Although many people have expressed concerns over the potential privacy risks posed by Google Glass, a wearable computer display recently unveiled by the tech giant, video surveillance firm IQinVision announced this week at ASIS that it has already begun work on what will be among the first security apps for the highly-anticipated consumer gadget.
According to Wendi Burke, the company’s director of marketing, the apps currently under development will focus on two areas; easing the video installation process for integrators and giving security personnel yet another tool to remotely tap into and view surveillance footage.
Rather than having to coordinate an installation through a cumbersome process of aligning and realigning a camera’s focus with someone watching the feed at another location, Burke said that integrators who have Google Glass will be able focus cameras more easily on their own without the need for additional aid. When a camera is plugged in, it will automatically pop up in Google Glass and the installer will be able to look at a counter on the screen, which will tell them how close they are to having the camera focused properly. The higher the number on the counter, the closer it is to being in focus.
“We feel like we can help (installers) do a better job with video, explained Burke, who added that the development of these apps also helps the company meet its’ goal of delivering products that are more hands-free. “For us, with all of our products and all of our accessories, we’ve been trying to make them hands-free.”
Although it remains to be determined how much demand there will be from end users for a Google Glass video surveillance app, Burke said that it holds a lot of promise. For example, an organization could provide their guards or other personnel with a pair of these glasses and they would be able to view video and also be alerted to events triggered by analytics without having to do anything other than to be simply wearing the glasses.
Burke believes that demand for these apps will largely hinge on the price point that the glasses hit the market at, which Google has yet to disclose. That isn’t to say, however, that there isn’t excitement. “There’s just so much potential for these glasses,” said Burke.
So far, Burke said that they’ve only conducted internal testing of the apps. However, she expects them to be ready for the market when Google Glass hits store shelves, which is expected to happen sometime during the second quarter of next year.
