Engadget picked up on a patent application from Google for it’s “Google Glass” project that would enable the wearable technology to be able to control your fridge among other devices.
In case you don’t know, Google Glass is a wearable headset that allows you to see things like directions, notifications and so on in your field of vision. To find out more on Glass please see the Google microsite here: http://www.google.com/glass/start/
The reports so far are a bit thin on the ground as to what this functionality might do but the idea is to target these devices and then issue commands by voice in order to perform actions. When it comes to domestic appliances, as we have already noted many times, quite what the point of that is at best debatable. Thus far most attempts to integrate high levels of technology like this into appliances has failed, epically.
Google says that, “The wearable computing device controls the head-mounted display to display the virtual control image as an image superimposed over the defined area of the target device in the field of view.”
We know loads of people that bought appliances would probably wish such a targeting system would launch a strike on the machine but, beyond that, we can’t really see much use here on a practical level. Asides from which, we don’t think many users would pay the inevitable premium for limited extra features and look a bit silly talking to their fridge.
All that said, Samsung has a fridge freezer that runs an Android tablet (basically) bolted on so who knows, maybe they’ll come up with something remotely useful here that goes beyond a marketing gimmick. But, we doubt it.