Designing and Developing for Google Glass

Designing and Developing for Google Glass

by Allen Firstenberg, Jason Salas
Released December 2014
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781491906729

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Book description

Creating apps for Google Glass is more involved than simply learning how to navigate its hardware, APIs, and SDK. You also need the right mindset. While this practical book delivers the information and techniques you need to build and deploy Glass applications, it also helps you to think for Glass by showing you how the platform works in, and affects, its environment.

In three parts—Discover, Design, and Develop—Glass pioneers guide you through the Glass ecosystem and demonstrate what this wearable computer means for users, developers, and society as a whole. You’ll learn how to create rich functionality for a consumer technology that’s radically different than anything currently available.

  • Learn the Five Noble Truths of great Glassware design
  • Understand the Glass ecosystem and learn why it’s different
  • Sidestep Glass’s societal concerns in your projects
  • Learn how Glass adapts to the user’s world, rather than the other way around
  • Avoid poor design by identifying Glassware antipatterns
  • Build cloud services with the Google Mirror API
  • Use the Glass Development Kit to develop client applications
  • Submit your project for review in the MyGlass directory

Table of contents

  1. Prologue
  2. Preface
    1. A New (R)evolution in Computing
      1. What We’re Bringing to the Table
    2. How This Book is Organized
      1. Discover
      2. Design
      3. Develop
    3. Conventions Used in This Book
    4. Safari® Books Online
    5. How to Contact Us
    6. Acknowledgments
    7. About the Authors
  3. Praise for Designing and Developing for Google Glass
  4. Dedication
  5. I. Discover
    1. 1. The Revolution Will Be Wearable
      1. Forging Glass
      2. Wearable Computing
      3. What Does It Mean to Think for Glass?
    2. 2. The Glass Ecosystem: What It Is and How It Is Different
      1. What You See and What You Get
      2. Glass Is a Platform, Not a Product
      3. The Glass Application Model
        1. Mirror API
        2. Glass Development Kit (GDK)
      4. Actions, Not Apps
      5. Reinventing Human–Computer Interaction
      6. The Science Behind the Projection
      7. How Glass Gets Audio into Your Ear
      8. Using the System
      9. The Camera: Photos, Videos, and More!
      10. Glass Is a Great Listener
      11. Content Creation in a POV World
      12. Which Hue Is for You?
      13. Welcome to Wearable Computing!
    3. 3. Societal Issues with Glass and How to Avoid Them in Your Projects
      1. Issue #1: Privacy
        1. Where Are We Now?
        2. Think for Glass
      2. Issue #2: Facial Recognition
        1. Where Are We Now?
        2. Think for Glass
      3. Issue #3: Using Glass While Driving
        1. Where Are We Now?
        2. Think for Glass
      4. Issue #4: Aesthetic Appeal—Is Glass Fashionable?
        1. Where Are We Now?
        2. Think for Glass
      5. Issue #5: Augmented Reality
        1. Where Are We Now?
        2. Think for Glass
      6. Issue #6: Glass Analytics
        1. Where Are We Now?
        2. Think for Glass
      7. Issue #7: Regulatory Environment—Glass and Public Policy
        1. Where Are We Now?
        2. Think for Glass
      8. The Business of Producing Glassware
      9. What Glass Isn’t
  6. II. Design
    1. 4. Thinking for Glass: How Glass Is, and Should Be, Personal
      1. Glass as Personal Technology
      2. Best in Show
        1. Twitter
        2. Gmail
        3. Google+
      3. Winning Glassware Design Takeaways
      4. Designing with the Think for Glass Mindset
        1. Vignettes
        2. Google Now
        3. Google Search
      5. Glass for Gaming
      6. Design for the Cloud
      7. Are You Starting to Think for Glass?
    2. 5. The Five Noble Truths of Great Glassware Design
      1. Noble Truth 1: Design for Glass
        1. Targeting Microinteractions
        2. Tactical Wearable Design
        3. Don’t Neglect Audio
        4. Delete Versus Dismiss
        5. Provide Web-Based Configuration
      2. Noble Truth 2: Don’t Get in the Way
        1. Notify Responsibly
        2. Less Is More
        3. The Exceptions Make the Rule
      3. Noble Truth 3: Keep It Relevant
        1. Context FTW
        2. How Soon Is Now?
      4. Noble Truth 4: Avoid the Unexpected
        1. Content
        2. Performance
        3. Don’t Be a Bandwidth Hog
        4. Permissions
        5. Error Handling
        6. Synchronization Across Platforms
        7. Surprises Should Be Pleasant Surprises
      5. Noble Truth 5: Build for People
        1. Advocate Multitasking
        2. Glass Is Naturally Social
        3. So…That’s It? Really?
    3. 6. Glassware Antipatterns: Avoiding Poor Design
      1. Improperly Implementing Ideas for the Glass Experience
      2. Treating Glass Like Any Other Mobile Device
      3. Overloading the System AND the Wearer
      4. Think in Actions, Not in Apps
      5. Stick to the Prefab Templates and Styles
      6. Don’t Use the Prism Display as a Stage for Complicated Reports
      7. Glass Isn’t Necessarily Bound to Your Phone
      8. Unrealistic Expectations for Augmented Reality and Gaming
      9. Don’t Deviate from Default: Using Categorial Voice Commands
      10. Not Fully Utilizing Cloud Computing
      11. Choosing the Wrong Development Framework for Your Glassware Project
  7. III. Develop
    1. 7. Overview of the Mirror API
      1. Life on the Server Side
      2. Events: The Building Blocks of the Glass Timeline
      3. The High-Level View
      4. How Your Server Talks with Google
      5. Components of the Mirror API
      6. Preparing Your Project
      7. The Glass Ceiling—Your Project’s Quota
      8. The Even Bigger Picture
    2. 8. Security and OAuth
      1. Event Security: Google the Bouncer
      2. OAuth: IDs and Secrets
      3. Will You Come and Join the Dance?
      4. Who Are You? I Am the New Number Two
      5. What Do You Want? Information
      6. Disabling (and Reacquiring) Permissions
      7. Who Is Number One? You Are Number Six
      8. WAKE UP!!!
    3. 9. Working with Timeline Cards
      1. “Hello, World!”, Glass-Style
      2. HTML: Even More Style
      3. What About Images?
      4. Working with Mosaics
      5. Rendering an In-Card Map
      6. Simple Audio
      7. Bundles of Fun
      8. Going Beyond the Playground
      9. Media Matters
      10. Oh, CRUD…
    4. 10. Card Actions and Subscriptions
      1. Simple Event Actions
      2. Listen Up!
        1. collection
        2. userToken
        3. verifyToken
        4. callbackUrl
      3. Responding to Subscription Pings
      4. Simple Callbacks and How to Handle Them
      5. Custom Menu Items
      6. Keeping in Contact
    5. 11. Sharing Resources with Glassware
      1. The Share Menu Item
      2. Share Contacts
      3. Voice Commands
    6. 12. Context Is King: Using Location and Other Signals
      1. Enabling Location
      2. Where Do You Think I Am?
      3. Location as Part of Timeline Events
        1. Setting Things Straight
        2. Location Becomes Localization
      4. Subscribing to Locale Changes Saves API Calls
      5. Other Contextual Signals
      6. Context and the Future
    7. 13. The GDK
      1. Installed Apps Running on Glass
      2. What Is the GDK?
      3. How the GDK Differs from the Mirror API
      4. User Interface Elements of GDK Apps
        1. Live Cards
        2. Two Flavors of Live Cards
        3. Immersions
      5. More Tools for Rapid Design
      6. It Was Native All Along!
      7. The GDK Object Model
        1. Packages
      8. System Intents
        1. On-Head Detection Halts Running Apps, Too
      9. Hybrids: The Ultimate Glassware Challenge (and Experience!)
      10. Authentication
      11. Writing Native Code for Glass
      12. Testing Native Glass Applications
      13. A View to a Card
        1. Basic Text Formatting
        2. Creating Rich Text
        3. Ellipses and Excess Content
        4. Columnar Layouts and Mosaics
        5. Using Icons
        6. Other Neat Templates
        7. When You Have No Choice—Doing It Yourself
      14. Configuring Voice Commands
      15. With Voice Commands, Google Has the Final Word
      16. Updating Releases, Versioning, and Crash Reports
      17. Porting Existing Apps to Glass: DON’T
      18. So Which Framework Is for Me?
    8. 14. Getting on MyGlass: Glassware Submission, Review, and Distribution
      1. Making Your Awesome Glassware Even More Awesome
      2. The Objective of Glassware Review
        1. What MyGlass Gets You
      3. Prereview Activities
      4. Things to Think About Before You Submit
      5. Submitting Your Glassware
        1. Gotchas
        2. Submit!
      6. The Review Process
        1. Timing Your Release
        2. Categorical Listings
        3. App Analytics
        4. Marketing Channels
        5. Monetization
    9. 15. Reflections on the Future
      1. Corporate Glass
      2. Streamlining Operations
      3. Glass in Medicine and Education
      4. Accessibility
      5. Home Integration
      6. Chromecast and Home Entertainment
      7. Android Wear
      8. Hardware Hacking and the Internet of Things
      9. Peripherals/Accessories
      10. In Closing
  8. IV. Appendices
    1. A. Glassware Done Right: Case Studies from the Field
      1. Thuuz Sports Lets You Know What’s Hot
      2. KitchMe’s Glassware Is Simply Delicious
      3. Fancy and ColorSnap Leverage Colorful Queries
      4. LynxFit: A Personal Trainer Strapped to Your Head
      5. Genie: The Swiss Army Knife of Glassware
      6. MiKandi Takes Glassware into the Bedroom…Then Pivots to Keep it There
        1. The MiKandi Experience
        2. Installation/Configuration
        3. Home-Rolled Development
        4. Facilitating Requests: Challenges in Building
        5. Scalability Issues
        6. Platform Expansion: Plans on Having an Installed App?
        7. Going Forward, Pushing the Envelope
      7. NameTag Launches Headfirst into Facial Recognition
      8. CrowdOptic: Crowdsourced Broadcasting
      9. Vodo: Real-Time Collaboration for the Enterprise
      10. Preview: The Latest Movie Trailers Are Just a Glance Away
      11. GlassFrogger: Hybrid Glassware Using the Browser
    2. B. Hacking Glass
      1. The DIY Movement: When the Status Quo Just Isn’t Good Enough
      2. Sideloading Android Apps on Glass
      3. Sharing Your Screen
      4. Give Me JavaScript, or Give Me…
      5. Officially Unofficial: Rooting Your Headset
      6. Living on the Bleeding Edge
  9. Index
  10. Colophon
  11. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: Designing and Developing for Google Glass
  • Author(s): Allen Firstenberg, Jason Salas
  • Release date: December 2014
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781491906729