Is Google Glass a solution to a problem that doesn't exist?

The head of the Google Glass project admits that first version of the technology won't truly be augmented reality and that the final set of features for the first model is not yet finalized.

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The head of the Google Glass project admits that first version of the technology won't truly be augmented reality and that the final set of features for the first model is not yet finalized.

If you were hoping that 2013 would be the year of augmented reality and Google's glasses, then think again. In an interview with IEEE Spectrum, Babak Parviz, head of the Google Glass project, admits that the project is still in flux and the final features are yet to be decided.

'We haven't actually talked about specific features. We have mentioned some basic capabilities, like taking a picture and sharing it. We are experimenting with a lot of things. The feature set for the device is not set yet. It is still in flux,' he is quoted as saying. He also explains that operation and input are still being developed. Google has experimented with head gestures and with voice commands in order to access features and services but currently operation is via a touchpad located on the side of the device.

However, there is also a suggestion that Google Glass, as it currently stands, is a solution in search of a problem. When asked if anyone at Google had attempted to develop apps for the device, Parviz responds: 'This is a complicated thing. This is not a laptop or a smartphone. It's an entirely new platform. So how people interact with it and what people do with it is totally new territory. We've explored multiple things. We've taken pictures and done search and other things with this device. But we hope that when we ship this to developers, other people will also figure out what this very powerful platform is able to do.'

Google plans to release the first prototypes to developers this year so that the first apps and uses can be developed for the platform before the glasses go on sale to the general public, hopefully in 2014.