Google Glass Release and Beta Testing: Glass at Work Certification Program Aims to Improve Businesses
Google Glass, while still technically in beta testing, has been exploring the potential uses for the new technology. Whether in the workplace or education, the tech company is working to find additional applications for the head-mounted computer.
Earlier in 2014, Google launched Glass at Work, a certification program that collaborates with businesses to improve efficiency and costs. So far, ten companies have signed up for the program.
While the device is nearly two years old, it is currently being tested further. Originally marketed as a consumer device, Google Glass struggled to find popularity among any one group, also suffering from privacy, safety and etiquette issues.
However, some of Glass' early adopters wear it to work and have already used the device to increase productivity.
Specifically, the health industry has seen lots of potential uses, since workers can't use handheld devices as they need to keep their hands sterile. The small corner screen on Google Glass can be used to keep track of vital signs or other information.
Smart glasses can also be used to allow specialists sit-in on cases far from their resident hospital. Telecommunication has been used in medicine for years but high costs and regulations had slowed its widespread use.
"Having the units like Glass or any sort of wearable first-person display that comes in at less than $1,500 really opens things up," Dr. Warren Wiechmann at the University of California at Irvine and heads Glass testing said.
UC-Irvine has partnered with Pristine, an app developer that has signed up with Google Glass, to study Glass in multiple case studies. Experiments include using the device to help train medical students as surgeons can broadcast operations, live or recorded, to students from their point of view.
Google's short list of early testers has been thoroughly vetted by the tech giant, and they are not looking to partner with everyone at once. The company is focused on joining up with workers who use their hands on the job. Google said 80 percent of the global workforce performs daily physical work.
"These are people who can't reach into their pocket to pull out a cell phone, they can't type on a laptop," Chris O'Neill, head of business for Google Glass, said. "They have every need to access information, every need to use tech to make their jobs that much more safe and productive."
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