Telstra takes first steps towards Google Glass

Telstra today unveiled a handful of Google Glass applications it has developed through a partnership with b2cloud.

The vision-impaired app is based on an existing image recognition technology and it enables users to receive audio descriptions of objects in front of them.

Another app allows Google Glass users to follow conversations and then transcribe them for the hearing-impaired.

The apps were developed over the last six months and tested by a group of Telstra employees to gauge how well they can assist people with disabilities in becoming more independent.

Managing director of b2cloud, Josh Guest, expressed excitement about the move, saying: “Telstra is taking a smart approach by experimenting with the technology early, building prototypes and getting them in the hands of a select target user group for real world testing."

While there is no news of a local consumer release of Google Glass, Guest said that when "Google Glass is made more widely available, then Telstra will already have a strong understanding of the capabilities of this technology".

B2cloud is one of the few developers in the world with access to Google Glass. The company predicts revenue from the device, as well as smartwatches and Bluetooth beacons will make up 30 percent of its revenue in the next 12 months.