Folks who have watched futuristic science-fiction films and/or played futuristic first-person-shooters will probably be familiar with the term “HUD” which stands for Heads Up Display. These displays are included as part of the headgear and offer real-time information about whatever is in front of and around the person wearing it. Well, according to a recently published report, Google is working on “HUD Glasses” that work on a similar concept, and it is “coming soon”. Details after the jump!
The news comes from 9to5Google – a blog dedicated to covering all things Google – in the form of a report in which they cite a “tipster” who has apparently seen a prototype of the HUD Glasses.
These glasses are thick-rimmed and have an everyday look to them. It comes with a HUD for one eye, works directly with Google Goggles (an image recognition app currently available for Android) and a bunch of other Google services for an augmented reality. These glasses will connect to the internet directly or through a phone’s connection, through WiFi or Bluetooth 4.0.
9to5Google’s tipster states that these glasses look like Oakley’s Thumps, have a low-resolution front-facing camera with flash and use a “head titling-to scroll and click” navigation system that becomes second nature pretty quickly. It can also take user input via voice.
From 9to5Google:
Our tipster has now seen a prototype and said it looks something like Oakley Thumps (below). These glasses, we heard, have a front-facing camera used to gather information and could aid in augmented reality apps. It will also take pictures. The spied prototype has a flash —perhaps for help at night, or maybe it is just a way to take better photos. The camera is extremely small and likely only a few megapixels.
Though specifications don’t matter to us at this point in time, 9to5Google says that the glasses will come with hardware “equivalent of a generation-old Android smartphone”. This means that it may also function as a smartphone. An Android-powered smartphone; just wait till the folks at XDA Developers get their hands on this!
To get an idea for what the HUD may look like, check out this video clip from Terminator 2:
Google is reportedly now deciding whether to release it as a mass-market gadget or in the form of a pilot program like Cr-48 Chromebooks from 2011.
Could this have anything to do with one of Secret Projects at Google X? Only time will tell!
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