It was not long ago that the internet was going crazy over Google's Project Glass, and now Google has our attention again with the patent of a "smart watch." This watch appears to use technology similar to the glasses, but with a flip-up touchscreen instead of lenses.
From the looks of things, this watch would present notifications and other information transmitted from your smartphone right to your wrist. Let's be honest, a quick look at Kickstarter would let you find tons of watches that do this very thing. Google's potential watch stands out, however, because of the transparent screen that could "see" objects around you.
So what does this mean for real-world applications? The watch could offer GPS functions based on a landmark it detects around you. The watch could also detect small objects around you, so if you focused it on a product in a store, it could give you more information, which could prove quite useful.
Something like this could also have some serious income potential for Google. Imagine you focus on a new speaker system, and Google shows you retailers listing the item online for lower than where you are currently. Google could leverage this technology as a way to incorporate its ad services in the real world.
Doom and gloom of potential advertisements aside, this could prove to be an exciting piece of technology, if it ever sees the light of day. It could also be another one of those cool patents that stay just that – a patent. What do you think? Would you own a smart watch?
