Glass is being developed by Google X, which has worked on other futuristic technologies such as driverless cars.
Although head-worn displays for augmented reality are not a new idea, the project has drawn media attention primarily due to its backing by Google, as well as the prototype design, which is smaller and slimmer than previous designs for head-mounted displays. The first Glass demo resembles a pair of normal eyeglasses where the lens is replaced by a head-up display. Around August 2011, a Glass prototype weighed 8 pounds; the device is now lighter than the average pair of sunglasses.
Hardware
Camera
Google Glass has the ability to take photos and record 720p HD video. While video is recording, a recording light is displayed above the eye, which is unnoticeable to the wearer.Touchpad
A man controls Google Glass using the touchpad built into the side of the device. A touchpad is located on the side of Google Glass, allowing users to control the device by swiping through a timeline-like interface displayed on the screen. Sliding backward shows current events, such as weather, and sliding forward shows past events, such as phone calls, photos, circle updates, etc.Technical specifications
For the developer Explorer units:Android 4.0.4 and higher
640×360 display
5-megapixel camera, capable of 720p video recording
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth
16GB storage (12 GB available)
Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 SoC 1.2Ghz Dual(ARMv7)
682MB RAM "proc".
3 axis gyroscope
3 axis accelerometer
3 axis magnetometer (compass)
Ambient light sensing and proximity sensor
Bone conduction transducer
Software
Applications (Glassware)
Google Glass applications (Glassware) are free applications built by third-party developers. Glass also uses many existing Google applications, such as Google Now, Google Maps, Google+, and Gmail.Third-party applications announced at South by Southwest (SXSW) include Evernote, Skitch, The New York Times, and Path.
On April 15, 2013, Google released the Mirror API, allowing developers to start making apps for Glass. In the terms of service, it is stated that developers may not put ads in their apps or charge fees; a Google representative told The Verge that this might change in the future.
Many developers and companies have built applications for Glass, including news apps, facial recognition, photo manipulation, and sharing to social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.
On May 16, 2013, Google announced the release of seven new apps, including reminders from Evernote, fashion news from Elle, and news alerts from CNN. Following Googles XE7 Glass Explorer Edition update in early July 2013, evidence of a "Glass Boutique", a store that will allow synchronization to Glass of Glassware and APKs, was noted.
The first cooking application for Glass, KitchMe, was released by Coupons.com in June 2013.
MyGlass
Google offers a companion Android app called MyGlass, which allows you to configure and manage your device.Voice activation
Other than the touchpad, Google Glass can be controlled using "voice actions". To activate Glass, wearers tilt their heads upward or tap the touchpad, and say "O.K., Glass." Once Glass is activated, wearers can say an action, such as "Take a picture", "Record a video", "Hangout with [person/Google+ circle]", "Google 'What year was Wikipedia founded?'", "Give me directions to the Eiffel Tower", and "Send a message to John" (many of these commands can be seen in a product video released in February 2013). For search results that are read back to the user, the voice response is relayed using bone conduction through a microphone that sits beside the ear, thereby rendering the sound almost inaudible to other people.Games
GlassBattle developed by BrickSimple and Escape developed by Advanced Mobile Applications (AMA Studios) are two Glass games that were released prior to the official release of the product. GlassBattle, which is adapted from the board game Battleship, was the first of the two to be publicized.Reception
There have been parodies and criticisms aimed at the general notion of augmented reality glasses, ranging from the potential for Google to insert advertising (its main source of revenue) to more dystopian outcomes. However, Google has stated it has no plans to insert advertising.For Preview about what it does you can visit: http://www.google.com/glass/start/what-it-does/