Google Glass, With SHORE App Can Detect Emotions, Age & Gender

Google Glass can now detect whether the person you are looking at is sad, happy, angry, excited or nervous with the help of a very innovative app called SHORE aka Sophisticated High Speed Object Recognition. Developed by a team of researchers and engineers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, the app is world's first of its kind. It is capable of guessing person's emotions, age and gender using the integrated camera in Google Glass. The app, however, cannot determine the identity of the person.



The research team says that this type of technology can open several avenues for further exploration and possibilities. For example, the technology can help differently abled people, those suffering from autism, understand facial expressions. The results calculated by the app can be superimposed on the display using augmented reality technique. Those who are visually impaired can receive the same information through audio signals. We believe this technology would be immensely useful in interactive games. The marketers and shop sales people wearing Google Glass installed with the SHORE app would immediately know what you're thinking about their pitch.

Fraunhofer IIS press release mentions that the SHORE app is a result of several years of research and development work in the area of intelligent systems. The engineers were able to develop a sophisticated, highly efficient real time C++ software library. Their app is capable of detecting faces, objects and carry out detailed facial analysis. The software can be adopted on any platform and operating system.

Have a look at the following video that shows the SHORE app in action. Do let us know your thoughts about the app and the direction in which the technology is advancing.

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Rumor Roundup: Google Glass Redesign and Mario Kart 8 DLC

Jon R. is back to tackle the biggest tech rumors of this week!

On this episode of Rumor Roundup, Jon talks about Apple offering more storage options in this year’s new iPhone model, and Nintendo releasing downloadable content for Mario Kart 8, which could introduce brand new courses and cups.

Jon also talks about Google completely redesigning the current version of Glass to make it look less nerdy and the Xperia line getting a new flagship next month at IFA with the official release of the Sony Xperia Z3. All this and more in this episode of Rumor Roundup!

Prince Charles likes it! Google Glass goes on sale in the UK for the first time (with a £1,000 price tag)

Google Glass – the wearable smartphone that delivers messages, news and calls directly to your field of view – has been made available to users in the UK for the first time.

Britons will now be able to buy the device directly from the Glass website as part of the product’s Explorer Program, the name Google gives to users of the device – who they say are testing it for them in real life situations.

The Glass Explorer Program allows anyone over the age of 18 to buy the prototype headset and until now had only been open to US residents, giving them the chance to test Glass while it is still being developed by the search engine giant.

Getting hold of Glass however will set you back £1,000.

Just last month the project was extended to normal consumers in the US for the first time, having previously only been available to developers who wanted to experiment with the head gear while creating software for it.

As well as the wearable technology itself, Google announced four new apps for the device, known as Glassware, including StarChart, which allows users to view constellation maps in the sky through their device.

An app for the Guardian will also deliver headlines directly to the wearer’s eyeline. There are also apps for football news site Goal.com and fitness app Zombies, Run!.

Ivy Ross, the head of Google Glass, said: ‘Technology is at its best when it fits seamlessly into our lives and lets us get on with whatever we’re doing. Our goal for Glass is exactly that – to make it easier to bring people the technology they rely on without drawing them out of the moment.’

Google Glass is still not technically a full consumer product, with the California company saying that this is just an extension of the existing Explorer Program – which Google says is a wide-range of testers for Glass in order to make it better ahead of a general release in the future.

Several major companies have already been testing Glass, with airline Virgin Atlantic using the device with their upper class passengers; deploying the device to manage flight details and organise transfers.

For those who are interested in trying out Glass, Google has set up a Basecamp in London – running on the 27th and 28th June – where customers can go to be fitted and ask questions about Glass before buying it.