*point-of-view footage*
[Sergey Brin]
Oh sorry, I um... I just got this message from a Nigerian prince. Needs help getting ten million dollars. Uh, I like to pay attention to these because that's how we originally funded the company, and it's gone pretty well.
Though in all seriousness, uh, the - this position that you just saw me in, looking down at my phone, it's one of the reasons behind this project, Project Gla**. Because we question whether this is, you know, the ultimate future way of how you want to connect with other people in your life, how you want to connect to information. You know should it be by walking around looking down?
That was the vision behind Gla** and that's why we've created this form factor. Okay - and um, I don't wanna go through all the things it does and what not, but I wanna tell you a little bit more about the motivation behind what led to it. In addition to potentially socially isolating yourself when you're out and about, looking at your phone, it's kind of "is this what you're meant to do with your body?" You know you're standing around there and you're just sorta rubbing this featureless piece of gla**, just kind of moving around.
So when we developed Gla** we thought really about, can we make something that frees your hands? You saw all the things people were doing in the video back there. They're all wearing gla** and that's how we got that footage. And also we want something that frees your eyes, that's why we put the display up high, you know out of your line of sight. So it wouldn't be where you're looking, it wouldn't be where you're making eye contact with people. And also we wanted to free up the ears. So the sound actually conducts straight through bones in your cranium - which is a little bit freaky at first, but you get used to it. And ironically, if you want to hear it better, you actually just cover your ear, which is kinda surprising, but- *shrugs*
That's how it works. My vision when we started Google fifteen years ago was that eventually you wouldn't have to have a search query at all. You would just have information come to you as you needed it. And this is now, fifteen years later, sort of the first form factor that I think can deliver that vision when you're out and about on the street talking to people and so forth.
This project has lasted now just over two years. We've learned an amazing amount. It's been really important to make it comfortable, so our first prototypes we built were like huge - was like cellphone strapped to your head. It was very heavy, pretty uncomfortable. We had to keep it secret from our industrial designer until she actually accepted the job and then she almost ran away screaming.
But, we've come a long way. And the other really unexpected surprise was the camera. Originally the prototypes didn't have cameras at all, but it's been really magical to be able to capture moments spent with my family, my kids. I just never would have dug out a camera or a phone or something else to take that moment.
And lastly, I realized in experimenting with this device, that I also kinda have a nervous tick. You know the cellphone is - you have to look down on it and all that - but it's also kind of a nervous habit, like you know if I smoked, I'd probably just smoke instead. I would just light up a cigarette, it would look cooler. You know I'd be like *exaggerated inhale, exhale*
But in this case, I whip this out and I sit there and look as if I have something very important to do or to attend to, but it really opened my eyes to how much of my life I spent kind of just secluding away, and be it e-mail or social posts or what not. Even though there's really nothing that important or that pressing. And with this I know I will get certain messages if I really need them but I don't have to be checking them all the time.
Yeah, I've really enjoyed actually, exploring the world more, doing more of the crazy things like you saw in the video.
Thank you all very much.