Tech

Google shows augmented reality glasses that translate in real time

Gafas Google It has remained in the collective memory as one of the company’s biggest failures. What seemed to be a revolutionary invention ended up as a product that did not really interest the mass market and was also highly criticized, but the Mountain View giant has not thrown in the towel when it comes to its commitment to augmented reality or at least that is the image that he wanted to convey at the I/O 2022 conference.

Google showed viewers at I/O 2022 in a short video that it is working on a product consisting of glasses that are intended to break language barriers through real-time translation. Is it a new version of Google Glass or are we facing a device oriented to fulfill a specific purpose? The data we have does not seem to provide a clear answer.

Google’s possible return to the augmented reality sector could be related to the recent acquisition of North, the Canadian startup creator of the Focals smart glasses. North’s invention has a more elegant and standard aesthetic finish and integrates a single screen in a single lens, although its features include being able to display notifications. Another interesting detail is that, in order to arouse less suspicion at the privacy level, it does not include a camera, something that has apparently been imitated by the Google prototype.

What is shown by Google is a prototype that could not get anywhere, or what comes to the same thing, that probably will not be marketed. Sundar Pichai himself, current CEO of Alphabet and Google, told those attending the event that it was about “one of the first prototypes” that the company had tested, so if that is the current state of the glasses, it is normal that the only thing shown to the public is a short video.

We will see how far Google goes this time with these glasses apparently focused on translation work. Lacking cameras and performing one or a few functions could help them have a more defined audience and more real commercial viability, although not necessarily to become a revolutionary phenomenon that ends up in every home.

Google Glass, as a project, started in 2012 and from its first steps it already showed evidence that it was going to have a hard time surviving commercially. Privacy concerns over the inclusion of a camera, a $1,500 starting price, and some fierce criticism sank the wearable shortly after it was released. Owners of an Explorer Edition unit have been without access to services since February 25, 2020, so from that date they are “dead” devices at least for the company.

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