Google Glass Might Control Real World Objects
March 22nd, 2013Via: Cnet:
You may eventually be able to operate your TV, refrigerator, or garage door through Google Glass.
Published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a Google patent application called “Wearable Computer with Superimposed Controls and Instructions for External Device” describes a technology in which a Google Glass wearer could control a real object via a virtual display.
Beyond merely showing you details about an object, Google Glass would present a virtual control panel to let you interact with that object.
As described in the patent, you could “control the target device, provide input to the target device, receive instructions for operating the target device, receive status information regarding the target device, and/or receive other information related to the target device.”
Some of the target devices cited in the patent include a refrigerator, espresso maker, TV, garage door, alarm system, lighting system, and a copy machine. Touching a virtual button on Google Glass’ control panel would then send the corresponding instruction to the device, as the patent describes:
As one example, a virtual control interface for controlling a refrigerator (such as adjusting a temperature set-point) may be superimposed upon the refrigerator surface. In order to control the target device, the wearer may attempt to touch the virtual control interface at the apparent distance of the virtual control interface. For example, the wearer may touch a location on the refrigerator where a virtual button in the virtual control interface appears. The wearable computing device may recognize this touching motion as a control instruction and transmit the control instruction to the target device.
