Google Glass is a new Internet device you wear like a pair of glasses. It posts visual data in your view that only you can see, not dissimilar from the head-up display in a military fighter jet. From all accounts, most reviewers are saying this is “not quite ready for prime time,” but I’m sure it soon will be.
So, let’s work under the assumptions that it does work, can be disguised to look like regular glasses, provides private visual cues, takes voice commands and has a built in camera. This all may not be true yet, but it will be.
Based on the assumption of a fully functional stealth model, what fantasy apps would you foresee?
Knowing what I know about human behavior, here’s a few I envision:
- The Gambler App – Wear your Google Glass while playing poker, blackjack or other card games. The app reads the cards and keeps track of the game’s progress, telling you to fold, hold or bet. A winner every time… just don’t do this in the Old West or you’ll be shot.
- Test Ace App – Wear your Google Glass while taking the SAT or other standardized test. The Test Ace reads the question and Googles it to determine the correct answer. Now you’re sure to get into Harvard or MIT.
- Cop Alert – Users of this app report the location of police using radar or setting up traffic check points. Simply wear the glasses as you drive and say “cop.” Other nearby app users are automatically alerted to the police’s location, thereby avoiding unwanted tickets.
- Traffic Tattler – This is like “Cop Alert,” only in reverse. See someone texting while driving or talking on their cell phone? Simply say “violator.” The app captures an image of the person in the act of the violation and snaps their license plate. It then automatically tweets law enforcement and submits time-stamped photos of the crime and the GPS coordinates of the violator.
- Bounty Hunter – This app uses facial recognition to compare the images of people you see to the “most wanted” database. It tells you if they are wanted and if there is a bounty. Now, the question is, are you brave enough to act and collect that reward?
- Movie Pirate – You and your friends want to see the newest box office hit, but tickets are just too much money? Pool your money and get one ticket. Send your “movie pirate” accomplice to the movie wearing their Google Glass. While they watch, the audio and video is streamed live to your pirate-enabled TV so all your friends can enjoy the movie with you.
- Teaser or Pleaser – Users of this app capture facial images of people who frequent clubs and submit reports on their experiences with those people, rating the likelihood they’ll engage in a hookup. As the database is grows, persons wearing the Glasses in a nightclub can use the facial recognition feature to assess the other club patrons and determine who are most worthy of their attentions.
Of course, these are only fantasy apps and I’m not suggesting anyone will really program these (of course, they will), but they are possibilities.
What fantasy apps can you envision?