Google Glass, a cutting-edge piece of wearable computer technology engineered by Google and set to debut in 2014, is currently being piloted by Yeshiva University’s President Richard Joel. After applying to the program through Twitter, President Joel became one of the approximately 10,000 members of the pilot program and the only university president currently testing the Glass.
What makes Google Glass so unique? Essentially it is a smart-phone in the form of an eyepiece, which, through innovative voice-activation technology, enables users to record videos, take pictures, upload content to social media, and send messages—all completely hands-free. Speak to it, and through voice-recognition, it can execute commands and project data, including texts, emails, maps, and websites, into the user’s field of vision.
Google Glass looks no different than a regular pair of glasses, but costs about $1500. (The only distinction is the small glass module on one side corner.) The Glass comes in various colors and can even operate in direct sunlight.
Because of the Glasses’s complexity, Google offers “how-to” videos to helps members of the pilot program such as President Joel navigate the new technology. According to Noey Jacobson, manager of Presidential Communications and Public Affairs at Yeshiva University, Google Glass “is daunting at first, but actually extremely intuitive. The primary way of operating the glass is to speak to it. For instance, you can say, “Okay Glass! Take a picture!”, or “Okay Glass, Google kosher restaurants in Teaneck, NJ.”
President Joel’s involvement in the pilot program will come as no surprise to most YU students, for he uses the Glass extensively in his role as University President. For example, President Joel will often wear the Glass while teaching class or walking around campus. Though he originally hoped to wear the Glass to last year’s Commencement ceremony, it did not arrive until the start of this academic school year, and instead made its debut on the Beren Campus during orientation, when President Joel addressed the incoming students while wearing the Glass.
On a recent trip he took to build up ties between Yeshiva University and the South African Jewish community, President Joel used the Glass to take pictures of the landscapes and the people he met in South Africa.
President Joel’s decision to pioneer the new Google Glass technology can be seen as a reflection of his broader vision for the role of Yeshiva University in the 21st Century: “We remain rooted in our tradition and heritage, and yet we seek to engage with the best that modern culture and technology has to offer, always remembering that we must lead technology, and not let technology lead us.” Adds President Joel, “It’s astounding to think that the future of technology is probably in wearable electronics.”