Brief history of wearables from the first iPhone to Google Glass. Gives context to some of the engineering decisions and what's possible in the current API. Video for the slides is currently at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/35842151

1. Google Glass & The
Wearable Revolution
Frank Carey - @frankcarey
Anthony Ferrara - @ ircmaxell

2. First Some Context
Let's step back and look how we got here,
and how Google Glass fits in to the larger
picture of wearables.

3. It all started with the
IPhone*..
June 29, 2007
Happy 6th Birthday!
*not exactly, but lets move on

4. Smartphone Mkt Share - '07 vs '13
Nokia - 50%
RIM - 10%
Apple - 5%
HTC - 3%
Samsung - 2%
Other - 27%
Android - 75%
iOS - 17%
Windows - 3%
Blackberry - 3%
Linux - 2%
Symbian - 1%
Total Shipping: 36MM
in 4Q (130MM / yr)
Total Shipping: 216
MM 1Q (900MM / yr)

5. All the Phones! +1 Billion per year

6. Evolution of Hardware
First Gen IPhone Specs:
Launched - June 2007- 6 years ago
Screen - 320 x 480
Memory - 128MB
Storage - 4/8 GB
Processor - 412MHz, single core
Data - 2G/Edge (up to 250k) And WiFi
Camera - (1) 2 MP (no video)
Required sync with iTunes & No App Store

7. Evolution of Hardware
Latest Specs (HTC One):
Launched - March 2013 (4 months ago)
Screen - 1920 x 1080 (16x)
Memory - 2 GB (16x)
Storage - 32/64 GB (8x)
Processor - 1.7 GHz - quad + GPU (16x)
Data - 4G (up to 56Mbps ) (228x)
Camera - (2) w/ 2 MP front, 13*MP rear
(10x)
AppStores - Almost 1M each, Cloud Sync

8. Evolution of Hardware
First Gen IPhone Sensors:
3 Axis Accelerometer (screen orientation)
Cellular Positioning (very rough)
Proximity Sensor (hold to face)
Ambient Light (auto brightness)
Microphone, Speakers & Mic

9. Evolution of Hardware
New Latest Gen Sensors:
Gyroscope (faster, relative direction)
Digital Compass (Cardinal direction)
GPS (integrated) (position < 1m)
NFC/ RFID, USB-OTG & Bluetooth 4.0
2nd Mic (noise reduction)
Front Camera (face detection, eye tracking)
Stereoscopic - (3D images and video)

10. Evolution of Hardware
Old Sensors, new techniques (ML, AI):
Sensor Integration via hardware / OS
○ Location based on Wifi, Cellular, and GPS
○ Orientation via Compass, Gyro, Accelerometer
○ Activity - Running, Walking, Biking, etc.
Text & Speech (on device)
○ Text to Speech - Give it some text, and have it read
aloud
○ Speech to Text - Returns array of likely sentences.
Hacks (Square) - Universal Connectivity by
sending digital over microphone jack.

11. Evolution of Hardware
NEXT Gen Sensors:
Environment (already Android supported)
○
○
○
○
Temperature
Humidity
Pressure (Altitude)
Light
Air Quality (CO, Smoke, O², Allergens)
Body - Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, Blood
Depth Cameras - (Kinect / Leap Motion)
(..????)

12. Positive Externalities of Phones
Phones have drastically lowered the costs of
sensors, screens, batteries, and low power
processors at the same time as improving
quality.
The specific build of an iPhone/Samsung/etc is
proprietary, but the components that make it up
are mostly commodity parts. (They are shared,
and the chips are able to be purchased
individually and cheaply).

13. Resulting Trends
What are we doing with those Phone
Processors, Sensors, and OSes ?

14. Cheap & Low Power Processor Platforms
● Computers/Tablets - Chromebook, Surface
RT
● Open Hardware for Hacking - RaspPi ($25),
BeagleBone ($45), Arduino Due ($58)
● Gaming Consoles/SetTop - OUYA,
Gamepop
● Robotics using these platforms + sensors
All take advantage of standard "mobile"
processors (ARM), and many use Open Source
linux based OS like Android, Chrome OS, and
Debian!

15. Cloud Sync, Storage, and APIs
Phones have limited storage and ease of
creating documents. Since phones are
constantly connected, often better to store and
retrieve via internet.
No need to plug into computer and sync with
iTunes, buy Apps, transfer music or
photos/video.
Phone Apps rely heavily on REST APIs

16. Cloud Sync, Storage, and APIs
HTML5 and JS based Apps to rival native apps,
w/ some OS like Firefox OS, Chome OS
Cloud Rendering - Gaikai/OnLive have cloud
gaming to "any" device. (think VNC on
steroids?) Amazon EC2 w/ GPUs - used
(initially) for Darpa Virtual Robotics Challenge.
Complex / compute heavy stuff can be done
serverside. AR, Recognition, Planning, AI

17. Screens and Sensors
Oculus Rift - ($399) Dev Kit Shipping now
Low latency VR / Head Mounted Display
Basically uses Tablet screen + Accel + Gyros

18. Screens and Sensors
Pebble Watch - ($150) Shipping Now
Uses a port of FreeRTOS, Accelerometers,
Magnetometer, Light Sensors & BT4.0

19. Screens and Sensors
Leap Motion - ($79) Ships July 27th
Short distance, high-res 3D sensor for mid-air
'touch' controls. Size of a pack of gum. Tech
coming to phones and laptops soon.
Uses 2 cameras and infrared LEDs

20. What do many of these
have in common?
* Slight diversion but we'll mention this later.

21. Many are Kickstarter / Indiegogo !
It's now easier* than ever to create a hardware
startup.
1. Create a prototype using standard (mobile)
components, open source hardware, and a
3D printer.
2. Crowdsource your funding with pre-orders.
3. Collect Millions, and pray you can deliver on
schedule and under budget.
*also easy to hang yourself. http://money.cnn.
com/interactive/technology/kickstarter-projectsshipping/

22. Recent Example Crowdfund Projects
Pebble (April 2012) - $10.2M raised
Oculus Rift (Aug 2012) - $2.4M raised
Leap Motion (May 2012) - ???* raised
*Had $11M Series A funding first, but had a
1 year pre-order on their website.
OUYA (July 2012) - $8.5M raised

23. What else do many have
in common?

24. What else do many have
in common?
Many are either offer New User Interfaces
and/or are Wearable Computers.

25. A Wearable Computer?
circa 1990's

26. Wearables
● "Smart" Devices that attach to the body
● Sensors - Touch, Camera, Accelerometer,
Gyros, Microphones, Temp, Barometer.
● Feedback - Video , Sound, Haptic, even
simple led. "Constant Interaction".
● Connectivity - Wifi, Bluetooth (Low power),
Cellular, Xbee

27. Wearables
Idea is that, eventually:
● Everything gets smaller,
● It becomes cheaper
● User interfaces evolve to be more natural
● The handheld screen/device goes away.
● We end up merging with our technology
● Singularity happens
● TBD

28. But, We're not there yet :(
"peacock... peacock..."

29. Current Hurdles for
Wearables

30. Current Hurdles for Wearables
* Batteries Not Included
Probably single biggest issue...

31. Current Hurdles for Wearables
Batteries
Still need power, but you're not plugged in all
the time
● ..So, you'll need batteries
● ..So, that means you need to charge it
somehow
● ..So, that means you need to worry about
remembering to recharge
● ..So, that means you'll get mad when it dies.

32. Current Hurdles for Wearables
Batteries
Ways to deal with the problem...

33. Current Hurdles for Wearables
Batteries
Cut out the things that use a lot of power.

34. Current Hurdles for Wearables
Batteries
Cut out the things that use a lot of power.
Screens, Processors, Radios, Sensors...
...everything!

35. The iPad! ...wait, too far..

36. Fight the Power! - Screens
Screens waste a LOT of photons that don't
reach your eyes. LED backlights means heat is
less an issue.
● No Screen!
○ Leverage another device's (phone) screen (Fitbit)
○ Use only sensors for UI, voice commands, buttons,
touch, haptic feedback, etc.
● Alternatives
○ low power display like e-paper (Pebble)
○ simpler, like single LEDS (Nike Fuelband)
○ smaller screen close to eye (Google glass)
● Use lasers directly to retina (OASIS)

37. Fight the Power! - Radios
Radios use power when listening, but lots more
when sending.
● Burst / Only periodically turn on radios to
make sensor measurements or send/receive
data from base.
● Use only lower power RF, (usually lower
range, lower throughput protocols)
● 4G > 3G > 2G > Wifi > Bluetooth > 4.0 LE
● Drop radios and use a wire instead.
● GPS (worst) uses radios too!

38. Current Hurdles for Wearables
User Interface - What should the UI be?
.. But we just got used to touchscreens!
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
No Screen (no keyboard, no touchscreen)
Voice Commands?
3D Sensors, like leap?
Haptic (Vibrate) ?
Direct interface to Visual Cortex?
How much info? How often? Social norms?
What to do with data? Security?

39. Current Wearable Examples
- Fitbit (2008)
- Nike+ Fuelband (Jan 2012)
- Pebble Watch (Jan 2013)
- Google Glass (Mar 2013)
- Apple iWatch (rumored 2013)
- Samsung "Gear" watch (rumored 2013)
- Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook???
- Many startups / smaller players

40. Next-Gen Wearables / Sensors
Smart Pills
- Health and Authentication
“It creates a signal and your entire body
becomes your authentication. My arms are like
wires, my hands are like alligator clips.”
-- Regina Duncan, Senior VP for Advanced Technology & Projects at Google

41. Next-Gen Wearables / Sensors
Flexible Sensor Temporary Tattoos (No
Battery)

42. Next-Gen Wearables / Sensors
e-Fashion
- Clothes that can light up, change shape,
sense, and adapt.

43. Are wearables the NBT?
Engage the hype machine!

44. Next BIG Thing?
"[Wearables are] ripe for us all getting
excited about. I think there will be tons
of companies playing in this…I think
wearables is incredibly interesting. It
could be a profound area."
-- Tim Cook, Apple CEO

45. Next BIG Thing?
"Product strategists who want to stay
ahead of the curve should take a cue
from companies like Intuit and
experiment with wearables now,
especially if you’re in an industry that
will be disrupted by wearables,
including apparel, software, media,
gaming, and commerce."
-- Forrester April 2012
http://bit.ly/HNeXyS

46. OK, Finally on to Glass!

47. Glass XE Hardware, Who has 'em
XE = Explorer Edition
Announced at Google IO 2012 - attendees
given pre-order opportunity. ($1600)
Glass "Pioneer" Hackathons in NY and SF Jan
2012 and Started Shipping in April 2013
#IfIHadGlass "contest" adds more. ~8K in Wild

48. What is Glass?

49. #1 - It's a beta prototype!
that means it's not 100% ready yet!

50. #2 - It's a beta prototype!
It's a pretty decent attempt to solve
issues around wearables and figure out
a new UIs.

51. What Glass Brings to the Table
1) A truly standalone wearable computer
(phone optional)
2) Brand New set of User Interfaces - still in
development.
3) Mirror API - A simple REST API that makes
it VERY EASY to write simple Apps.
4) Mostly Hackable!

52. Glass not the first smart glasses.
Steve Mann's interesting work - MIT / Toronto

53. Previous Glass Prototypes
Jean Wang - Project Glass Staff Hardware Engineer

54. Glass Hardware Specs (Current!)
Screen - 640 x 360 prism - 25in TV at 8ft
Processor - OMAP 4430 Soc, dual-core
Memory - 1GB
Storage - 16GB
Weight - 50g (.11 lb)
Camera - 5MP, 720p video
Sound - Bone conduction output
Connectivity - Wifi and Bluetooth tether
~ 2012 Top of line specs

55. Glass Hardware Sensors (Current!)
Accelerometers
Gyroscope
Magnetometer
Proximity (Blink?)
Light sensor
GPS (w/ phone tether only)
(Mirror API doesn't directly use sensors)

56. My thoughts: Hardware
I think the hardware is very good. The ability to
have a screen, a 2 axis touchpad, light enough,
most sensors, and a battery that lasts (mostly)
all day.
Battery is probably the biggest drawback, they
should double the capacity to enable using
features without worrying.
Still, a great platform to experiment!

57. My thoughts: User Interface / APIs
Mirror API is good, but not great. Still very
limited, but also very simple to create apps.
Removes many worries from the application
developer. Mirror API still in development.
Alternative is Native App development. Really
Opens up interesting possibilities. Involves
rooting device for now so Apps distribution is
almost impossible. SDK should eventually
happen!

58. Glassware: Using the Mirror API
A REST / Cloud based API (not native)
Docs: https://developers.google.com/glass
Keywords:
● Timeline
● Cards
● Menu Items
● Pinnable
● Contacts
● Subscriptions (events)

59. Glassware: Example Card

60. Glassware: Cards
Use HTML and CSS (familiar, stuff)
Have some standard formatting (CSS):
● Single message
● Side image

61. Glassware: Timeline
Everything is a timeline item!
Your app only has access to timeline items that
are shared with it or created by it.
You add cards, by adding a timeline item.
You can update cards instead of posting new
ones. Cards expire disappear after a few days

62. Glassware: Menu items

63. Subscription (events)
Get updated when the user shares something
with you or does some other menu action to
one of the cards you own.
Also location updates. (Not real time... every 30
sec?)

64. REST JSON Example
{
"collection" : "timeline" ,
"itemId": "3hidvm0xez6r8_dacdb3103b8b604_h8rpllg" ,
"operation" : "UPDATE",
"userToken" : "harold_penguin" ,
"verifyToken" : "random_hash_to_verify_referer" ,
"userActions" : [
{
"type": "<TYPE>",
"payload": "<PAYLOAD>"
}
]
}

65. Hacking Glass
Google made it pretty easy to root. Opens up a
LOT more possibilities like VR, new UIs, etc.
"Voiding your Warranty" at Google IO 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=OPethpwuYEk

66. Final Thoughts
Exciting Space!
What's next?
Alternatives?

67. Questions?
Frank Carey - @frankcarey
Anthony Ferrara - @ircmaxell