3D Printed Sunshade Can Highly Increase Glass Usability

Google Glass’ display can be difficult to read in the sunlight, which is a problem faced by most displays we’re using. Though unlike other displays, Glass’ stays in direct sunlight, which makes it even worse. But , a PR rep an early Glass Explorer, managed to fix this issue by using a 3D printed sunshade.

I realized pretty quickly that the Glass prism projects transparent graphics, which are heavily and easily diluted against sunlight. Outdoors, I found myself frequently using my thumb to cover the back of the prism, to provide the necessary contrast I needed to see Glass clearly. Indoors, I caught myself turning away from windows and staring at walls, just to see what I was doing.

The sunshade is really basic and it’s doing a good job blocking the sunlight from reaching Glass’ prism. To build the prism, he collaborated with a 3D printing studio in Philadelphia and he’s been using a prototype for the last month.

But there’s one more thing the sunshade does. It hides the prism from people’s sight, so they won’t know that you actually have a display in front of your eyes. And along with it, the light that notifies them that you’re taking a picture. This could trigger even more privacy concerns, thinking that people can hide the light, so Glass doesn’t notify people anymore when a picture is taken.

The sunshade’s code is now available, so everyone can build one with a 3D printer. Barrett calls this Sunshade 1.0, being his final version, after the prototype.

By using the code, you can build it with your 3D printer, if you own one, or you can order it online from a 3D printing company.

You can download the Sunshade model here, where you can also order the 3D printed model for just $2.54.