Google Goes Further than Glass, Patents “Seeing” Gloves

MOUNTAIN VIEW, USA – Moving beyond Project Glass, Google has secured a patent on its proposed Smart Gloves under the name “seeing with your hand”.

Smart Gloves are believed to enhance the functionality of Google’s augmented reality glasses by enhancing control and response capabilities. They include fingertip cameras, compasses, accelerometers, gyroscopes and other motion detectors on the palm of users’ hands, along with a CPU, memory and wireless communication chips. Connected to the Glass and powered by dedicated software, the gloves will guarantee a perfect experience of virtual reality.

For example, fingertip cameras can record a stream of images and combine them to produce a microscopic effect. With non-visual detectors, such as ultrasound sensors or infrared cameras in place of regular cameras, internal views of objects or night-vision features will be readily available. Enhanced 3D images of small objects can also be generated with two or more fingers. By combining captured images with motion sensor data, it’s possible to guide a heads-up display merely through gesture commands.

This technology will facilitate various conveniences, like viewing distant objects, fast typing through virtual keyboards, turning e-book pages realistically and even ordering items at restaurants and shops. Although the design of the Smart Glove is still conceptual, prototype devices are believed to appear soon.