Remember in Minority Report when Tom Cruise is walking through the mall and the screens all call for his attention to get them into their stores? Or in Terminator when Arnold Schwarzenegger would use his optics to size people up? Or in Iron Man when Robert Downey Jr. would use the suit’s system to get information about his surroundings?

Augmented Reality in Iron Man

Google is trying to make that a reality with their just-announced Project Glass. The project is pretty damned cool and they even showed off what seems to be a prototype of the glasses. Everything they’re showing off is obviously some sort of demo, but the goal is admirable. Couple things that aren’t so cool though. The glasses look uncomfortable and I find it hard to believe that someone would wear that all day. Second, why is it only connected to Google services?

Also, will I be able to watch movies with this? Could you imagine the legions of college students or high schoolers that could watch Final Destination 17 or Paranormal Activity 23 while learning about calculus or whatever else they teach in school these days? Or hey, don’t get into a car accident or bump into that person while VISUAL TEXTING. At least the goal is admirable. Right? [Google]

Project Glass prototype

minority report, project glass