Google AR Glasses Update

 Will this open the door to new augmented reality AR?

Google Starts Real-World Testing for Augmented Reality Glasses That May Employ North Focals Tech

ERIC HAL SCHWARTZ on July 21, 2022 at 7:00 am in Voicebot.ai

Google will start real-world testing of augmented reality glasses for translation and navigation next month. Several dozen testers will walk around wearing prototypes AR glasses with inset lens displays, microphones, and cameras for limited activites like translating text and providing audio directions. The description suggests the device extends and improves on the technology Google acquired in 2020 from North, the makers of Focals by North smart glasses.

GOOGLE AR

Google has spent years developing AR devices, code-named Iris, according to some rumors. Recent reports suggest a 2024 release for the device, which may hide its tech enough to look like regular prescription glasses, a goal North was working toward before getting acquired. The upcoming tests are circumscribed to things like translating menus and displaying directions. For privacy, the prototypes won’t even allow for photos or video recordings despite the available hardware.

The version Google releases will likely be more ambitious in employing video and photographic services. The microphone will presumably connect wearers to Google Assistant, though the operating system is still unknown. Google’s vice president of Labs Clay Bavor is still running the AR and VR division, following his Google Cardboard and Daydream VR platform development and is said to be working with Google Assistant creator Scott Huffman on the project too. That Google is moving to tests beyond controlled environments is certainly an encouraging sign for those hoping to see a device that will permanently wipe out bad memories of Google Glass.   .... ' 

Alphabet Buying North Glasses

Somewhat Unexpected perhaps,  but some indication of seriousness on the ultimate wearable. Had heard from others that North Glasses were good.

Report: Alphabet looking to buy smart glasses startup North for $180M   By  Maria Deutscher

Google LLC parent Alphabet Inc. is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire North Inc., a Canadian smart glasses startup, for about $180 million.

The discussions were first reported by Canada’s The Globe and Mail on Thursday evening. The publication’s sources indicated that Ontario-based North is in the “final stages” of hammering out an agreement with Alphabet.

Founded in 2012, North is backed by about $160 million from investors that include Intel Corp.’s venture capital arm and Salesforce.com Inc. founder Marc Benioff. The startup offers a smart glasses product called Focals that’s touted as less bulky than many other products in the category, closely resembling a regular pair of glasses. Users can view mobile notifications without looking at their phone and perform certain other tasks such as ordering an Uber ride.  ..."

Update on North's Focals Smart Glasses

More updates on North's Focals Smart Glasses.  Now more closely connected to typical smart phone OS.  At this only to the Android.   Will this mean that we will soon see these as more common as a replacement for the smartphone,  as convenience rather than the need for hands-free?

North’s Focals smart glasses now support Android’s notification actions
Manage your emails or retweet directly from your face
By Jon Porter@JonPorty in TheVerge

North has added native support for Android’s notification actions to its Focals smart glasses. Using the new functionality, you’ll now be able to access any shortcuts app developers include in their app’s notifications. 9to5Google, which first spotted the update, notes that these actions can include deleting or archiving emails in the Gmail app or retweeting tweets on Twitter. .... " 

North Focals Smart Glasses

Digital Trends reviews.    Another attempt at smartglasses.   A sort of on-your-head rather than as a watch.   Integrating Alexa.  Need to be fitted, and are expensive at $999.   No camera, and more subtle and less geeky looking  than previous attempts at smartglasses.  Like many of these examples most useful for hands-free applications.

North Focals hands-on preview in DigitalTrends.

North’s Focals aim to keep you ‘heads-up’ with smartglasses

Never got a chance to try Google Glass for yourself? If you liked the idea of smartglasses but didn’t want to be labeled as a “glasshole,” you might be interested in giving Focals a shot. It’s a pair of glasses that shares similar features to Google Glass, allowing you to walk about in the real world with notifications and other data displayed on the glasses, meaning you can leave the phone in your pocket or handbag.

Focals is made by a Canadian company called North, formerly known as Thalmic Labs. We’ve covered Thalmic Labs before, as they created Myo, an armband that can detect gestures. The branding change to North is also a part of today’s announcement, and a reason for the change was that Thalmic Labs sounded too “techy,” according to North CEO Stephen Lake.

“It’s not the right brand for this product,” Lake told Digital Trends. “We started from a lifestyle/fashion perspective, saying we want to make amazing-looking glasses you’ll wear every day. And so, we wanted a brand that sort of reflected that as well. North means two things: One, it’s kind of the North Star of how technology should evolve and kind of this positive way of being there in the real world … and two, it just speaks to the origin story of being from the north instead of Silicon Valley.”

We spent some time with a pair of Focals and went through the process of making one — here’s what it’s like.  ... "