Glass – msigeek

Google Glass is now Project Aura; Will explore Broader Scope of Wearables

According to Business Insider, Google has been hiring engineers and software developers out of Amazon’s Lab126 for the initiative now called Project Aura. Project Aura will work on other wearables, as well, and will remain under Google’s supervision instead of being established as a separate entity under the Alphabet umbrella. Aura is run by Ivy Ross, who previously ran the Glass project. She reports to Tony Fadell, head of Google’s connected-home business Nest, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The initial version of Glass, which sold for $1,500, prompted a privacy backlash because users could record video in public places without others noticing. Google stopped selling it in January and also closed the Explorer Program few months ago.

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt had said earlier this year that the company wasn’t giving up on Glass because wearable technology is a potentially big new market. Reports also say, Google is quietly distributing a new version of Glass to companies in industries such as health care, manufacturing and energy.

Google have been taking some swift steps in their Self Driving Car Project as well, they recently hired John Krafcik as the new CEO for the project.

The new Aura group provides a much-needed re-branding to the Glass image and also opens the door for a more broader scope of wearable technology initiatives to help Google compete against compeition such as Facebook, Apple and Microsoft.

Source: Business Insider

Good Bye Google Glass, until we meet again!

Google will stop selling its 1500 USD worth, Glass (a wearable internet connected eye-glasses), to consumers until the company can develop a more polished and affordable version. The Google Glass is more of an explorer edition as of now. Google hasn’t disclosed how many units of the Glass’ Explorer version were sold. The company says about 100 businesses, including Hewlett-Packard, Boeing and Taco Bell, are testing Glass as a tool for work.

Glass will now operate in a division steered by veteran marketing executive Ivy Ross, whose past experience includes stints at fashion-conscious companies such as Gap Inc. and Calvin Klein. Google will still sell a version of Glass to companies that have found uses for the device in their offices, stores and factories. The Mountain View, California, company still plans to come back with a new consumer model of Glass, but hasn’t set a timetable for the next release.

In a blog post, Google wrote –

It’s hard to believe that Glass started as little more than a scuba mask attached to a laptop. We kept on it, and when it started to come together, we began the Glass Explorer Program as a kind of “open beta” to hear what people had to say.

Explorers, we asked you to be pioneers, and you took what we started and went further than we ever could have dreamed: from the large hadron collider at CERN, to the hospital operating table; the grass of your backyard to the courts of Wimbledon; in fire stations, recording studios, kitchens, mountain tops and more.

Glass was in its infancy, and you took those very first steps and taught us how to walk. Well, we still have some work to do, but now we’re ready to put on our big kid shoes and learn how to run.

Since we first met, interest in wearables has exploded and today it’s one of the most exciting areas in technology. Glass at Work has been growing and we’re seeing incredible developments with Glass in the workplace. As we look to the road ahead, we realize that we’ve outgrown the lab and so we’re officially “graduating” from Google[x] to be our own team here at Google. We’re thrilled to be moving even more from concept to reality.

As part of this transition, we’re closing the Explorer Program so we can focus on what’s coming next. January 19 will be the last day to get the Glass Explorer Edition. In the meantime, we’re continuing to build for the future, and you’ll start to see future versions of Glass when they’re ready. (For now, no peeking.)

Thanks to all of you for believing in us and making all of this possible. Hang tight—it’s going to be an exciting ride.