Google Shows Off AR glasses At I/O 2022

Google had an event today called the Google I/O that shocked us with a lot of technological surprises. At the event, Google revealed its latest AR glasses. With the new AR glasses, the key feature that stood out the most was its ability to see languages translated right in front of your eyes. A very practical application of AR. While a big part of Silicon Valley is heavily invested in making AR glasses a reality, thus far, none has been able to suggest a true “killer” app for AR that would let you overlook the wide variety of privacy concerns inherent with the tech. AR devices that can do a live translating of the spoken word definitely possess killer features.

Much details weren’t released about when the AR glasses will be available for purchase by the public, however, Google only demonstrated the AR device in a recorded video. The video didn’t show how users would interact with them, rather the video painted pictures of a worthy device for a potential AR future.

In a demo video, the AR glasses are described as a tool that will erase language and communication barriers. In the video we see a Google product manager telling someone wearing the glasses, “You should be seeing what I’m saying, just transcribed for you in real-time — kind of like subtitles for the world.” The video also proceeded to show what the user might see if wearing the glasses: with the speaker right in front of you, the translation appears in real-time in your line of sight.

Until these become real products we have no idea how well they’ll work in practice. If this Google product eventually pans out, be sure to note that it would be an incredibly useful product that would cut language and communication barriers. Imagine communicating with someone who doesn’t understand your language yet connects with every word you say. For now, it is all clear that Google believes that AR can exist in many places that aren’t a smartphone.

According to Google CEO Sundar Picha who highlighted the company’s views on AR, “Looking ahead, there’s a new frontier of computing, which has the potential to extend all of this even further, and that is augmented reality. At Google, we have been heavily invested in this area. We’ve been building augmented reality into many Google products, from Google Lens to multi-search, scene exploration, and Live and Immersive views in Maps.”

Pichai added that “These AR capabilities are already useful on phones and the magic will really come alive when you can use them in the real world without the technology getting in the way. That potential is what gets us most excited about AR: the ability to spend time focusing on what matters in the real world, in our real lives. Because the real world is pretty amazing!”