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Google even invests in smart tattoo

During the last pandemic, people around the world were stranded in their homes, and technology helped many, giving them the opportunity to have fun and talk to each other in a new way. Google is actively working on some new ideas that may very soon affect our lives.
The CNet feature has released a long and detailed story about several projects that Google experts are working on. Some of them are developed internally by Interaction Lab, part of Google Search.
Alex Olwal, who currently leads the Interaction Lab, described his goal as expanding Google's ability to rapidly prototype wearable electronics and interface technologies, including solutions such as smart watches or glasses like Google Glass (which were launched in 2013, but were eliminated due to possible privacy issues).
Other projects, such as virtual reality devices and smart temporary tattoos, are being developed in collaboration with computer scientists, engineers and university researchers around the world, with support from the Google Faculty Research Awards.
In the future, Google wants to strengthen its position to compete with products like the Apple Watch or various gaming platforms.
"It is not just about selling devices. The distribution of devices full of sensors among consumers can produce large amounts of data, far exceeding what people produce through their phones or work PCs. This is a particularly valuable resource for Google, which earns more than 60 billion a year, mainly due to targeted advertising based on the personal data of the people who use its services. Wearable electronics are also creating new opportunities for the lucrative businesses of tech giants in health and fitness, although lawmakers and regulators are concerned about privacy issues due to Silicon Valley's growing reach."



Google's status as a standard search engine, its wide distribution as email, calendar, contacts, messages, maps, websites and YouTube, means that the company has an unprecedented level of access to users' personal data. The recent acquisition of Fitbit by the technology giant has further raised concerns about the company's access to millions of people's health data.
However, time has shown that many are willing to sacrifice some level of privacy in exchange for convenience. By allowing Google Maps to save the location of their homes and workplaces, in addition to studying users' routes and comparing them to other city drivers, users get a better and more convenient navigation tool.
Here are just a few of the projects that Google is developing to attract users:

1D glasses - sunglasses that can be connected to an Android smartphone, project holographic icons and color images in front of the user's eyes - for example, for navigation. In them, the company is trying to overcome the deficiencies of Google Glass, in particular, the design too rough.
Grabity is one of several devices designed to increase the credibility of virtual reality. This is a wearable tactile device designed to simulate the strength and weight of grip when interacting with virtual objects in VR. The device, developed in collaboration with researchers at Stanford University, slides over the thumb and forefinger, like a person holding a can of soda, and uses several small motors that recreate the vibration, resistance, weight and inertia of the object's capture and your movement in your hand.

SkinMarks are temporary tattoos made with conductive ink that can transform the skin into an interactive touchpad to control other devices. Tattoos trigger sensors on the device when a person makes gestures such as touching or sliding, bending or squeezing a finger. This technology aims to create new methods of natural and direct interaction with the technology.
Other Google projects described by CNET include smart fabrics with interactive sensors intertwined in the material; hybrid watches that combine analog hands with digital smartwatch technology and other solutions. Obviously, not everything will appear immediately on the market, but we can very well expect a triumphant return from the tech giant to the wearable electronics industry.

AVnews