Florida A&M alumna Michelle Hayes introduced Google Glass to students on Tuesday in Lee Hall Auditorium.
The interactive, hands-free glasses are described as a head-mounted smart device that comes with Wi-Fi, voice command and panoramic picture taking and recording capabilities.
Google Glass is only available to individuals invited into the Explorer Program, which launched early in 2013. According to Google, the program is “designed for people who want to get involved early to help shape the future of Glass.”
Hayes, founder of Michelle Media Institute, is one of the 60 Google Glass brand ambassadors in Florida. She said Glass allows people to move at the speed of their thoughts.
“Google Glass is like wearing a computer, but it operates very much in sync with your devices,” Hayes said.
Google Glass has similar abilities as today’s smartphone. However, spectators are concerned that the hands-free capabilities will threaten the public’s privacy.
“We are as much at risk with people taking out a cellphone and taking a picture in a public place,” Hayes said. “I think Glass is a little more covert, because you don’t see someone picking up a device, putting it in the air and taking a picture,” Hayes said.
Hayes also said the public might be apprehensive about Glass, like most new technology, because people are unfamiliar with it.
Kanhiya James, a freshman astronomy student from Miami, said the technology could hinder the public’s learning.
“I find it may cripple human beings in the future because of the technology,” James said. “When [Hayes] talked about people studying abroad and using it to translate the language, would people really learn the language now that they have that?”
Alexandria Beverly, a sophomore business student from Wiesbaden, Germany, thought Glass was an innovative product, but she has safety concerns.
“In one article, it said all you see is people with slouched shoulders looking down at their Google Glass, so I would hope that although it will help us, it won’t stop us from being socially active or endanger us,” Beverly said.
Google has not announced an official release date or price for the consumer market.