Glass thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

This object consists of 6 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Glass

Glass
2014 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Glass is a head-mounted Internet-connected computer from Google that takes the form of a pair of glasses, projecting text and images to a prism above the right eye. It can be controlled via voice and a touch pad on the right arm, can transmit sound by bone conduction through vibrations via the skull to the inner ear and features a camera to take pictures and video. Glass is an example of wearable technology and is a step towards ubiquitous computing – the concept of computing being everywhere at all times, in a seamless integration of technology into everyday life.

Glass has similar applications to a smartphone, with the benefit of being hands-free. Worn as spectacles, users give commands by speaking, saying “O.K., Glass…” to choose from a series of commands, ranging from taking a picture to searching the Internet, using Google Maps and making phone calls. Apps developed by third parties can be downloaded which give further functionality, including fitness trackers, games, music players, messaging and blog feeds.

Glass was developed in Google X, a research and development facility in Mountain View, California, for projects which Google consider to not have an immediately apparent business model, but potential applications for the future. Google X is headed by Dr Astro Teller, founder in 1999 of BodyMedia, a medical and consumer technology company specialising in wearable body monitoring systems. Teller joined Google in 2010 and BodyMedia went on to be acquired in 2013 by wearable technology firm Jawbone.

Google first unveiled Glass from their Google X labs in April 2012, via photos and a concept video on the Google+ social network. Through a series of publicity stunts, including streaming live video from Glass worn during a parachute jump, and relaying a Diane von Furstenberg catwalk show, the technology entered public consciousness. It was sold to the public through Google’s Explorer programme, a limited release to those interested in the early adoption of technology who also had the ability to pay a correspondingly high financial price. Purchases were made through an application process that included a question about what the buyer would use them for. Glass was available in the USA from 15 April 2013 and then the UK in May 2014.

The launch of Glass raised questions about privacy, with non-users being concerned that they would be photographed or filmed by wearers, and safety issues were raised such as being distracted while driving. Their high cost ($1500 in America and £1000 in the UK) limited their adoption, often being equated with being a status symbol for those wearing them. These problems combined to cause resentment among some non- wearers and led to users being labelled with the slang term “glasshole”.

Google withdrew Glass from public sale on 19 January 2015, reporting that the technology would be moving out of its Google X incubator labs into a separate division, under the guidance of Tony Fadell. Fadell is the chief executive of Nest Labs, a company bought by Google in January 2014; he previously worked on Apple’s first iPod music player in the early 2000s. Nest Labs created the Nest Learning Thermostat, which DAD has in its collection as a product of the Internet of Things (CD.13-2014). Google is currently developing Glass for use within the private sector, where experiments continue with its use in medical surgeries, manufacturing and by utility workers, giving the ability to access data and record and transmit video hands-free.

Glass as compliments a number of DAD acquisitions reflecting wearable technologies. Glass raises issues regarding privacy, digital etiquette and ethics of using wearable tech devices in public and for these reasons it has been featured in the ‘Civic Objects’ display of DAD’s 2015 exhibition ‘All of This Belongs to You’.

Delve deeper

Discover more about this object
read A history of digital design: Part 2 – Expanding worlds Vast in scope – referring to both design processes and products for which digital technology is an essential element – broad in geography and highly complex, digital design has proved hard to define since its first beginnings in the 1960s.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 6 parts.

  • Smart Glasses
  • Computers
  • Bags
  • Cables
  • Earpieces
  • Nosepads
TitleGlass (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Titanium frame with glass
Brief description
Glass, Google, 2014
Physical description
Google Glass Frame, Black full rimed glasses, the right hand arm of the glasses does not extend as far as the right arm. The computer clips to the frame on the right arm. The computer is white with a glass cube which drops down below the metal frame to sit in front of the wearers eye. The computer then extends back past the end of the metal from to and gets larger where it sits just behind the wearers ear.
Dimensions
  • Length: 14.5cm (Note: Glasses Frame)
  • Width: 13.5cm (Note: Glasses Frame)
  • Depth: 4cm (Note: Glasses Frame)
  • Length: 21.5cm (Note: Computer)
  • Width: 4cm (Note: Computer )
  • Length: 24.5cm (Note: Bag)
  • Width: 17cm (Note: Bag)
  • Length: 126.5cm (Note: USB Cable)
  • Length: 10cm (Note: Earpiece)
  • Width: 11cm (Note: Spare Nose Pieces)
  • Height: 4.9cm (Note: Spare Nose Pieces)
Gallery label
  • This object is found in the "Data and Communication" section of Design 1900-Now gallery, opened June 2021 An all-seeing eye Glass is a head-worn, internet-connected computer that projects images and text onto a small prisim above the right eye. Google withdrew the product two years after launch in 2013, after widespread unease about individual privacy and the dangers of distraction. Controlled by a touchpad on the frame or by voice command, wearers could make calls, use apps and take photos and videos. Head-worn computer Glass, 2013 Designed by and manufactured for Google, USA Plastic, titanium and electronic components Given by Google, Inc. Museum no. CD.57:1, 2-2014
  • [Gallery 76] 3. PERSONAL COMPUTER: ‘GOOGLE GLASS’ 2014 Google developed the ‘ubiquitous computer’ to grant users access to online information and personal data while interacting with the world. Promoted as a fashionable accessory for modern life, frames were available in four different shapes. The device nonetheless raised concerns about privacy in public spaces, as well as the effect on social interactions. USA Designed by Google, Inc. Plastics and titanium Given by Google, Inc. Museum no. CD.57-2014 (2015)
Credit line
Given by Google, Inc.
Summary
Glass is a head-mounted Internet-connected computer from Google that takes the form of a pair of glasses, projecting text and images to a prism above the right eye. It can be controlled via voice and a touch pad on the right arm, can transmit sound by bone conduction through vibrations via the skull to the inner ear and features a camera to take pictures and video. Glass is an example of wearable technology and is a step towards ubiquitous computing – the concept of computing being everywhere at all times, in a seamless integration of technology into everyday life.

Glass has similar applications to a smartphone, with the benefit of being hands-free. Worn as spectacles, users give commands by speaking, saying “O.K., Glass…” to choose from a series of commands, ranging from taking a picture to searching the Internet, using Google Maps and making phone calls. Apps developed by third parties can be downloaded which give further functionality, including fitness trackers, games, music players, messaging and blog feeds.

Glass was developed in Google X, a research and development facility in Mountain View, California, for projects which Google consider to not have an immediately apparent business model, but potential applications for the future. Google X is headed by Dr Astro Teller, founder in 1999 of BodyMedia, a medical and consumer technology company specialising in wearable body monitoring systems. Teller joined Google in 2010 and BodyMedia went on to be acquired in 2013 by wearable technology firm Jawbone.

Google first unveiled Glass from their Google X labs in April 2012, via photos and a concept video on the Google+ social network. Through a series of publicity stunts, including streaming live video from Glass worn during a parachute jump, and relaying a Diane von Furstenberg catwalk show, the technology entered public consciousness. It was sold to the public through Google’s Explorer programme, a limited release to those interested in the early adoption of technology who also had the ability to pay a correspondingly high financial price. Purchases were made through an application process that included a question about what the buyer would use them for. Glass was available in the USA from 15 April 2013 and then the UK in May 2014.

The launch of Glass raised questions about privacy, with non-users being concerned that they would be photographed or filmed by wearers, and safety issues were raised such as being distracted while driving. Their high cost ($1500 in America and £1000 in the UK) limited their adoption, often being equated with being a status symbol for those wearing them. These problems combined to cause resentment among some non- wearers and led to users being labelled with the slang term “glasshole”.

Google withdrew Glass from public sale on 19 January 2015, reporting that the technology would be moving out of its Google X incubator labs into a separate division, under the guidance of Tony Fadell. Fadell is the chief executive of Nest Labs, a company bought by Google in January 2014; he previously worked on Apple’s first iPod music player in the early 2000s. Nest Labs created the Nest Learning Thermostat, which DAD has in its collection as a product of the Internet of Things (CD.13-2014). Google is currently developing Glass for use within the private sector, where experiments continue with its use in medical surgeries, manufacturing and by utility workers, giving the ability to access data and record and transmit video hands-free.

Glass as compliments a number of DAD acquisitions reflecting wearable technologies. Glass raises issues regarding privacy, digital etiquette and ethics of using wearable tech devices in public and for these reasons it has been featured in the ‘Civic Objects’ display of DAD’s 2015 exhibition ‘All of This Belongs to You’.

Collection
Accession number
CD.57:1 to 3-2014

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Record createdNovember 3, 2014
Record URL
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