Many say the future is bright. But really, the future is smart. Smart tech has been one of the biggest and most predominant phenomenons to take over civilization today. No period in man’s history has relied on technology as much as we do today.
Technology has paved the way and provided us with the vital information and technologies we need to work smart and keep world economies moving. If we consider the uptake of technology, past technological breakthroughs may not seem groundbreaking today because of how much technology has evolved.
Today’s technology is all touch screen and voice assistance. However, past technology is inventions we take for granted today, such as the light bulb and the phone. Here’s a look at how technology has evolved.
Believe it or not, eyeglasses were a technological invention of their own, a solution to a problem drastically changing the world for those with poor sight; more info here. Today’s technology has helped to take this humble product one step further and revolutionise it to fit into today’s world of cameras and screens.
Smart Glasses are far from just an idea or a concept and are becoming the next best device to look out for in tech. Many big tech giants such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft are in the race to become the first to bring to market a mainstream product that can perform as a smart device and still look sleek and stylish. Google currently has smart glasses on sale in the market, but they aim to be used in working environments such as manufacturing, health, and logistics.
Social media app Snapchat also has smart glasses on the market that allows users to record footage while wearing them and stream directly to their app. Bose is another big tech organization with speakers built-into sunglasses, eradicating the need for headphones. However, they all have not become as popular as the brands hoped for. With this in mind, here are four key hurdles manufacturers still need to address.
1. Bandwidth and Network Security
There is much talk about integrating advanced technologies into smart glasses like augmented reality, making a huge difference. However, to provide the technology in smart glasses continuously means the smart glasses need to have the ability to connect to a cloud-based hosted service. To work well, the connection must also be uninterrupted. This key factor can be challenging to obtain as users may not always be able to connect to WiFi.
Network security issues also apply when considering the use of smart glasses in the design and production process for any organization. They will need to ensure there is a way to protect rival companies from seeing their new concepts and designs. Therefore, if the smart glasses software is easily hackable, vital and restricted information could be leaked. Manufacturers of the glasses need to work on this crucial element of production to ensure security and great quality.
2. User Experience
Alongside the user experience of human interaction with machines and their interface, the user experience of smart glasses is still improving to meet consumers’ needs today. In most cases, cables are needed to connect hands-free devices to processing hubs or networks to extract information or carry out other tasks.
Considering wires and batteries required on smart glasses to work correctly, manufacturers can stumble upon issues with the smart glasses’ weight making the user experience uncomfortable. The impact of a user’s experience with products determines its popularity.
3. Safety, Privacy and Regulations
As with all new tech, smart glasses pose several unresolved safety challenges that manufacturers need to consider before making them mainstream. The first is safety. The glasses need to be safe to be worn by all in most environments. The technology needs to be durable and safe, considering how close they are to vital organs such as our eyes, nose, and brain. As we know, smartphones have some safety concerns, but they are not constantly next to our heads. Manufacturers also need to consider long-term effects on vision, and if there are any.
As smart glasses are so novel, there is not much reputation surrounding their use. If tech companies are serious about taking smart glasses to the next level, they will need to consider regulations that will be implemented and adhere to them.
4. Components of smart glasses and the environment
Matching the required capabilities of organisations with optimal form still poses a few challenges. For smart glasses to work, they will need to be installed with small graphic processors, which are simultaneously lightweight and highly powerful to be placed in eyewear that is comfortable to wear. Taking them a step further and adding eye-tracking capabilities with voice command and gesture control means all the components add up, causing vast amounts of battery consumption and heat production. Pushing the boundaries means these issues need to be appropriately and efficiently managed.
Although there’s much to be addressed, the fact that products like smart glasses are entering the manufacturing stage and require regulations and safety concerns shows a healthy demand for them and a positive outlook for the future of technology.
