Google's Contact Lenses May Not Live Up to Hype, According to a Report

"The signature product from Alphabet-owned life sciences company, Verily, is still a long way from hitting the real world," according to Business Insider. "The glucose-sensing smart contact lens that Google first announced in 2014 is still just "slideware" that doesn't exist outside of PowerPoint presentations, according to a former Verily manager who spoke to Stat's Charles Piller as part of a critical look at the company's current endeavors. The contact lens project aims to provide an alternative for people with diabetes who currently have to prick their fingers to test their blood glucose levels. Instead, the lens could monitor the glucose levels in their tears. But the Stat report questions whether the lens will ever be scientifically feasible." Read more.

Google Seeks Patent for Eye Insert to Improve Vision

"Google has a penchant for far-out tech that never reaches the market. The latest is a method of injecting a device into an eyeball, mostly as a means to correct poor vision. Described in a patent application dated April 28, 2016, the device is injected in fluid that then solidifies to couple the device with the eye’s lens capsule, the transparent membrane surrounding the lens. Injection would take place 'following the removal of the natural lens from the lens capsule,' the patent reads, starts a Forbes magazine post. The planned device injected into the eye contains a number of tiny components: storage, sensors, radio, battery and an electronic lens. The eyeball device gets power wirelessly from an “energy harvesting antenna.” The patent describes what looks like an external device to interface with the eyeball computer. The two will communicate through a radio and the ”interface device” contains the processor to do the necessary computing." Read more.

Sun Powdered Contact Lenses from Google

"The eyewear of the future may look like the contact lenses of today, but don’t be fooled — if Google has its way, nothing in the world of contact lenses will ever be the same again. In a new patent filed on October 13, the Internet giant turned purveyor of all things cool unveiled its plan for a 'contact lens employing optical signals for power and/or communication,'" reports Digital Trends. "The futuristic device will be solar-powered, as it will purportedly sport a 'photo-detector that harvests light received and generates power from the harvested light,' and will do far more than just let you see — it’ll open up a whole new world. As per the filed patent, Google hopes that its new solar-powered lens would allow the wearer to access information about his or her surrounding environment, including the presence of allergens, 'hazardous materials,' or other atmospheric particles that may have a deleterious effect on your health. Moreover, your contact lenses could actually be connected to your mobile device (if those are still around by the time this comes to fruition), and communicate data about your body temperature or blood-alcohol level." Read more.

What's Happening with Google Glass?

"The initial version of Glass, which sold for $1,500, prompted a privacy backlash because users could record video in public places without others noticing. Google stopped selling it in January and executives have admitted that the device was released before it was ready for consumers," reports the WSJ blog Digits. "Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said earlier this year that the company wasn’t giving up on Glass because wearable technology is a potentially big new market. Google is quietly distributing a new version of Glass to companies in industries such as health care, manufacturing and energy. Another consumer version is at least a year away and the new Aura team could take the technology in new directions." Read more.

Novartis to Begin Human Testing of Smart Contact Lens for Diabetics in 2016

"Novartis plans the first human tests next year of a 'smart' contact lens it is developing with Google designed to help restore the eye's natural autofocus," reports Reuters. 'This project is progressing well,' Novartis Chief Executive Joe Jimenez told Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview. 'I had said it would take about five years to see a product on the market,' Jimenez told the paper. 'The calendar is on track and we are already developing a technological lens prototype (that) should be tested on humans in 2016.' A Novartis spokesman told Reuters that Jimenez was referring to a smart lens for accommodative vision correction in people with presbyopia, or age-related long sightedness, who can no longer read without glasses. Under an agreement signed with Google in 2014, Novartis is also developing smart contact lenses to help diabetics track their blood glucose levels." Read more.

Google's Smart Contact Lens Out Soner than Expected?

"It appears Google's smart contact lenses are so far along, the company has already drafted a report on how it would like to package them, reports Tech Times. "There are still about three-and-a-half years left into the soft window in which Google partner Novartis projected the pair would bring smart contact lenses to market. The discovery of a patent application published on Thursday suggests those lenses are well on track to launch within the window. In the patent application (PDF), published on June 25, Google describes packaging for an 'eye-mountable device,' the smart contact lens, that rests on an annular ring at the top of a tiny pedestal." Read more.

Google Patents Contact Lense as ID Device

"Google has patented a new technology that transforms a contact lens into an identification device, according to a report by Venture Beat," notes Biometric Update. "The patent application explains how the contact lens covers either the entire or part of the iris of the eye. The contact lens’ surface is embedded with one or more light sensors, which gathers reflected light off the iris. The sensors construct an image of the iris, which it then compares with an image of the same iris stored on the system’s memory. If the images successfully match, a door might automatically unlock for the wearer, or a file containing private data might suddenly be available to access, for example. The patent does not go into great detail about the technology’s applications. However, the lenses could potentially be used for biometric authentication purposes in a number of different technologies and scenarios." Read more.

App Overcomes Partial Color Blindness with Chrome Browser App

"The web isn't always a great a place to visit if you're color-blind -- in fact, you may not properly see the Chrome logo above. Thankfully, Google may have a way to fill in some of that missing picture," according to Engadget. "It recently released a Chrome extension, Color Enhancer, that tweaks the browser's colors to help overcome partial color blindness. All you do is walk through a basic calibration process, and the add-on does the rest. This isn't the most complicated addition in the world, but it could make a big difference if it helps you spot web objects that would otherwise go unnoticed." Read more.

Luxottica and Google Working on New Version of Google Glass

"A new version of Google Glass is in the works and will be out soon, the chief executive of Italian eyewear maker Luxottica said Friday," reports the Wall Street Journal's Digits. "The partnership with the U.S. tech giant to build Glass—the Internet-connected eyewear—is going ahead, said Massimo Vian, speaking at the company’s general meeting in Milan, Italy. Earlier this year, Google stopped selling the first version of Glass and shut its Explorer program, moving the project out of its Google X research lab into a standalone unit. Yet the firm made clear that it was still working to make the eyewear ready for users. The changes sparked speculation that Google would abandon Glass. However, Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told The Wall Street Journal that it has been put under the watch of Tony Fadell, head of Google’s Nest connected home division, 'to make it ready for users.'" Read more.

Google Awarded Patent for Smart Contact Lens

"Remember the Google X skunkworks project that saw the company imagining contact lenses that could monitor your glucose levels?" asks Slash Gear. "Sounded weird, and more like some means to an end for a bigger project. Then we found Google had a partner in Novartis, and the contact lens that could monitor your health seemed a bit closer to reality. It’s now even closer to being on your eye, as Google has been granted a patent to manufacture the lenses, which have multiple layers and their own chipset." Read more.

Google Still Has Its Eyes on Google Glass

"Despite suspending sales of Glass and ending the Explorer program last January, Google is still actively developing its wearable eyewear technology, according to Eric Schmidt, quoted in the Wall Street Journal. After the relative disappointment of the first version, the Glass project's long-term goal remains unchanged: to develop a consumer-ready wearable with broad mainstream appeal," reports Yahoo! News. "On April 5, 2012, Google co-founder and X Lab director Sergey Brin set the internet abuzz by wearing the first connected glasses prototype in San Francisco. The Glass project advanced into the test phase, sparking the curiosity and enthusiasm of tech fans around the world." Read more.

Intel and Luxottica Introducing Smart Glasses Next Year

“Chip giant Intel and eyewear manufacturer Luxottica Group are teaming up to incorporate smart technology into premium, luxury, and sports eyewear,” reports PC Magazine. “Details remain scant, but the partnership is in the early stages. The goal, they said, is to "push the boundaries of research and development to anticipate what smart technology for eyewear will look like in the future." The first device from Intel and Luxottica is expected to launch in 2015…Earlier this week, reports indicated that the next-gen version of Google Glass would ditch Texas Instruments for Intel chips. Intel reportedly intends to market Glass to hospital networks and manufacturers, while also developing new workplace uses for the device. Luxottica, meanwhile, cozied up to Google in March, announcing a partnership in which the eyewear maker would provide a team of experts to work on Glass products, developed specifically under its Ray-Ban and Oakley brands.” Read more.

More Competition for Google Glass

“During the CEATEC show in Japan Toshiba has been showcasing their new Toshiba Glass eyewear which the company is designing to compete with the likes of the Google Glass, the digital eyewear Google launched a few years ago,” says Geeky-Gadgets. “Toshiba Glass is expected to launch their new eyewear sometime next year and Toshiba’s is a little more simplified when compared to Google’s eyewear. With Toshiba designing their Glass device to be more of an external display than a stand alone computer or smartphone.” Read more.

Google Contact Lens Gives Each Person a ‘Signature’

“Two Google patents hot off the presses imagine a world where special contact lenses essentially turn your eye into a fingerprint, with each person having a unique, snowflake like signature,l” according to the website Phandroid. “Built in capacitive sensors would be used to ensure it’s an actual eyeball, not a fake replica, that is being scanned. The process has three steps:

1. Receiving light on an iris of an eye
2. Detecting, at one or more light sensors disposed on or within a transparent lens covering at least a portion of the eye, light reflected from the light incident on the iris of the eye, wherein the light reflected comprises image data indicative of a pattern associated with the iris.
3. Outputting an iris fingerprint based in part on the image data.”

Read more and see the schematic for the design.

Google Develops Smart CLs with Novartis

"Google is developing a smart contact lens, with pharmaceutical giant Novartis, to help patients manage diabetes – in one of a number of moves focused squarely on billions of dollars of potential revenue available across the total digital healthcare market." So starts the Forbes post. "As technology moves further into treatment with remote consultations, monitoring and operations, robotic treatments, and advanced digital diagnosis, Google has seen the opportunity to apply its own eyewear technology (up until now limited as glasses called Google Glass) to the healthcare field." Read more.

"As part of the agreement, Google[x] and Novartis' eye care division Alcon will create smart lenses that feature "non-invasive sensors, microchips and other miniaturized electronics" and focus on two main areas," reports Engadget. "The first will provide a way for diabetic patients to keep on top of their glucose levels by measuring the sugar levels in their tear fluid, feeding the data back to a smartphone or tablet. The second solution aims to help restore the eye's natural focus on near objects, restoring clear vision to those who are only farsighted (presbyopia)." Read more.

5 Nonprofits Get Google Glasses

"Five nonprofit groups got word Wednesday that Google will help them fulfill visions of using the technology titan's Internet-linked Glass eyewear to do good," reports Phys.org. "'Giving through Glass program winners were selected from 1,300 proposals from US charities with ideas of how to use the eyewear to achieve their goals. Google will give each group a $25,000 grant along with a pair of yet-to-be publicly released Glass eyewear and guidance from the technology firm's engineers. ...Winning proposals included using Glass to let students see through the eyes of Paralympic athletes to foster empathy for people with disabilities; encourage girls to learn math and science, and improve communication by people with autism, hearing loss, or speech problems. Glass will also be used on a '3,000 Miles to a Cure Race Across America' to raise money and awareness for brain cancer research." Read more.

Google Challenges Nonprofits about Google Glass

Yesterday Google challenged nonprofits to come up with ways of using its augment reality eyewear. Here’s what Google put on its special website for the challenge: “How would you use Glass to amplify your impact? Individuals who work at US-based nonprofits are eligible to receive a pair of Glass, a trip to a Google office for training, a $25,000 nonprofit grant, and access to developers to make your Glass project a reality. A team of Googlers, along with the Giving through Glass Explorers - World Wildlife Fund, Samasource, and DoSomething.org - will select the five awardees. Read our FAQ and Rules, watch how World Wildlife Fund is exploring how Glass can help protect rhinos, and apply online by 11:59pm PST on May 20.” Read more.

Google Patents CLs with Microcameras

"Add this one to the list of unbelievably cool things Google has in the works: It has patented a contact lens system that would include built-in cameras," notes Yahoo! Tech. "The technology could potentially allow Google to shrink its wearable face computer — known as Google Glass — into the size of a single contact lens. Rather than be controlled by voice, those wearing the contacts would command their device through, as Patent Bolt analyzes it, “a sophisticated system” of “unique blinking patterns.” In other words, people wearing these contacts may look even weirder than people in Google Glass." Read more.

Patent Bolt reports that "One of Google many patent applications regarding future smart contact lenses generally relates to systems and/or methods for capturing image data representing a scene in a gaze of a viewer via a thin image capture component integrated on or within a contact lens, processing the image data, and employing the processed image data to perform functions locally on the contact lens or remotely on one or more remote devices. The term "images capture component" simple means a camera. For example, a thin (image capture) camera component can be embedded on or within a contact lens such that it does not substantially affect thickness of a conventional contact lens. Furthermore, the camera component can be aligned such that it tracks and generates image data of an image of a scene corresponding to the gaze of the wearer, without obstructing the wearer's view." Read more.

No Trademark for You, Google Glass

“Still struggling to make a good name for itself with a skeptical American public, Google Glass is now struggling to get its literal name approved by the U.S. trademark office. The Wall Street Journal reports that the trademark office is pushing back against Google's plan to trademark the single word "Glass" for its wearable computerized eyeglasses.” That’s the post on The Wired. “Google already has legal claim to "Google Glass," but two issues are holding back the plans to trademark ‘Glass.’ For one, the term is too similar to other products and so could cause confusion among consumers. And secondly, the word is ‘merely descriptive’ of the actual product. ‘You couldn’t trademark the word “shoe” for a shoe you’re selling, for instance,’ the Journal notes. The trademark office's letter argues that Google Glass is made of glass, and so therefore it can't be trademarked.” Read more.

Google Glass Teams Up with Luxottica

“Google Inc. is partnering with Luxottica Group SpA…to help the Web company’s Glass eyewear go mainstream,” says Bloomberg news. “Luxottica is setting up teams focused on design, development, tooling and engineering of products, the world’s largest maker of eyeglasses said in a statement yesterday. Google’s Glass technology combines a tiny screen, camera and audio on a small device that’s worn at eye level. Google, seeking new ways to get consumers to use their services on mobile devices, has been stepping up efforts to show how Glass can appeal to a wide audience. While the gadget has received a lot of media attention, it’s also faced challenges, including criticism for its ability to record images or distract users. The Mountain View, California-based company said it plans to release mainstream versions ’down the road.’” Read more.