The Software Alchemist

As a big sci-fi geek since the mid-nineties, seeing the current explosion in augmented reality and virtual reality devices is an exciting, if somewhat unreal, experience. Over the last couple of days, I’ve had a chance to try out Google Glass. (My office got hold of one to play with explore new opportunities with).

In the books and the movies, augmented reality (AR) seems to endow the user with practically superhuman abilities. Instant knowledge, communication and interaction with other devices. We see protagonists who can read foreign languages, remotely drive vehicles and pick up new skills on the fly. So, what’s it like in real life?

In my experience, really distracting. When first trying Google Glass, I was attempting to use both Glass and the Android device that it was paired with at the same time. Result: One phone on floor. (A couple of hours later, a colleague did exactly the same thing). Trying to talk, walk and otherwise function normally with a tiny floating screen in front of your eyes is surprisingly challenging. I foresee many automotive incidents arising from the kind of multitasking that persistent AR encourages, especially when wearers have their emails, social networks and myriad other interruptions being fed straight into their retinas.

Of course, the danger of distraction is nothing new. We’re all carrying internet-enabled distraction machines in our pockets these days. There is something different about having all those distractions all up in your face, though.

Oh, as an aside, you don’t look like Geordi La Forge when wearing Glass. You look like a dork. I tried wearing the thing in public. It does turn heads, but more in a “point-and-laugh” sense than anything else.

It’s not all as bad as I’m making out here. Some of the difficulty with using a new mode of interaction will inevitably get smoothed out over time. And there are some applications which have a uniquely different feel to them when presented as an overlay on reality, rather than confined to a screen in your hand.

Navigation makes much more intuitive sense with a map of where you are and where you’re going just floating in front of you. Even if the idea of people using it whilst driving scares me.

Video chat on Glass is a really unique experience. It’s genuinely surprising how immersive chat can be, even when the display occupies only a small fraction of your field of vision. There’s a real feeling of being in two places at the same time when in chat.

As another aside, it is genuinely impressive what Google have fit into Glass. The thing is tiny considering the hardware that’s in it. If you get a chance to hold one, just consider that that little blob of hardware on the right side of the device contains a full Android system complete with 16GB of storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, camera, touchpad, projection display, battery and a whole bunch of other gadgets. Incredible.

The question everybody who cares) is asking is of course “is this the future?”. Honestly, I don’t think that Glass, as it stands now, will get widespread adoption. In its current incarnation, it’s too clunky, too fiddly and too ugly even if it is an amazing technological achievement. Is AR in general in our future? Inevitable.