Goggles boggle the mind

Hollywood’s oddballs used to take pride in trying to see tomorrow in the imaginative twist they gave to gadgets and gizmos. As James Bond’s gadgetmaker, Malcolm Brandy ( otherwise “Q”) used to thrill filmgoers with the unlikeliest objects that would go “bang” in 007’ s capable hands. While virtual reality has gripped the geek- minded for years, the science of arming little things with portable powers has just taken a quantum leap with Google’s Glasses — these Goggles do really boggle the imagination!

“Wearable computing” seems that much nearer with the prototype project that promises Net- surfing on the move, and right in your eye at that. It is suggested, tongue in cheek of course, that the wearer might be able to use recognition software in case your name just slips the mind. Others could browse the Web while pretending to pay rapt attention to a boring corporate meeting. The possibilities, as technology dreamers may say, are endless.

While Google chases “augmented reality”, its rivals are off and running in the same direction. Some are already planning early product releases. Such mobile computing devices, with a history of being clunky, are being refined quickly to give users a better experience. Naysayers are, meanwhile, also busy raising safety- risk issues while walking or driving: the Google device, after all, places data in the wearer’s line of sight. While a peek at tomorrow has always been exciting right from the time of Jules Verne, it is finally everybody’s duty to use all such pathbreaking devices with some responsibility.