IT, Risks and Ergonomics - Google Glass

Google glass was one of the most advanced and innovative piece of art that was ever created by a human-kind. This technology was launched back in 2013 and was only available to special testers, also called as "Glass Explorers". Later on  in 2014 Google Glass also called Google Glass 2.0 was available to public as only one option, which was "Standart Edition" for 1500 USD.  For many of us this technology was astonishing! It was futuristic and was able to do various of commands such as:

• Hands-free
• Voice commands
• Ergonomic design
• Always on interface

Could Google Glass make our life easier?

Google Glass demo was promising something that we could only imagine in futuristic fantasy movies. Google Glass eyewear was developed by X Lab (Previously called Google X), the same group also works with autonomous cars and AI technologies. Google Glass really could make our life easier, especially for active people. The main purpose of the glass was to provide ergonomic gadget to make active lifestyle much more engaging and help people instantly catch the moment by activating picture or video recording function. Google Glass 2.0 had mainly 3 features, which were:

 

1. Camera - It had 5 MP of camera, which could record 720p HD video. Back then 5 MP of camera was more than enough and was not worse than smartphone cameras.
2. Display - It had LED illuminated display. The display's LED was shining through polarizing filter to the crystal panel.
3. Touchpad - It was located on the side of glass, allowing to control the device by performing variety of swiping/touching gestures.

Risk of using Google Glasses

Due to its design it gained high criticism from their users. The huge chip partially covering the right eye was creating blind spots that brought various safety issues and dangerous situations with it. The study in 2013 showed that compared to normal glasses, when wearing Google Glasses there was meaningful loss of vision which could most likely cause an accident.

Making things comfortable is not always welcomed

Google Glass was always on, which means it was always recording. It was recording everything that our eyes could see and in the end of the day if some footage is not saved it is deleted to free up some memory. Due to always on recording Google Glass 2.0 received bans from many European countries due to its safety as well as privacy issues. 

List of industries that banned using Google Glass 2.0:

• Movie Industry banned using Google Glass inside movie theaters.
• Educational Institutes banned using Google Glass inside classes.
• Other businesses banned using Google Glass during work due to company's privacy policies.

                       

Why Google Glass flopped?

Glass flopped for various reasons. One of the main reasons was lack of ergonomic design. It made their users look more nerdy than fashionable. It had huge black chip that was covering 30% of the right glass, which was could not be unseen. Other main reasons why Google Glass flopped within 1 year was its price. Google priced it too high and basically did not let their customers buy them, standart Edition of Google Glass was priced 1500 USD. It garnered considerable high criticism about its privacy and safety, which resulted Google X Lab to fail.

“Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.”
Christian Lous Lange, Historian