[jperras]

> Imagine if you could take a picture of anything, add a little note, have it filed away. Not necessarily an awesome Instagram picture, but just a picture of some mail you got, a tool you are putting away, any thing you want to record and save. Heck, why not a picture of your computer screen? Pair that with quickly available audio transcriptions and you can also dictate anything, thoughts, small notes, information associated with the images.

I know HN already has too much cynicism for my own liking, so it pains me to say: you can already do this with the phone you have in your pocket. Have a shortcut that enables audio dictation/photo mode/etc., and you're good to go.

The workflow for glasses (either these or some other hypothetical ones) would involve hitting a button and then having to either speak the command out loud or hit some other button to capture video/audio/etc., which seems more cumbersome than the phone approach that exists today.

[scrumper]

I am currently in the middle of rebuilding a pair of 6.2L small block Chevrolet engines. By a factor of six these are the largest engines I've ever worked on, and the rebuild is far more extensive than anything I've attempted before too.

During the teardown, part of my process (let's not dignify it with "workflow") has been photographing the incredible amount of crap that's been bolted to the engines as I remove pieces to help me with later reassembly. Sometimes I say a couple of words because the Live Photo captures some context.

I have come to loathe my phone as a camera. Yes it works with gloves on, but every day it ends up covered in oil and grease. Holding it is awkward, you have to do a bunch of swipey things to make the camera work, the 3D Touch (or whatever it's called now) is somewhat random with gloves, and I've lost count of the number of times it's got itself stuck in portrait or panorama mode. Those of you with daughters will understand this ultimate critique - it was worth it to me to bribe my grumpy pre-teen to operate the camera rather than fighting it myself.

All of this is to say, I could _really_ use a pair of camera glasses. That little bit of friction taken out of the process would make a massive difference to me. And if I could record video, I'd be able to add another middle aged man's amateur mechanics channel to YouTube - something that I am certain the world is desperate for.

[ilyt]

Gopro mount gonna be far cheaper than those

> I have come to loathe my phone as a camera. Yes it works with gloves on, but every day it ends up covered in oil and grease. Holding it is awkward, you have to do a bunch of swipey things to make the camera work, the 3D Touch (or whatever it's called now) is somewhat random with gloves, and I've lost count of the number of times it's got itself stuck in portrait or panorama mode. Those of you with daughters will understand this ultimate critique - it was worth it to me to bribe my grumpy pre-teen to operate the camera rather than fighting it myself.

Yeah, I wish my phone was like 3x thicker and just had a row of buttons on the side apps can use. Then just bind them to few common camera features rather than fidding with fucking touchscreen.

[z2h-a6n]

> Yeah, I wish my phone was like 3x thicker and just had a row of buttons on the side apps can use. Then just bind them to few common camera features rather than fidding with fucking touchscreen.

Surely this part is somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Digital cameras still exist.

[rtkwe]

Or a smaller action cam like the Insta360 Go. It even has a water resistant body with a single somewhat configurable body button you could hit to start recording the clip. It’s a third the size and weight of a GoPro though the video is definitely inferior.

[pests]

What will the GoPro mount solve?

> and just had a row of buttons on the side apps can use. Then just bind them to few common camera features rather than fidding with fucking touchscreen.

That would be amazing.

[maroonblazer]

> What will the GoPro mount solve?

Hands-free video recording, ala J Kenji Lopez Alt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdFjuglEAds

[pests]

Totally different use case though. That's chest mounted pointing down. Sure, useful for some. Perfect for something like cooking.

The benefit here I think is a more literal WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get. You see it, you get the photo of it.

[maroonblazer]

Nope, head-mounted.

https://media.gq.com/photos/621e6cade2354d618c84380a/master/...

[xp84]

I’m with you man. Touchscreen reliance is cancer.

[xarope]

did you miss typing /s at the end

but in all seriousness, I do still bring an olympus tg5 "brick" for my climbing/mountaineering trips, because phones are just too cumbersome to take pictures with, when hanging off the side of a cliff, wearing gloves, at below freezing temps etc.

[AmericanChopper]

I’m pretty sure industrial processes are one of the only areas that smart glasses have achieved any real success, and for pretty much the reasons you’re describing here.

[pomfrit]

Do you know of any glasses that got adopted in an industry?

[bombela]

For what is worth, on my phone double click on the power button located on the side jumps into camera mode (even if locked). And pressing the volume down takes the photo. Then one click on the power button to turn off.

click-click, click, click.

And assuming the Google software doesn't decide to lag too much, it's quite quick to, and it reduces how much you touch the phone with dirty gloves.

edit: I should add that you still need one hand free to do so of course.

[qup]

FWIW it sounds like you have a pixel. Other androids aren't quite the same, but often have similar shortcuts.

The pixel is very quick to get the camera open, as you say.

[lsh123]

I have exactly the same problem with dirty hands when I take boroscope photos of the engine on my plane. I would love to just see it in my glasses and say blink twice to take a photo.

[eludwig]

Sounds like a perfect use-case for a GoPro?

[dharmab]

Headband mounted GoPros are awkward. A helmet mounted GoPro works better, but you're either not wearing a helmet, or if you are you probably need to keep it clear of protrusions for safety reasons.

[mildchalupa]

What is there to remember about tearing down an LS motor it's like Lego. It's also completely poka-yoked so it's idiot proof.

[scrumper]

Not a lot, but the snake orgy of wiring harnesses and the three or four plates of accessories bolted to each end of the heads and block and the specific order they're attached is a different story. Also, a monkey can tear down; putting it back together takes a human.

I had to look up poka yoked. I thought it was some regional colloquialism but no, it's Japanese.

[djtango]

FYI at least on my Android power key can be configured such that double press takes you straight to camera bypassing lock screen and volume down takes a picture.

But I fully take your point that there is a need and use case for hands free cameras. The market for GoPros and to an extent drones highlights this

[Robdel12]

Take comfort in one thing: you’re rebuilding one of the most popular and prolific platforms for hot rodders in the last 20 years. You can probably throw a rock and hit someone who can legitimately help you, haha.

Rebuilding a junkyard ls (okay yours isn’t a 5.3 ) is like the rite of passage

[qup]

I used to know a robdel.

Does 312 mean anything to you?

Edit: it's you--I stalked your comments. Emacs? Christ, I thought I showed you a better example.

[scrumper]

Yes it's been very easy to get advice, that's for sure, and it's made me want to go find a junkyard core and see if I can salvage it. Not that I have anything to put it in. This is a marine application so not everything applies (or applies differently) so the complexity is in navigating what's legitimately different vs. what's Mercruiser taking advantage of the ignorant.

For example. The engine has EV6 Bosch injectors, a completely standard off-the-shelf part. A seal kit (i.e. a bunch of o rings) for the injectors is maybe $20 from Fel Pro. If you go by the Mercruiser part number for the kit it's - get this - $297. Two hundred and ninety seven dollars for sixteen tiny rubber o rings.

The photographs (just to keep it on topic) are basically all around the accessories bolted to the heads and block. A remote oil filter, the heat exchanger, the particular fuel boost pump it uses, all with weird brackets and spacers and eight different types of bolt.

[elif]

Do you really want to bloody your knuckles wrenching with sunglasses on? I would last maybe 20 minutes before frustratedly throwing them at a wall... unless of course you are doing engine teardown out in the driveway.

[jonasdegendt]

There's models in the lineup with clear lenses.

[gizajob]

Now your glasses will be able to get covered in oil and grease!

[scrumper]

Only if I touch them. And a single button I can cover with a bit of painter's tape.

[pj_mukh]

I have the near opposite experience especially having attempted to build the mobile based product you mentioned [https://placenote.com/]

The seamlessness of glasses is really what makes this even possible, especially now that voice is becoming a seamless interface.

I largely like my phone to remain in my pocket (especially when I’m with my impressionable kids) and bringing it out and unlocking, getting my brain to ignore all the notifications, going through whatever button routine is required, then doing the camera localization dance, just doesn’t compare to one click + voice narration once it’s built right.

[Groxx]

Glasses also free up both hands, which is a pretty big deal.

[Terr_]

In addition, headgear is more-likely to be aimed at whatever you're actually observing or manipulating, instead of some direction related to a shirt-pocket or chest-harness.

[jperras]

The cognitive load of the notifications is an interesting point that I hadn't considered; I can see myself being distracted by those in the workflow I proposed in my previous comment.

I wonder if much of this could be solved by OS-level functionality (or at least having it in a developer-accessible SDK) that allows the new "always-on" lock screens to immediately trigger an application on a single tap.

[Hextinium]

This is on some android phones, double tapping power will open the camera. I use it all the time to take pictures of information that I don't want to write down, package numbers, measurements, error logs, all just tap tap, point, volume down.

[Terr_]

> information that I don't want to write down

I occasionally use it that way for painted labels on parking-spaces at the airport. (I have yet to need them, but it seems a reasonable precaution given how even a small amount of floor/zone/row forgetfulness could leave me wandering the 10,000-spot complex.)

That said, I also find myself wishing I could mark those photos as "temporary", so that they get auto-deleted within a month or whatever.

[dmd]

Easy! At least on iphone, photos you delete are saved in the trash for 30 days. So - take the photo, and immediately delete it.

Assuming you're not parking for more than a month, your photo will be in the trash if you need it, and will be automatically deleted if you don't!

[dave7]

> This is on some android phones, double tapping power will open the camera.

Holy... wow, thank you!

[theptip]

Not teaching your kids to be glued to a phone is actually a fairly compelling usecase here.

I also like the idea of being able to remain mostly in the moment vs putting a phone in between me and the scene.

Still not sure these justify wearing this device, particularly all the time. But perhaps it could be cool to wear for family outings or whatever, when you expect to want to take lots of photos?

[makeitdouble]

As a glass wearer I am slightly concerned about the weight: that can't be comfortqble for full day wearing, day in day out.

You probably would have a regular pair of glasses, or no glasses for most of the time, and only wear those when you specifically want the smart features, which makes the seamlessness only occasional. Would you optimize a workflow for something you only wear from times to times ?

[pj_mukh]

Absolutely not. The application in mind only works when smart glasses and prescription/sunglasses are the same.

This is not today, but no doubt where Meta’s (and Apple’s) major engineering effort is getting pushed into.

[ianbicking]

People already regularly use their phones for this kind of image capture (taking a picture as documentation, not for nostalgic memories or sharing). This seems like a positive signal. Voice doesn't get used this way, but the voice interactions are cumbersome on the phone mostly because the platform is not open enough, not because of form factor issues.

In regards to voice: there's no way to have access to the easy start mechanisms of wake words or quick button access and also control what happens before intent resolution and endpointing (i.e., deciding when the voice interaction is done). You can have your own app with its own "record" button: hard to open but you have control of what happens. Or you use the assistant infrastructure and have to compete with every other Apple/Google product goal and parsing approach, and at best you have a chance to do further recording only after the initial intent has fully resolved, the mic has closed, and you can reopen it.

So yes a phone can do all that, and it ALSO would be awesome, but just like with these glasses you can't ACTUALLY implement this.

[jperras]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I'm not very well versed in this domain, and it's nice to have a civil discussion about wearable tech, especially when previous implementations have instantly become vapourware.

> So yes a phone can do all that, and it ALSO would be awesome, but just like with these glasses you can't ACTUALLY implement this.

A perfect summary, I think!

[SillyUsername]

Android 10 allows it.

https://phoneia.com/en/android-10-allows-two-apps-different-...

[phkahler]

>> The workflow for glasses (either these or some other hypothetical ones) would involve hitting a button and then having to either speak the command out loud or hit some other button to capture video/audio/etc

I was hoping to just say "Hey Meta, start recording". Totally hands free, even while driving or carrying stuff. I thought the whole point is to not have to mess with a phone.

[Gh0stRAT]

I'm sure you'll be able to use voice commands to take pictures/videos hands-free with these. jperras just said that THEIR ideal workflow would rely on a button.

[SoftTalker]

They still need the phone pairing to do all the tracking and telemetry data feeds back to the mothership.

[rafaelmn]

Handling a phone is cumbersome - I'm playing a guitar and want to record to check what I'm doing wrong, I'm building something in the garage, taking something apart, etc. Sure I can setup some mobile stand but I usually won't bother, this would change that.

But these are sunglasses and I doubt resolution/focus will be good enough for those use cases.

[JumpCrisscross]

> hitting a button and then having to either speak the command out loud or hit some other button to capture video/audio/etc., which seems more cumbersome than the phone approach

For the mass market, perhaps the right place to put the camera is on headphones. (I’m already talking to my AirPods.) This product doesn’t appear to be positioned for the mass market, however, but instead influencers.

[paul7986]

Once battery life is solid and all bugs are worked out smart glasses will be as ubiquitous as smart phones

[JumpCrisscross]

> smart glasses will be as ubiquitous as smart phones

This reminds me of the difference between Apple and Google: a sense of style. I have no doubt smart glasses will find their niche in industry and among techies. But what people put on their faces is deeply tied to identity. Until the technology can exist virtually unseen, it’s not going to compete.

[paul7986]

Once smart glasses run solidly and can run mind blowing innovation / apps solidly too they are the next smart phone. Such innovations will sell smart glasses like apps drove smart phone sales.

I think my argument is helped by the billions both Facebook and Apple are putting into smart glasses.

[herbst]

What about Google? They realised years ago that the market doesn't really want their product and found other niches to build their glasses for. If it's so obvious why would Google not care and only meta (which has a bad track record in finding trends) and apple follow that 'trend'

[paul7986]

Google isnt much of an innovator they will just copy or steal from the market leader who finally gets it right like they did with Android and like many of their other products ..Siri first then Google assistant ...Alexa smart speaker then Google home products and etc, etc, etc

[JumpCrisscross]

> my argument is helped by the billions both Facebook and Apple are putting into smart glasses

I accept the latter, though discard the former: they were trend following VR. I also think Apple, savvily, doesn’t brand the Vision Pro as a pair of glasses. And it doesn’t look like that’s the vision (no pun intended). It’s something that’s put on and taken off. Not kept on continuously.

By the way, I accept the vision. Just not the form factor of a pair of glasses. Those are closer to another Apple Watch than an iPhone killer.

[paul7986]

In zuckerberg's speech he shows one of many innovations that will drive all current sunglass wearers to switch to smart sunglasses which is the glasses keeping score of your tennis, ping pong ..card game ..whatever game and displaying the score in your view.

Though His example really just shows the glasses telling the player the tennis or pickle ball was out of bounds. I've just expanded it to keeping score of whatever game and or counting things in front of you to counting how many in a room to etc etc etc ones imagination can think of. The glasses will make life easier and in a magical way that drives all sunglass wearers (about 75 to 90 percent of the entire global population) to switch to smart glasses.

[fragmede]

Or a smartwatch or Bluetooth remote. with a giant button that you can hit with gloves on. Like snowboarders use for music on the slopes.