Augmented reality may end up being one of the hottest fashion accessories of 2012. Google is secretly working on Android-powered virtual reality glasses that it plans to begin selling by the end of the year, according to reports in the New York Times and the blog 9 to 5 Google.
Details are scant about the rumored glasses, but the basic idea is to beam contextually relevant information straight to your eyeballs. Like augmented reality apps, the glasses could deliver an added layer of information about, say, a landmark you're looking at, or offer up a discount to a restaurant that catches your gaze.
"If facial recognition software becomes accurate enough, the glasses could remind a wearer of when and how he met the vaguely familiar person standing in front of him at a party," the New York Times' Nick Bilton theorizes. "They might also be used for virtual reality games that use the real world as the playground."
A Google representative declined to comment. -Laurie Segall
These innovative creations are rough drafts for technology that could be transformative when it's perfected.
