Home Appliance Remote Control with Google Glass

An online article in Engadget (December 10, 2013) highlighted one of the applications being designed and developed by TerraSwarm students at UC Berkeley which allows users to interact with devices in their environment without having to touch the device or explicitly summon the device through a smart phone, tablet, or computer. This vision is called “the UnPad” in TerraSwarm and has included the development of prototypes adapting Google Glass with head-up display (HUD) to provide users with real-time device status and available commands. According to the article:

By adding an IR emitter to the side of Glass, the Berkeley team was able to demonstrate remote control of home appliances by pairing them with an Xbee 802.15.4 WiFi radio and micro controller.

A user need only look at the intended appliance to bridge a connection-- made possible by an IR-transmitted device ID- and view toggles for control.

To learn how the students dealt with the challenge of getting the Glass to select one appliance from a cluster of devices in close proximity to each other, read the full article, Google Glass mod gives you control over home appliances with one touch pairing:  http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/10/google-glass-mod-gives-you-control-over-home-appliances/