Next-Gen Google Glass Eyes Healthcare and Manufacturing

Having concluded that its Google Glass headset will not be a popular consumer item in the foreseeable future, Google is hoping healthcare and manufacturing institutions will boost the productivity of professionals ranging from doctors to assembly workers.

Brian Buntz

Images have surfaced of the next version of Google's headset, which is referred to as model GG1 in FCC documents. While the new device looks similar to the first version of Google's head-mounted display, the potential audience for the new device is different; Google plans on selling the device to large corporations rather than to consumers directly. According to 9to5Google, the headsets will be offered with custom software to help companies meet specific tasks including manufacturing and medicine.

The new device, allegedly referred to internally as "Project Aura," features upgraded hardware--including Intel's Prism chip, a bigger prism, an upgraded battery, and support for 5 GHz Wi-Fi. The new Intel chip affords better heat management.

While Google has not yet officially acknowledged the new device, the documents from the FCC give credence to reports that the tech behemoth hadn't given up on its hopes for the headset after it failed to become popular with the public.

Despite a cool reception from the public, the device was enthusiastically embraced by many members of the medical community, who reported its benefits from everything from monitoring patients being transported via ambulance to surgeons who used the device to provide more information during operations. Also for surgery, the device potentially enables doctors to share their view of an operation with medical students or other physicians anywhere in the world. 

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