Google Reportedly Working on New Heads-Up Display

Recently, the New York Times reported that they had an inside source at Google that insisted that Google is hard at work in trying to develop so-called wearable electronic devices. The suggestion was that such a device might be worn on the wrist like a watch, or around the neck as a pendant. The thinking is that Google is looking for ways to make Smartphones that run Android easier to carry around, upping the cool factor in the ferocious competition with Apple's ultra-cool iPhone. According to the Times, there are also devices that can attach directly to clothing, making them appear as sort of an accessory. But such devices might be just the beginning. 9to5Google is reporting that they have inside scoop on the super-secret lab at Google called Goolge X Labs (an apparent homage to Bell Labs) that it claims is working on something even better, a type of display worn on the face that hovers over the eye allowing text, graphics, video, to be seen hovering in space, i.e. a true heads-up device generally only seen in action movies.

According to the source, the heads-up display project is being run by Richard DuVaul, who ran a similar project at Apple before being wooed away in by Google this past summer. DuVaul's history suggests that his main area of interest is in heads-up displays, thus, it seems no great stretch to imagine that's what he's working on at Google.

At this time, it appears the heads-up display is currently in the form of thick glasses with each lens capable of displaying a full computer screen full of information, which means of course that it would also be capable of employing augmented reality, or overlaying real world information regarding the wearers current surroundings; when combined with GPS and a database application, of course. Such applications would include maps, store information, historical information, etc.

9to5Google also says that the device is not Android specific, which means it likely could be used by a wide variety of devices, from home computers to iPhones and iPads, too of course Android Smartphones.

Better yet, it appears the device will connect directly to the cloud, rather than having to go through a local server meaning incredibly fast response times.

One final hint of the importance of the project is that Google co-founder, Sergey Brin is said to be closely involved with the project, and is not only monitoring what is going on, but is participating in its development.