While augmented reality (AR), which overlays the virtual world on the real world, is actually attracting attention, many different companies are working on the development of AR glasses. Google, which has been developing and selling AR glasses for a long time, announced that it plans to start real-world testing of a new AR glass prototype in August 2022.
At the developer event Google I/O 2022, which was held in May 2022, Google finally announced AR smart glasses that can subtitle and automatically translate the words of what another person is saying — using Google Translate technology.
In a new blog on July 19th, Google’s AR Group Product Manager Justin Payne reported that Google plans to test next-generation AR glasses in the real world starting in August 2022. Payne argued that laboratory testing alone wasn’t enough to develop AR glasses.
AR glasses are mainly intended for use outdoor, and various environmental data such as weather changes and crowded intersections need to be collected and reflected in the experience, but it is difficult to completely reproduce these environments indoors.
From August 2022, Google plans to test AR glass prototypes in the real world, which will help them better understand how these devices might help people in their daily lives.
From August, many Google employees and selected trusted testers will wear the new AR glass prototypes and small-scale tests will be done in public. Although the AR glass includes an in-lens display, microphone, and camera, photography and video shooting are not supported, and translation, navigation, and visual search using image data are performed.
Google also noted that the collected image data would be deleted the moment when the experience has been completed, but there is a possibility that it may be saved if used for analysis and debugging.
Public tests are conducted in some parts of the United States, but testing is prohibited in schools, government facilities, medical facilities, places of worship, social welfare facilities, places for children, disaster prevention facilities, places where meetings and protests are held, etc. Also, it also is forbidden to use AR glasses while driving a car as there is a possibility of road accidents.
