Wearable Computers, Augmented Reality, and Gesture Control

On average, the typical lawyer does not use cutting edge technology, and even if we do have the latest smartphone or tablet, we generally don’t push the envelope for its use. It is worthwhile though (at least for those of us who might be described as tech geeks) to think about how we might better use the tech we have now, and what might lie ahead. For example:

Microsoft announced in November a modified version of the Kinect that is designed to work with PC’s, rather than the XBox. So Minority Report like gesture control can now be used, for example, to control presnentations in a board room or conference hall.

The New York Times reported yesterday some speculation that Google might be working on Google glasses for sale later this year. The concept is that the glasses will provide a display to stream information to the wearer’s eyes. And its not just a display. It is rumoured to include data connections, sensors, a camera and GPS – essentially a smartphone in a pair of glasses. For a taste of what this might do, take a look at Google Goggles.