Work on the practical implementation of a wearable computer, in which only the display or the entire device is made in the form of glasses, has been going on for more than thirty years. Today, it is already possible not only to discuss the timing of the appearance of such a device, but it is even available for free purchase with a delayed delivery by some categories of computer specialists.
The start date of work on a computer in the form of glasses can be counted from the time of publication of the works of the Canadian Steve Mann, who is sometimes even called the first cyborg on our planet. Mann is a professor at the University of Toronto who built a wearable computer. He was able to partially realize the idea of using special glasses to display information and control a wearable computer using eye movements. In addition to Mann with his EyeTap project, there is evidence of similar programs from the US military department (Net Warrior), Google (Project Glass) and Apple patents in this area. But if we, of course, find out last about the timing of the appearance of such a device from the military, then much more is known about Google computer glasses.
The most recent news about the release of Google Glass came at the end of June 2012 - the company began preliminary acceptance of applications for the purchase of this device. However, not everyone can place an order, but only software developers from the United States. The price set by the company for these copies of the wearable computer is $ 1,500, and the estimated delivery time is early 2013. Commercial sales of computer glasses from Google according to the plans of the company should begin only in two years.
The prototype of the device in question was personally presented by the founder of this company Sergey Brin at the annual conference of Google I / O developers in San Francisco. There, only two of its functions were demonstrated - recording video and playing animation on a screen, the size of a postage stamp, built into the frame of the glasses. But, according to the developers, this device will have all the functions of modern smartphones. Somewhat earlier, the leaders of the Google X laboratory, which is developing this device, called its approximate cost after the start of mass production - from $ 250 to $ 600.
