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Tech

Why Google Glass Can't Replace Regular Glasses

It's banned in too many places for something you actually need to see.
Image: Youtube/Google Glass

A couple of days ago, Google unveiled four new frame designs for its Glass face-computer, and the good news for those of us without 20/20 vision is that you can stick prescription lenses in them. Essentially, they look a lot more like actual glasses than the original techno-halo design. In fact, some of them are surprisingly fashionable.

As a prescription glasses wearer, it’s heartening to see Google address what was for many a major flaw with the tech. But at the same time, prescription Glass brings with it a problem that non-glasses-wearers probably don’t immediately appreciate: you have to wear prescription glasses all the time. Otherwise, you can't see. With laws increasingly veering towards a complete ban on the technology in some places, that makes things tricky for people hoping to replace their dowdy old vision-fixing spectacles with Glass.

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A Reuters story today highlighted the increasing number of US states that are considering bills to completely ban Google Glass for drivers. This month, Wyoming became the latest to see a bill introduced, joining Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia. The UK’s Department of Transport made noises about a Glass ban for drivers as early as last summer.

The spirit behind the bills makes sense. No one wants distracted drivers on the road, right? It’s also about time the law addressed the issue; as the first case of a driver ticketed for wearing Glass revealed, there’s currently no real consensus on the matter. In that instance, California driver Cecilia Abadie was let off as the officer who stopped her didn’t have any evidence that the Glass was on at the time. Given the discreet nature of Glass, however, that’s always going to be difficult to prove—so you can understand why lawmakers might just want to ban it anyway. It makes their job easier.

The problem for future prescription Glass users, however, is that you can’t just take it off. Or you can, but then you can’t see. Of course, you could just switch your Google Glass with regular prescription glasses all the time, but that sort of neutralises the point of the wearable tech in the first place, as in that case, it would probably usually be easier to just pick up a phone for your gadgetry needs. Having to take it on and off makes the headset (something you just want to put on and forget about) a whole lot less convenient (something you worry about crushing in your pocket). Instead of relieving you of other gadgets, Glass would force you to carry more stuff around.

And it’s not just for driving; we’ve already seen Google Glass banned in some cinemas, restaurants, casinos, and hospitals, and the list seems set to get longer. While a person with good vision could just remove their Glass if they step into one of these establishments unawares, a person using Glass as actual glasses would have more difficulty. It’s hard to enjoy a movie when you can’t see further than your outstretched arm.

Some of the restrictions on Glass are probably partly due to a misunderstanding of the technology—the Wyoming senator who brought the bill to ban Glass on the roads told local newspaper Billings Gazette, “From what I’ve read, they are little computers, but it seems like watching someplace other than the road when you’re driving isn’t good,” an explanation that doesn’t exactly sound well-researched. But some are likely a consequence of Glass’ own cleverness. Because it functions so seamlessly, it’s difficult to know from the outside when it’s on, or off, or filming, which makes a total ban—as opposed to a ban from turning it on—the easiest solution.

It’s tricky to see a way out of the problem, unless the ability to tell whether someone else’s Glass is on or off gets easier. Over at Forbes, Michael Humphrey points out that removing the computer part from the frames could be an option, but that currently requires using a special screwdriver. And while Humphrey might want to see that transformation made easier, I don’t really fancy tinkering with a tiny $1,500 piece of tech that often.

It’s obvious that Google wants us to wear Glass all the time—Product Director Steve Lee told CNN he envisioned a time when people would ask, “Why would I want traditional glasses? They don’t do X, Y or Z." But until everyone else agrees, I’ll be sticking to a regular opticians for my hipster frames.