It looks like Google has been making moves to lock down the intellectual property behind Project Glass. The company has been granted three patents that could give some clues about the guts behind the augmented reality specs, aside from the teaser that dropped earlier in the month.
Two of the patents are for “Multi-use eyeglasses with human I/O interface embedded” and “Ambient light display and system for displaying data“. The first essentially refers to the system we saw previewed. The filing says it “comprises a frame, a display device, at least one sensor and a transceiver”, which would be mounted to the frame to receive a message. The second is the nuts and bolts behind the futuristic eyewear, a “system for displaying data [that includes] a display unit and a transmitting unit”. However, this one also has a drawing of a heads-up display inside a helmet, indicating that Google probably has plans for its glasses beyond consumer-end use, perhaps in military or police operations.
The other is for a “cell phone display that clips into eyeglasses“, meaning the technology could work with prescription lenses as well. It allows for a housing installed with clips that could be “removably secured” to the frames and a sensor that could sense when you’re wearing the spectacles. Another housing would be attached to the first in order to display the image through the lens.
Google’s glasses could be really neat, lust-worthy gear. Provided, of course, that they aren’t as dorky-looking at the preview shows. Regardless of whether or not they’re actually stylish, they’re going to be a real product, and these patents only offer more evidence of that. [SEO by the Sea via Web Pro News]