Read more: "2014 preview: 10 ideas that will matter next year"
This time next year, we might all be wearing computers on our heads. Already a hit with early adopters, the much-hyped Google Glass headset will be released to the public in 2014. And in response to feedback from those testers, it is likely to boast a few extra features.
For starters, developers are keen to incorporate eye-tracking so that the device can overlay information on top of objects or areas that the wearer is gazing at. That could boost the headset's ability to deliver ultra-personal, targeted advertising.
Glass could also get tricked out with gesture recognition, which would allow users to control it just by waving their hands.
The Explorer program to test early versions of Glass has already given rise to a slew of potentially game-changing applications. For example, it has allowed surgeons to transmit their view of an operation to medical students elsewhere, and helped people watch what they eat – literally – as a way of managing diabetes.
Critics say the headset's camera will destroy privacy, and its distracting screen could ruin social interaction. But if Glass and several competing products launch next year as expected, millions of people could become hooked. That's bound to change the way we look at the world.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Through the looking glass"
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