Google assessments New AR Prototypes – be careful for Google Glass

Google announced will begin testing the new AR, augmented reality, experience in public with a limited number of Googlers and trusted testers. These include in-lens displays, microphones and cameras that Google will begin testing in the real world next month.

Google explained that they can be “used to enable experiences like translating the menu in front of you or showing directions to a nearby coffee shop.” Adding use cases includes navigation, translation, transcription, and visual search.

Google has a help document which goes into a little more detail about these devices. It says that Google is “testing new experiences like translation, transcription and navigation on AR prototypes.” “The research prototypes look like regular glasses, have a screen in the lens, and have audio and visual sensors like a microphone and camera.”

So “normal glasses” is one example, maybe like Facebook glasses, I hope they’re not like that the old Google Glass.

Google added that it will “explore a variety of use cases that use audio detection, such as speech transcription and translation, and visual detection, which uses image data for use cases such as text translation or positioning during navigation.” Google added, “we will test experiences that include navigation, translation, transcription, and visual search.”

Don’t you like that? Google said the LED indicator will turn on if image data is being stored for analysis and debugging. If the bystander wishes, they can ask the tester to delete the image data and it will be removed from all logs.

Now I have to work on getting one of these. 🙂

Forum discussion at Twitter.