‘New version of Google Glass looks like a headband’

Google seems to be working on an alternative version of its Glass smart glasses, in which the hardware resembles a kind of headband. A patent granted to Google points to this, and also shows images of the possible device.

The images can be seen with the patent that Google obtained this week from the American USPTO. A PDF of the patent in question, numbered 9,195,067, has been put online, Cnet discovered. Google itself has not yet commented on the techniques described in the patent. However, the images clearly show that it is a kind of alternative version of Google Glass.

For example, the device appears to be clamped around the user’s head, like a kind of flexible headband. At the front, above the eye, a screen has been placed, with which video images can be viewed. The screen is placed almost in the same place as was the case with Google Glass, but without looking like glasses. Also, the device is only on one side of the face.

Google has already announced that it is working on a new version of Google Glass. The smart glasses went on sale earlier this year, which the internet giant described as “entering a new phase.” Details about the possible specifications of the new Glass appeared several times, but Google itself has hardly released anything about this.

It is not yet clear whether the device shown in the patent will actually come on the market. Patented techniques are not always converted into products, and there are also rumors that Google is developing several prototypes of Glass. It is likely that only one of the models will be chosen to eventually be put in the shops.