Startup hires 'cyborg' Mann for Google Glass–killer project

Watch out, Sergey! A new startup is hard at work on a device that's far more ambitious than Google Glass, and it has just signed on wearable-computing maven Steve Mann as its chief scientist. Meta, founded by Columbia University computer and neurological science student Meron Gribetz, has developed a prototype of a wearable …

[Steven Roper]

I might be interested

IF:

1) There's no tracking, spying, monitoring or profiling of my movements, actions or data the device records by any company or government agency;

2) I have the option to direct remote storage and output to a server under my control, not just a nebulous "cloud" owned by Amazon or Google or whoever;

3) I have complete control over who gets to access what data from this device;

4) I don't have to sign away my rights, privacy or allow any third party unrestricted use of the intellectual property in any images/audio/video or other data the device creates;

5) I am not bombarded with advertising and marketing as part of the experience.

I am willing to pay more for the device in exchange for these points, because I don't expect to get something for nothing and I'm not willing to trade my privacy or personal control for "free" or "cheaper" hardware and services.

If Meta can meet and respect these expectations, I for one would definitely go for this over Google's offering. They have the potential to capture a huge market here, from all the people who are more concerned about the Google than the Glass, without considering the people who want the extra immersion and functionality Glass does not provide.

[Ed Coyne]

Re: I might be interested

You clearly didn't read the post at all and just had a canned complaint against Google Glass, maybe you should find a Google glass article and post it there.

This device connects to a windows PC and allows 3d 'floating' UI interaction, ala pretty much every recent sci-fi film. It isn't a portable device like Google Glass.

[Anonymous Coward]

where do I sign ..

Because I so want to walk around looking like Steve Mann ...

[peyton?]

Re: where do I sign ..

Oh, you will sign.

Resistance is futile.

[Anonymous Coward]

For people who don't think Google Glass will make them look nearly geeky enough...

I doubt Google is going to lose any sleep over this.

[Infernoz]

Re: For people who don't think Google Glass will make them look nearly geeky enough...

Oh, they will! These people appear to be thinking bigger than Google, and it they can keep up the momentum and funding, and get sales, then Google's device will become obsolete very fast. They are also likely to have a stronger relevant patent base for this than Google.

I suggest the weight and bulk can be reduced by having some of the computing power, and power, in a separate enclosure linked to the glasses by a disguised fibre optics and power cable; so no need for any radio electronics or noticeable heatsinks, in the glasses.

If this is done right, they should look no more out of place than sports sunglasses; however I think the screen resolution needs to be a lot higher!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: For people who don't think Google Glass will make them look nearly geeky enough...

Meron Gribetz is that you?

[Mystic Megabyte]

Glassholes

Will all win Darwin awards as they walk or drive to oblivion.

[Grave]

Re: Glassholes

what about sensor modules?

running in background, scanning your surroundings and environment for perceived threats and warning you well in advance. (anything from fast moving objects, temperature changes, air quality, etc, etc)

human senses are way more limited than what we can already build

[Anonymous Coward]

same caveat applies as to Google Glass - a fine idea until somebody takes umbridge at potentially being recorded in Starbucks or a pub and beats the living daylights out of the wearer after they refuse to take them off.

I'm no privacy freak but if I was having a coffee or beer and saw some knob with Glasses on sit across the way from me I'd get a bit twitchy, just as if he whipped out his smartphone and pointed it's camera at me.

I see this move towards glasses-based tech ending badly/bloodily.

[Trustme]

" if I was having a coffee or beer and saw some knob with Glasses on sit across the way from me I'd get a bit twitchy,"

And yet the cafe you're sat in has cctv and you're filmed on cctv the moment you walk out the cafe and wherever you go in town and police dash-mounted cameras are filming you every time they drive past (not to mention the fad for consumer dash cams), and airport security is scanning you even more intimately and your phone is tracking you by GPS and sending that data back to it's masters 24/7 (in good enough detail that it's been the deciding evidence in criminal cases), and all this you're fine with, but god help some bloke with a pair of glasses who may or may not have the cam switched on in a public place while you're already being filmed and tracked at every moment, how dare HE invade your "privacy"??

Why the hell isn't there a bloody "reality check" icon?

[Lamont Cranston]

@Trustme

I'm not going to argue the case for omnipresent CCTV and such, but I have a feeling that it goes beyond hoping that those being filmed will fall over, so that the video can be uploaded to YouTube or posted to You've Been Framed.

People might be willing to accept the CCTV cameras, but why are you - yes, you with the smartphone - what are YOU looking at?

[Bob Merkin]

Question

Can the user wear a shirt while wearing said glasses, or are those two technologies somehow incompatible?

Icon for "I'll have to take my shirt off first."

[Oninoshiko]

anyone else miss updateds

on the good Captain Cyborg?

[Michael Wojcik]

Because all users have identical needs and preferences...

a high powered immersive device capable of fully replacing the computer

Ugh. That's a mind-bogglingly stupid idea.

First, of course, it conflates "computer" with "personal computer", which already displays a marvelous lack of insight, awareness of the industry, and capability for critical thought. The vast majority of computers run with no user interaction.

Then it utterly misses all the interactive computing tasks where immersive UIs are counterproductive. They're terrible for most traditional programming tasks, and the huge base of software written in conventional programming languages means traditional programming tasks will not be going away anytime in the foreseeable future. They have little utility when composing text. They're of marginal utility for most data-analysis tasks, aside from twiddling settings on result "dashboards". They're an impedance to most kinds of research.

No doubt there's some market for AR - it already enjoys some success in various vertical applications (e.g. inventory and warehousing, everyone's favorite example) and entertainment, among other areas. But people like Gribetz seem incapable of understanding that not everyone is interested in AR, and even among those who are, it's not suited for a great many applications.