Google has applied for another patent relating to its head-mounted display project, Glass. Titled "Wearable Computer with Superimposed Controls and Instructions for External Device," the application details how the headwear would provide information and virtual controls for other electrical items, such as a refrigerator.
Using a combination of communication techniques, including Bluetooth, infra-red, QR codes, RFID, and general visual identification of an object, Glass would offer controls that appear over the item in the person's vision, according to Engadget. The user would then be able to adjust the controls in some manner, though the patent does not mention how this would take place. Though this could be by detecting a "touch" of an augmented reality control using the onboard camera, reacting to voice commands, or on-device buttons, it could also make use of another patent application filed last year, which used a textured ring to help with two or three-dimensional positioning, and so could potentially allow for in-air "pushing" of buttons.
Though being filed, it is unlikely for this sort of technology to be put in place by the time Glass goes on sale. Such a system would require for Glass to interact with a multitude of other devices in order to function, something that will take a considerable amount of time to accomplish.
