Skip to Content
Uncategorized

Google Glass as a Hands-Free Instruction Manual

A new app for Google’s head-mounted computer helps beginners with car maintenance
September 17, 2013

Editor’s note: Metaio took down the video embedded in this post overnight. It showed a driver receiving directions like “Open the hood” and animated graphics directing her towards the washer fluid cap through the Google Glass display.

For all Google’s talk about the disruptive potential of its wearable computer Google Glass, the use cases the company has shown are mostly familiar: taking and sharing photos, looking up information, or receiving and responding to messages. Augmented reality company Metaio just released video of an idea that seems to make more use of the form of Google Glass.

In the clip, a woman receives directions on how to refill her car’s washer fluid from a Google Glass app. This isn’t the first time a wearable display has been used for such purposes (see “Faster Maintenance with Augmented Reality”), but It’s a good example of a situation where being able to see a display while having your hands free could be very valuable.

We’ve noted before that some of the greatest enthusiasm for Glass comes from people with ideas for similar specialized - and often commercial - uses for it, such as for doctors or people repairing buildings (see “A Killer App for Google Glass”). When Google makes Glass available for sale next year, it looks set to appear in a wider range of places than the usual consumer gadget.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.

OpenAI teases an amazing new generative video model called Sora

The firm is sharing Sora with a small group of safety testers but the rest of us will have to wait to learn more.

Google’s Gemini is now in everything. Here’s how you can try it out.

Gmail, Docs, and more will now come with Gemini baked in. But Europeans will have to wait before they can download the app.

This baby with a head camera helped teach an AI how kids learn language

A neural network trained on the experiences of a single young child managed to learn one of the core components of language: how to match words to the objects they represent.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.