Qualcomm’s CEO Paul Jacobs isn’t a fan of Google Glass it seems.
Speaking to Pocket Lint, the Qualcomm chief, a rival to Google’s project Glass when it comes to the firm’s augmented reality research, said that the headaches caused by such technology are insupportable. Jacobs said:
“I spent a lot of time on glasses at one point. And the issue for me is that the ones that were very immersive I would get a headache from.
The stats are that some percentage of people get a headache from them. I think that any consumer product that’s giving a high percentage of people a headache is pretty hard to sell. So, a fully immersive glass is tough.”
It is not only the potential headaches caused by having wearable augmented reality so close to your eyes which are an issue. The tiny readout installed on the edge of one eye — instead of utilizing full lenses — is like a tiny teleprompter, and Jacobs sees this as potentially little more than a distraction.
“Will people go for things like Google Glass, where they look down the side? I had a pair of ski goggles -– Zeal goggles -– that did that. They were pretty cool, but I got a little distracted. Right now we’re more focused on things like smart watches — always-on display on your wrist — those kinds of ideas as opposed to glass.”
Qualcomm’s focus is going to be on wearable technology that you can wear on your wrist, rather than tackling the problems of eye strain and popularity while the research field is still within its infancy. Market predictions suggest that the wearable technology industry will be worth $5.8 billion by 2018, especially as uses are found for augmented reality and wearable tech to help those with medical conditions to keep track of their illness and maintain well-being.
Image credit: Google
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