Wearable
Technology – The Next frontier – My initial experience with Google Glass
Folks,
It
has been interesting few weeks – I have been engaged with some really
interesting projects, travels and I think have embarked on a new journey to a
new frontier – Wearable technology. I would like to share some of my
experiences and excitement with Google Glass. In this post I’d like to spend
some time discussing enterprise imperatives with Wearable technologies. I find
this space fascinating and intriguing at the same time. While the adoption of Wearable
technology is still in its infancy the promise it holds is immense.
Let
me start with some of my
experiences:
My journey with this
titanium-framed Wearable device has been more of an experiment with technology,
our attitudes and simple joy of exploring. I also realized that I am one
amongst ten thousand folks who have subscribed to this controlled experiment,
with a steep price tag that compares itself to a home computer. So here are my
initial thoughts:
Technical
Spec include:
1.
5-megapixel camera, videos shot in
720p, - Think image quality
2.
Wi-Fi, - Think connectivity
3.
Bluetooth, -- Think Battery life of the paired devices
4.
12GB of usable memory synced with Google
cloud storage (16GB Flash memory total) – Storage capability
Support for (Limited) Devices –
a. MyGlass for Android
requires Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher.
b. MyGlass for iOS
requires iOS 7 or later (iPhone 4 and above, iPad 2 and above with cellular
connection)
SO
here are a few quick observations:
1.
It is lightweight and less intrusive,
probably because I do not wear glasses.
2.
The battery life is OK, for me with
active usage it last for 3-4 hours.
3.
The battery drain is two fold – as you
pair the device with your smart phone and now you have to really be aware of
battery usage.
4.
The Glass itself run’s on Google own
Android Mobile OS – but cannot ONLY connect from Android and iOS devices.
5.
The titanium frame is malleable, nose
bridge can be adjusted, and back part
houses switch, USB charger and battery and amazingly lightweight.
6.
Security – this is tied to your device.
All the social media posts, e-mails relies on the application on your device
and there is a “trust’ between your glass and paired device.
7.
The quality if image, video and feeds
from CNN is crisp and commendable, with option to read the news feed or have
glass read it on your behalf.
8.
Active Glassware – App function of the
Google glass which allows for “Glass ready” apps in market place to be ‘Installed on glass’ – which is an interesting concept ( more on
this later)
9.
The Screencast feature is a nice feature
to “mirror” what is seen on glass. – this is good for demo’s
10.Glass requires
separate contact list to be able to call and it does a good job with speech
recognition.
11.Primary way to
interact with glass with via speech and swipe on the frame, thought I did fund
an app that allows you to open URLs and ‘Push’ them to glass, which allows for “speech-less”
interaction.
and more…
So essentially Glass
takes photos, videos, navigation assistance, Google searches reads and sends
text messages, engage in social media interaction and location based contextual engagement model – very much
in the “Now” mode. But a lot of these features are heavily dependent on
connectivity – when offline Glass can ONLY take photos and Videos. So this tell
me one of limitation, which is by design, I think. So it is evident that in any
enterprise context, this is a not only a design imperative but a fundamental
shift in Mobile application design paradigm. Something, which I intend to
research and explore with a point
of view. But Google has a few guidelines (discussed below) for developing
application (or I would say interaction themes) for Glass, which IMHO are
reasonable and can be applied and extended to a next generation of Wearables.
Note
: Google Glass – announced alliance with Ray-ban
maker Luxottica, aiming to move glass from “explorer edition’ to mainstream ‘consumer
edition’. This move will greatly move wider adoption of internet-connected
Glass spectacles into a widely available, stylish consumer product. So we can
expect a evolution is more seamless integrated design with lifestyle.
Less
is more: Glass Application Guidelines:
Google
has four primary guidelines for developing for Glass4:
1.
Design for Glass: Do not design for another device, like a Smartphone,
and import to Glass. Because Glass is unique in how users interact with it,
Google suggests that you developer directly for it.
2. Don’t
get in the way: Apps should be for users, not for developers. Don’t be
pushy with notifications and other information.
3. Timely:
The goal is to provide users with up-to-date information with Glass. Make sure
your app responds with correct information in a timely manner.
4. Avoid
the unexpected: Imagine walking down the street and Glass send you an
unexpected notification. This can be annoying or even dangerous. Make sure the
user has given explicit permission to be notified in Glass.
So
as I ponder upon application of Wearable technology like Glass in an enterprise
with a use case and a define business model, I am also focusing how
adaptability of these wearables. So below are some use cases - some of these I have read in my
research, some of these are discussed in my conversation with clients and some
I am envisioning as we design Mobile solutions.
Retail:
Use cases like
inventory management, competitive ‘in-store’ comparison, and areas such as apparel
procurement etc, can utilize Glass technology to not only enhance productivity
of the employees but streamline business processes and aim towards a real time
reaction system – this can be priceless
in a price sensitive industry with low margins.
Healthcare:
I find use of Glass like technology (yes
with more maturity) to find its use in Health care. I can only imagine
achievement of a Watson as a Cognitive-computing platform, which enabled not
only information but also inference at ‘our fingertips’, and Wearable
technology enable the notion of “Inference
in a blink”.
Cognitive
Computing Platform + Agile, elastic and Robust Middleware and data platform +
Wearable Mobile technology = Robust healthcare Access Platform
Manufacturing:
Use cases like
inventory management, access to MSDS(Material Safety Data Sheets), Access to
repair manuals, ability to report malfunctioning machines with remote
diagnostic and repairs by an off site SME, all leading to a efficiently run, on–demand
access to critical information that impact the health and well being of the
workers on the shop floor.
Energy
(Oil and Natural Gas):
Industry with heavy
reliance on scientific and geological data with equal emphasis like that of a
manufacturing base with real production targets – Energy industry, which can
also greatly benefit from on–demand access geological, scientific and empirical
data during exploration – to make better
decisions and all the use case of manufacturing post exploration and during
production – can greatly benefit from Wearable
ruggedized technology.
And More…
As I explore and use Google Glass, I think
of enterprise design imperatives as these Wearable technology goes mainstream,
below is my initial attempt to list some design imperatives for the next
frontier of Mobile technology:
As
we design platform and solutions for Wearable technology:
1.
Design --- not just of the app but end-to-end
becomes of paramount focus.
2.
It is more about Data ( Structured and
Unstructured) and Network ( Connectivity)
as much as it is about the
interface.
3.
Interaction and NOT interface is on the forefront
4.
“The NOW” factor – truly integrating with
systems of engagement – that are Just “Aware”
5.
True Digital persona – fitting into a
enterprise digital strategy. Which aims to seek pervasive digital connections in which the individual technologies (cloud,
near field communications, mobile, big data, etc.)
6.
Aim
to deliver an experience that looks and feels an awful lot like our natural
behavior
7.
Rich Digital
Density - more connections between people, places, information, and
things (aka digital density).
And this is just the beginning…
As always, I look forward to your comments, likes
and critique.
Have
a great week ahead!
:)
Nitin
References
and Interesting read:
