GOOGLE GLASS

UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY
Behind Google Glass

An inside look at just how Google’s much-anticipated, information-powered, computerized glasses fit into the optical landscape

BY ERINN MORGAN

“hOLD ON PLEASE, Glass is trying to give me directions to an address on Commonwealth Avenue,” says Eli Peli, M.Sc., O.D., a professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, scientist, and an advisor on the Google Glass project. “It’s telling me it’s 35 minutes right now with a seven-minute delay.”

A built-in GPS that delivers directions and maps is just one of the many functions of Google’s relatively new Glass, which will have a consumer launch later this year and is described by Google as “…an elegant and beautifully designed lightweight frame and display that rests neatly above your eyes…”

It is described by Glass Explorers—the 2,800 hand-picked people who paid $1,500 each to receive Glass thus far while it is still in development—as a wearable device that acts like a hand-free smartphone. Glass’ high-tech display shows information desired by the wearer, from stock prices and sports scores to emails and Internet searches, via a visual screen that is presented just above eye level (seven degrees up, according to Dr. Peli) near the center of the wearer’s visual field. According to Google, the Glass screen looks like “a 25-inch color TV floating about eight feet in front of you.”

The brainchild of information giant Google, the Glass project has deep pockets—and big potential.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

According to Ken Schwartz, co-founder of Oliver Peoples, who has taken Glass for a test run, Glass’ housing features a screen that projects images into a space just above center eye level.

“It projects the screen right in the middle of the bridge in front of the eyes,” says Schwartz. “You can still see side to side without any encumbrance—peripheral vision is not affected at all by the housing on the frame.”

This screen, which is see-through and viewed wherever the user is looking, “is best viewed when facing a darker background,” notes Dr. Peli. The screen also delivers a wealth of information accessible to the wearer’s fingertips—or voice commands. The 40-gram Glass also offers a way to tap, touch, drag, and sweep on the temple housing to access additional information.

“I use it to take pictures and videos, which can be done by pressing a button on the bottom of the display or saying ‘Glass, take a picture,’” says Dr. Peli, who has been working on Glass for three years and has also been researching head-mounted displays (and their visual safety and comfort) for many major electronics and optics companies since the late 1980s.

Glass’ voice-activated applications are many, including simply turning on (“OK, Glass”) to more complicated tasks: asking for directions, dictating email responses, making phone calls, or even translating signs or messages from other languages. Dr. Peli says it also has a concierge app, which pairs the wearer with a live service person who can help him or her with requests.

“We are also developing an app for the visually impaired that gives the patients the edges of an object superimposed over the see-through object of regard,” notes Dr. Peli. “This application is only available on a few units in my lab and not yet on all Glass systems.”

But, because Glass is still in the development stage (Google has indicated Glass will likely be available to the public sometime this year), overall, the functions are currently more limited than those offered by the smartphone universe.

Once Google opens Glass up to more developers for what it calls Glassware (i.e., Google Glass apps)—currently there are nine developers including Twitter, Facebook, The New York Times, and CNN—there is no doubt a Glassware app explosion will be heard around the world.

IS GLASS THE FUTURE?

“I know this technology has a future,” says Glass Explorer Sophia Barnes, O.D., of Vision Corner in Houston. “This is the tipping point. This technology is here to stay and change the world. You’re going to see everyone walking around with this technology in some form in the future.”

But not everyone is sold on the viability of a wearable visual display product in the optical market. “It seems to be a real niche product at the moment and I don’t think it’s anything that could blow up the market,” says Glenn Spina, president and CEO of Emerging Vision Inc. “We’re taking a wait-and-see attitude at this point.”

Adds Paul Jackson, O.D., owner of Animas Eyecare in Durango, CO: “How connected do we really need to be? Don’t you want to sit down and read a book or play your guitar? At this point, I don’t think Google Glass will be a big seller in our town.”

Still, there are many tech-savvy, info-hungry locales that may well jump on Glass, plus Google says Glass is designed to remain off until the user calls it into action for a need. Thus, many ECPs see opportunities to sell Glass in their practice, as well as ways in which wearing Glass in-office themselves can help them better their business in the day-to-day.

In addition, Google itself is putting tentacles out into the optical industry to explore and learn more about potential partnerships for sales and prescription services. “As Google Glass scales, we are exploring new ways to expand our Explorer program,” says Chris Dale, head of communications and public affairs for Google Glass.

Still, there are numerous questions to be answered—and rumors swirling—about Glass’ technology: when and where it will become available; and, perhaps most importantly for the ophthalmic industry, how Glass prescription needs will be addressed.

RX’ING GOOGLE GLASS

The original version of Glass placed with Explorers in the field consisted of the Glass display housing mounted on a sleek, simple frame sans lenses. But, on January 28, Google debuted its very own line of Glass eyewear, including four frames (“curve,” “thin,” “split,” and “bold”) and three “shades” (“classic” and “edge,” along with “active,” which came with the original Explorer edition of Glass). Sunglasses are $150 and Rx-ready frames are $225, though Google suggests Explorers check their health benefits to see if they’re reimbursable.

At the same time, Google also announced a formal partnership with Vision Service Plan (VSP) to provide prescription lenses for Glass’ new eyewear. Via this partnership, Google and VSP will train eyecare professionals across the U.S. on how to measure for, fit, and use Glass and its prescription frames.

“VSP has established itself as one the leading providers of vision insurance in America and has an impressive network of eyecare professionals,” says Google’s Dale. “As a new industry of smart eyewear emerges, it just seemed like the right partnership for the Google Glass team to make.”

Adds Jim McGrann, president of VSP Vision Care, “Google Glass is the kind of cutting-edge technology that VSP Vision Care is always looking to bring to VSP eyecare providers and 60 million VSP members. As a not-for-profit, our partnership with Google helps fulfill our mission to help people see by connecting high-quality eyecare services through VSP doctors while delivering relevant products to meet the eyecare needs of VSP members.”

How will Explorers actually obtain a prescription in their new Glass frame? A Glass Explorer can select and purchase Glass frames that can accommodate prescription lenses in the accessories section of the Glass website. After doing so, Glass Explorers can view the list of preferred Glass ECPs who can cut and fit the prescription lenses for their Glass. Explorers can then take their new Glass frames, Glass itself, and their lens prescription to one of the preferred ECPs to have the frame outfitted with prescription lenses.

When will the Glass Rx program begin? “It already has, but it’s just for current Explorers,” says VSP’s McGrann. “We have 200 doctors trained today and expect to have 6,000 by the end of the year when Glass is expected to be available beyond the Explorer program. Current Explorers can visit vsp.com and search for a VSP Glass Preferred Provider in our doctor directory and visit them to be fitted with prescription lenses/frames.”

According to McGrann, VSP worked very closely with Google to refine the process for finishing Glass prescriptions at its VSPOne Sacramento facility, which is the recommended lab for processing Glass. He also adds,“VSP has developed a training module in concert with Google for providers. Once a doctor completes the training, he or she will be listed as a VSP Glass Preferred Provider on the VSP doctor directory. VSP is the only company working with Google to launch prescription Glass frames.”

Though they are not an official Glass partner, Rochester, New York-based Rochester Optical wholesale lab has also designed a Google Glass prescription lens carrier that it debuted to a tech-savvy market at the CES Show last month.

This patented new Glass add-on is called Glass Prescription Lens Carrier (GPLC) and it resembles a full frame design with prescription lenses mounted to a structural chassis for rigidity. The full-frame design is customizable with different shapes and color choices.

Though the GPLC’s design enables a wide variety of prescription powers, lens designs, and lens materials to be utilized, Rochester Optical has developed the new RO Gold lens to be the go-to choice for Glass wearers. Rochester says this much-researched digitally surfaced lens removes unwanted blurring and aberrations from the visual angle required by the Glass display while also reducing eyestrain and fatigue.

“Six of us were invited by Google as Glass Explorers and we have two more coming for other employees,” says Tim Moore, director of technology at Rochester Optical. “We do not work with Google officially, but we are part of the Glass Explorer team and we all wear scripts, so we started trying to Figure it out for ourselves.”

GOOGLE GOES GAGA OVER CONTACT LENSES

Babak Parviz has big ideas. The lead of the development team for Google Glass, Parviz is also co-founder of a Google project that has developed a smart contact lens that can monitor glucose levels in the tears of diabetes patients.

The futuristic, new contact lens, which was announced in prototype form on the Google blog a few weeks ago, employs a tiny wireless chip that houses a glucose sensor and an antenna thinner than a strand of hair; the device is embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. This smart lens, which is powered by tapping into radio waves in the air, is designed to send the tracking data to a smartphone or other device. “We’re testing prototypes that can generate a reading once per second,” Google says on its blog. “We’re also investigating the potential for this to serve as an early warning for the wearer, so we’re exploring integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed above or below certain thresholds.”

The market for Google’s smart lens is growing rapidly—diabetes affects one out of every 19 people on the planet, including an estimated 3 million Americans who have Type 1 diabetes, according to The American Diabetes Association.

Though Google is currently in discussions with the FDA about its smart contact lens, the company admits there is still much to be done before its prototype can be put into play. “We’re not going to do this alone: we plan to look for partners who are experts in bringing products like this to market,” Google says. “These partners will use our technology for a smart contact lens and develop apps that would make the measurements available to the wearer and his or her doctor.”

IMAGE PROVIDED BY GOOGLE

OPTICAL OPPORTUNITIES

Right now, a few Glass Explorer optometrists are testing out the product and its day-to-day applications in their practices, plus showing it to patients in the office. But could Glass really benefit ECPs in their business?

“If someone builds an optometry app for Glass, it could lend a very nice way to work with the patient,” says Dr. Peli. “You could do the slit lamp and dictate observations right into Glass, plus take pictures or videos of things of interest right away. This would help you keep better records.”

But industry experts, including Dr. Peli, agree that the roadblock to this functionality will be issues with privacy, electronic health records, and HIPAA regulations. “If Glass is connected to the Internet, then Google has access to all the information,” says Dr. Peli. “But perhaps it’s not connected to the Internet during the exam and the information is downloaded afterwards. These are things that still need to be resolved.”

For now, Glass is definitely creating a wow factor in the offices that have it. “We recently showed the Google Glass to our patients at our annual patient appreciation day,” says Vision Corner’s Dr. Barnes. “They were all very excited and talked about the possible ways in which they could each use Glass. One person, in particular, said it would be great from a training standpoint—the training manual could be on Glass, and they could be hands-free during training sessions.”