Researchers Say Google Glass Obstructs Wearers’ Peripheral Vision
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Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for AOL Inc.(NEW YORK) — Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco say that wearing Google Glass, the polarizing wearable technology that has frenzied techies and critics for different reasons, may inhibit the wearer’s peripheral vision.
According to the study, published in a letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the users’ peripheral vision was significantly obstructed by blind spots. Those blind spots, the study found, exist even when the wearing and head positions are altered.
The researchers said their study was likely the first evaluation of “the effect of wearable electronics with head-mounted display on vision.” Interest in such technology has increased in recent years as more products are produced.
Researchers say that the largest blind spot in their testing was in the upper right quadrant of the users’ field of vision.
Blind spots were identified only as an obstruction from the product’s hardware design, and did not include “a distracting effect of software-related interference.”
The study is, however, limited by a small number of participants, and researchers say that additional studies will be needed to fully understand the effects of products like Google Glass on users’ vision.
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