With the immense advancement in technology, new wearable gadgets get launched every year. These devices come with smart sensors that can connect to the internet for exchanging data. By looking at the number of connected wearable devices globally, it is estimated that the wearable market will grow over 1.1 billion in the year 2020. In recent years, smart glasses are considered the next breakthrough for wearable devices. It puts useful features in front of your eyes.
Google was the first company to bring smart glasses in the market. Today many big giants are entering the market with their new offerings. In this blog, let’s know more about smartglasses.
What is Smart Glass?
The smart glass is also known as LCG (light control glass), privacy glass, or switchable glass. It helps the traditional static material to become multifunctional and alive. Smartglasses control various forms of light, which include IR, UV, and visible light. Besides this, the privacy glass products allow transparent materials to switch from clear to shaded or opaque.
Smart glasses aim at providing a seamless blend of human vision with the virtual world. There are innovative models and designs available for smart glasses in the wearable market.
What is Smart Glasses for?
The smart glass aim is to provide life monitoring services and create a platform for taking more authentic video clips and photos. Smart glasses are created using augmented reality technology. It intended to help you with your everyday business.
How Smart Glasses Works?
Smart glass technology can control various forms of light like IR and UV with electricity. With the help of electricity, this glass can be switched from opaque to transparent, by allowing for dynamic light control. Few terms come into a discussion about privacy glass and the types of active light control technologies. These terms are-
- Electrochromic Device (ECD)
- Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC)
- Suspended Particles Device (SPD)
The smart glass includes a film interlayer that can either laminate or retrofit onto glass using SPD or PDLC. This film interlayer has an SPD emulsion or PDLC formulation coated between two sheets of transparent materials.
One of the essential things about these three technologies is the ability to change the transparency of glass through polarization of their particles or molecules inside the emulsion or formulation.
Who Started with Smart Glass?
Google is the company that initiated with this technology. Google Glass is a famous brand of smart glasses. With Google Glass, you can experience a smartphone-like hands-free display format that enables you to see every information you asked for in front of your eyes. In April 2013, Google started selling a prototype of Google Glass to famous glass explorers in the US.
Some of the top features of Google Glass are-
- Camera: Google Glass can take 5 MP photos and record 720p HD videos. Recently the newly launched version of Google Glass called Glass Enterprise Edition 2. This new version provides 8MP of camera.
- Display: Google Glass uses liquid crystal on silicon, LED illuminated display, and field-sequential color system. The LED illumination display of Google Glass is first polarized, and then it shines through the in-coupling polarizing beam splitter to the LCoS panel.
- Touchpad: Touchpad on the sides of the glasses is one of the best features by Google. This allows the users to control the display by swiping the screen through a time-like interface. By sliding forward, the user can see past events such as photos, phone calls, etc. and when the user slides backward, he can see current events like the weather forecast.
What’s New After Google Glass?
The latest technological updates have brought smart glasses with new features. Now, smart glasses, not only about slapping a camera on your face. It can track fitness, activate intelligent assistants, and tune into audio without headphones. There are some smart glasses in the market that allow users to take more great videos and photos.
Top Applications of Smart Glasses
With the popularity of Google Glass, wearable technology has received a lot of attention. Google Glass is one of the most prominent players in what is quickly becoming the next big technological trend in upcoming years. Besides Google, big giants like Microsoft & Sony and companies like Recon Instruments & Vuzix are future to develop new wearable devices.
Some apps can make these wearable devices work as per the user’s wish. When it comes to Google Glass, IHS has forecasted that the in-house developers of Google will produce compelling apps for the Glass the can define the user’s experience.
Types of Smart Glass Applications
- Automotive
Smart Glasses are rapidly becoming the most intelligent choices for temperature control and shading in the automotive sector. The smart glasses that have SDP enables the user to see clearly through sunroof and windows. It minimizes the solar rays that cause deterioration of interiors and skin damage.
- Hospitals
Smart Glasses can eliminate the need for traditional curtains and drapery. According to researches, patient privacy curtains have bacteria. This can be responsible for spreading diseases. Hospitals have started to use the modern technology of smart glasses to help patients be safe. Tel Aviv’s Dana-Dwek Children’s Hospital is the first to use this technology.
- Office Partitions
Smart Glasses can significantly affect the interiors of the office, with switchable glass transforming a space from open and shared, to intimate and private. This can be helpful in an agile work environment.
Creating a Mobile App For Smart Glasses
Creating an IoT-based mobile app that can communicate with wearable devices can be tricky but known as the perfect solution for operating any wearable device. Mobile app development companies like OpenXcell understand the requirements and complexities of smart devices like Smart Glasses for creating wearable apps. OpenXcell helps organizations design, build, and test apps that can run smart glasses.
Conclusion
Smart glasses are becoming popular in every field with each passing day. Big giants like Google and Apple are offering amazing services when it comes to smartglasses. To use these smart glasses easily, some apps can help you control them. With the help of these apps, the customers can take full advantage of the smartglasses.