “gait recognition” technology is already being used by police in Beijing and Shanghai where it can identify individuals even when their face is obscured or their back is turned, according to an AP report.

[...] The positive impact is in finding criminals, but there’s a less savory edge. Besides law enforcement, media reports have shown that China has deployed surveillance technology for more sinister purposes that include controlling its people.

[...] China’s CCTV surveillance network took just 7 minutes to capture BBC reporter

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Google announces a new $999 Glass augmented reality headset

Google has announced a new version of its business-focused Glass augmented reality headset, which it's now designating an official Google product instead of an experiment. The Glass Enterprise Edition 2 costs $999, although, like its predecessor, it's not being sold directly to consumers. It's got a new processor, an improved camera, a USB-C port for faster charging, and a variety of other updates.

Google still isn't positioning Glass as a mainstream product. But it seems to be expecting greater sales of the Glass Enterprise Edition 2. The device has been moved out of the Google X "moonshot factory" and into the main Google family of products, letting Google "meet the demands of the growing market for wearables in the workplace," according to a blog post.

See also: Google unveils new $999 smart glasses for businesses, undercutting Microsoft's HoloLens on price
Google's next-gen Glass eyewear lasts longer and runs on Android
Glass graduates from Alphabet's X as it scores new hardware update

Original Submission

Phoenix666 wrote in with a story which inspired:

CNet:

First came VR. Then came a wave of AR headsets that were high-priced and full of promises of wild mixed reality worlds. Apple now seems to be readying its own pair of smart glasses, at long last, seven years after Google Glass and four years after the debut of Oculus Rift. These reports have extended back for several years, including a story broken by CNET's Shara Tibken in 2018.

Apple has been in the wings all this time without any headset at all, although the company's aspirations in AR have been clear and well-telegraphed on iPhones and iPads for years. Each year, Apple's made significant strides on iOS with its AR tools.

The article dives into these topics at some depth:

• Normal glasses, first, with a normal name
• Lower cost than you'd think?
• iPhone-powered
• A world of QR codes, and maybe location-aware objects
• Apple's newest iPad has the sensor tech it needs
• How bleeding-edge will the visuals be?
• Look to AirPods for ease of use -- and audio augmented reality
• Apple Watch and AirPods could be great Glass companions
• Could Qualcomm and Apple's reconciliation also be about XR?
• Expect the iPhone to support other VR and AR, too
• Launch date: Still could be a year away

Will Apple Glass succeed where Google Glass failed?

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following stories.

PiGlass V2 Embraces The New Raspberry Pi Zero 2:

Well, that certainly didn’t take long. It’s been just about a month since the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 hit the market, and we’re already seeing folks revisit old projects to reap the benefits of the drop-in upgrade that provides five times the computational power in the same form factor.

[...] Although it might not have the punch of its larger siblings, the new Pi Zero 2 is definitely a very exciting platform. The highly efficient board delivers performance on par with the old Pi 3, while still being well positioned for battery powered projects like this one. We’re eager to see what develops as the new SBC finds its way into the hands of more hackers and makers in the coming months.

Short (15s) demo on YouTube of the unit's menu function.

PiGlass Is a DIY Alternative to Google Glass

Google Glass was an interesting, if controversial, product. The idea of having a computer available and in use at all times (not just a smartphone in your pocket) seemed like the next big step in computing when Glass was announced. Unfortunately, the general public didn't ever seem to get on board with the concept. Maybe it was the price, maybe it was the privacy concerns, or maybe it was just wasn't fashionable.

Whatever the case, the consumer version of Google Glass was discontinued less than a year after its public release. Despite the lack of commercial success, many people are still interested in the potential of a Glass-like device, and have turned to DIY options.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Meeting Owl videoconference device used by govs is a security disaster:

The Meeting Owl Pro is a videoconference device with an array of cameras and microphones that captures 360-degree video and audio and automatically focuses on whoever is speaking to make meetings more dynamic and inclusive. The consoles, which are slightly taller than an Amazon Alexa and bear the likeness of a tree owl, are widely used by state and local governments, colleges, and law firms.

A recently published security analysis has concluded the devices pose an unacceptable risk to the networks they connect to and the personal information of those who register and administer them. The litany of weaknesses includes:

• The exposure of names, email addresses, IP addresses, and geographic locations of all Meeting Owl Pro users in an online database that can be accessed by anyone with knowledge of how the system works. This data can be exploited to map network topologies or socially engineer or dox employees.
• The device provides anyone with access to it with the interprocess communication channel, or IPC, it uses to interact with other devices on the network. This information can be exploited by malicious insiders or hackers who exploit some of the vulnerabilities found during the analysis
• Bluetooth functionality designed to extend the range of devices and provide remote control by default uses no passcode, making it possible for a hacker in proximity to control the devices. Even when a passcode is optionally set, the hacker can disable it without first having to supply it.
• An access point mode that creates a new Wi-Fi SSID while using a separate SSID to stay connected to the organization network. By exploiting Wi-Fi or Bluetooth functionalities, an attacker can compromise the Meeting Owl Pro device and then use it as a rogue access point that infiltrates or exfiltrates data or malware into or out of the network.
• Images of captured whiteboard sessions—which are supposed to be available only to meeting participants—could be downloaded by anyone with an understanding of how the system works.

[...] Researchers from modzero, a Switzerland- and Germany-based security consultancy that performs penetration testing, reverse engineering, source-code analysis, and risk assessment for its clients, discovered the threats while conducting an analysis of videoconferencing solutions on behalf of an unnamed customer. The firm first contacted Meeting Owl-maker Owl Labs of Somerville, Massachusetts, in mid-January to privately report their findings. As of the time this post went live on Ars, none of the most glaring vulnerabilities had been fixed, leaving thousands of customer networks at risk.

Original Submission

Google's Finally Ready to Give Us Google Glass 2, but is the World Ready?

upstart writes:

Google Glass is making a comeback:

Seven years after discontinuing the Google Glass prototype and pivoting towards business-exclusive applications, it appears that the Californian tech giant is finally ready to give consumer-focused AR tech another chance.

In an official blog post, Google announced that it would soon start publicly testing prototypes for its upcoming Google AR devices, which will focus on live translation and navigation features.

Rumors that Google is developing new AR glasses have been swirling for a while, and in one low-key swoop, it has officially confirmed they were true all along. While lacking a lot of the excitement we would have expected for such an announcement, this is a smart tactical move for Google.

[...] Even if Google is testing a single unified prototype it could face the return of an old enemy – public fear. While Google promises that its latest AR devices are restricted on how they can use their cameras and microphones, that likely won't assuage people's concerns.

[...] We'll have to wait and see how the general public reacts though, not only next month when testers start walking around with the prototypes but also when they officially launch. Another big fault of the original Google Glass was its tough-to-swallow $1,500 price tag. Given the current economic hardships many people are facing right now, a similarly expensive product could once again be doomed to fail.

Ready or Not, the Glassholes are Coming Back

upstart writes:

Is the world finally prepared for hands-free cameras?:

Every major tech company is working on computer glasses. None of them really want to go first.

They all remember how Google Glass, and the "Glassholes" who wore them in public, became the laughingstock of the world. So they've been waiting, biding their time, refining their prototypes, and every so often making sure investors know that, no, they're not going to let the first potentially iPhone-sized opportunity since the iPhone slip by.

[...] If you hate this idea, there's probably nothing I can say to convince you otherwise, nor would I necessarily want to; I'm not going to pretend to know whether such a gadget should exist in the world. I just think you should realize that if Google's test doesn't end in utter disgust, it won't be long before Apple, Microsoft, and others throw their long-awaited glasses into the ring as well.

And in 2022, I wouldn't actually bet on disgust, mainly because we've had a decade of pointing phones at things in public, documenting every element of our lives, to prepare us for what's to come.

[...] Sure, that could change if a future pair of glasses proves to be more intrusive than our existing phones and drones. There are definitely going to be serious questions about data collection and privacy, particularly given the track record of some of the companies building them.

But in 2022, I think the bigger challenge facing Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Snap is figuring out how to build AR experiences we'd actually pay for — experiences more compelling or convenient than what phones already offer.

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Last Friday, Illinois became one of the few states to pass an anti-doxxing law, making it possible for victims to sue attackers who "intentionally" publish their personally identifiable information with intent to harm or harass them. (Doxxing is sometimes spelled "doxing.")

The Civil Liability for Doxing Act, which takes effect on January 1, 2024, passed after a unanimous vote. It allows victims to recover damages and to request "a temporary restraining order, emergency order of protection, or preliminary or permanent injunction to restrain and prevent the disclosure or continued disclosure of a person's personally identifiable information or sensitive personal information."

It's the first law of its kind in the Midwest, the Daily Herald reported, and is part of a push by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to pass similar laws at the state and federal levels.

ADL's Midwest regional director, David Goldenberg, told the Daily Herald that ADL has seen doxxing become "over the past few years" an effective way of "weaponizing" the Internet. ADL has helped similar laws pass in Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

[...] Illinois state representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz told the Daily Herald that she introduced the anti-doxxing law as "a way to hold accountable those who perpetuate hate online."

The law does not involve criminal charges but imposes civil liability on individuals who dox any Illinois residents. Actions can also be brought against individuals when "any element" of a doxxing offense occurs in the state.