Google Glass to be given designer touch

With Google Glass set to take a large slice of the impending wearable electronics market, it was revealed on 24 March that the San Francisco-based company is working with Italian eyewear specialists Luxottica to develop future models.

Fashion leverage
Luxottica has an established pedigree in high-end eyewear, concentrating on sunglasses and frames. Globally it controls around 80% of luxury brands for glasses, encompassing both fashion brands like Emporio Armani and DKNY, and specialist luxury brands like Oakley and Ray-Ban.

The deal with Luxottica, may be indicative of the fact that Google is aware that in their current form the glasses, which give in-vision access to the internet in real time, are aesthetically challenged. Although the current function-focussed appearance is unlikely to deter technology enthusiasts who will be among the first adopters; a more attractive design that harmonises with more classical ideas of style may be central to pushing the wearable gadgets towards wider ubiquity. The easy conformity of plastic electronic components will be an aid to the combined design team on giving Google Glass a designer look.

Besides artistic design advice, as part of the deal Google is counting on leveraging Luxottica's vast experience in selling luxury eyewear. The first Google Glasses are expected to be released first on the North American market later in 2014, and cost around $1,500. The company has already made provision for integrating prescription frames into the products when they are pushed onto the consumer market.

Evolution
Although Google has released several prototypes, helping stoke interest in the technology press, it has as yet not set a date for the consumer release. Feedback from extensive real-world experience from a team of road-testers, known as explorers, has caused Google to design three hardware and nine software upgrades in the past 11 months.

Andrea Guerra, CEO of Luxottica says: 'We have come to a point where we now have both a technology push and a consumer pull for wearable technology products and applications. Seeing such a future, over the last years, Luxottica invested heavily in building-out our technology platforms and digital solutions to combine with our products excellence.

'We believe that a strategic partnership with a leading player like Google is the ideal platform to combine the unique expertise, deep knowledge and quality of our group with the cutting edge technology expertise of Google and give birth to a new generation of revolutionary devices.'

Style for all wearables
Others in the wearable electronics manufacturers are increasingly realising that aesthetic considerations are a necessary companion to technical performance in allowing their devices to properly integrate into users' lives. While Google Glass has few competitors on the horizon, for device like smartwatches where competition will be fiercer and without very evident difference in technical performance it will be an issue.

A forthcoming release, the Moto360 smartwatch from Motorola, has received plaudits for being a visually appealing as well as a functional wearable device. Meanwhile it is thought the LG will employ a different approach with its G Watch, setting the price as low as possible to entice as many new users as possible. Previously US-developer Kovio integrated plastic smart tags into jewellery to allow for an attractive as well as functional solution for assimilating wearable electronics into consumers' lives.