First glasses-based wearable smart tech

Goggles that can project images to provide an alternative for monitor displays have been around for a while now, but it was not until 15 April 2013 that the first truly “smart” goggles were introduced to a limited number of testers for the consumer public. The Google Glass product is essentially a smartphone, miniaturized and fitted within a set of glasses. Running on Google's own Android 4.4 operating system, a 640 x 480-pixel display beamed images into the wearer's right eye, with the device controlled by speech and touch. Combined with a five-megapixel camera, bone-conduction audio and even prescription-glasses services, the Google Glass was sold to the general public from 15 May 2014 until 15 January 2015, but only in prototype form. A February 2015 article noted that Google would not release the Glass until it was deemed “perfect”, but it remains committed to producing the second generation of this intriguing technology.