Glass Could Trigger A Huge Interest In Wearable Technology Market

Google Glass is just the top of the iceberg when it comes to wearable computers. Think about the existing devices, such as fitness bracelets, necklaces and so on.

The word is that a mobile software company in Austin, Texas, called Chaotic Moon Studios is already developing a similar device, capable of competing with the Google Glass. The device will be able to connect to internet independently. So, a big team of engineers, designers and developers create eyewear with support for internet connection as well as software for other similar devices, according to their clients demand.

The co-founder of Chaotic Moon, William Hurley mentioned during an interview that he believes in the beginning of a new “phase” in technology and computers as we know them. He said that in between 12 to 16 months from now we will see a new “mad gold rush” just as we did when the first iPhone was released. Also, we will see a fast evolution of this technology, as every company will do their best in providing the best new “It” device in technology.

And the list of developers that already create software for the Glass doesn’t stop here. In Austin there’s another company working on developing various applications, such as inventory agendas or information stocking services, called Mutual Mobile.

In order to test their engineers, Mutual Mobile declared the days of the “Hackathons” just to challenge their imagination. During this time, developers did all kind of experiments on sensors which culminated in a boxing game able to tell how much damage a hit can do to an opponent and a football able to test the quality of a throw.

In an interview, Sam Gaddis (Mutual Mobile’s Chief Marketing Officer) said that nowadays you can find sensors of all sorts, at any price and measure all kind of data. He believes that the future of the technology means devices able to interconnect and read/transfer data one from another.

With the above mentioned experiment they realized that it is pointless to have access to all that data if you cannot store it or distribute it. Gaddis suggested that adding new and new layers of information rearranged and redistributed will lose interest at some point if the device won’t be able to provide more than that.

And he is not the only one believing in wearable computers being the next trend in technology. Experts everywhere believe in the future of this new device series.

Manish Chandra, a tech entrepreneur mentioned during a wearable technology show held in San Francisco, that Google has made the first few steps over the Start line, but there are others right behind it. The analyst also mentioned that we will see a big change in less than a year. Hurley says that Google started an influx of investments with its marketing campaign for the Glass, and that this was the missing piece of the puzzle. These devices would have evolved just as fast as the smartphones did, a couple of years ago, if they would have had the necessary funding.

Not to mention all the rumors about Apple’s iWatch, dating a while ago. Shane Walker, analyst at IHS Global Insights predicts a growth in wearable technology income, of $30 billion by 2018. Every analyst’s predictions ensure a fast growth of both the technology and the market.

In 2012, the wearable industry reached almost $9 million income, for any wearable product starting with hearing aids and ending with pedometer wristbands.

The evolution of this technology will also impact the gaming zone, and you probably already heard about the virtual reality headset for 3D gaming, called Oculus Rift.

Robin Arnott caught everyone’s attention during Austin’s Captivate Conference, when he presented the Rift. When the headset is activated, it displays a series of immersive visual effects, which induce a meditation state. Arnott says that the program will be released in at least one year from now.

When speaking about wearable computers, Arnott says that they can only increase your original capacities, just like a smartphone can make it easier. He integrates devices such as the iWatch and Google Glass, in the augmented reality devices category.

Thad Starner, professor at Georgia Institute of Technology is wearing glasses with a hidden camera and a display able to respond to voice commands for some years now. Currently he is a consultant in the Google Glass project. Starner said that as technology evolves people will have to adapt to the new.

Just as others before him, Starner sees technology as an extension of himself, and when bringing technology closer to the human body, in a wearable form, the integration comes almost natural. While we are talking about futuristic devices we have believed to be impossible 15 years ago, we begin discovering capacities we didn’t see before as possible.

Despite all this attention, these tiny devices are in a secondary plan, unlike computers or phones.

However, Google and the other wearable manufacturing companies are still trying to work out some privacy issues when it comes to people who don’t want to be photographed or filmed unknowingly, and of course, possible interactions issues.

As Genevieve Dion from Drexel University, pointed out in the case of having a T-shirt with an integrated wearable computer, would it be ok for someone else to use it? And by using it meaning to touch you everywhere? A lot of people wouldn’t accept it.

Besides, a lot of people are not used to the idea of wearable technology. There is a big part of them who look at the idea reluctantly. From a recent survey conducted by Cornerstone OnDemand, on 1029 Americans over 18 years old, we found that nearly 42% (error margin 3.1%) of them refuse the idea of working with a wearable computer attached to their heads.

Of course, that just as for the bandwidth issue and service to support constant wireless traffic, the other small issues will be addressed and fixed when the time is right.