Hi Ben and team
I would like to see your take on Google Glass, but made from a few specific components - Myvu Crystal video glasses and a Raspberry Pi.
I was thinking you could hack the Crystal glasses into a single unit relatively easily, but you would need to 3d print a frame and screen holder and maybe create a custom hdmi to usb cable to plug in the pi.
If you could find a small bone conducting headphone you may be able to mount it into the glasses frame for audio output.
I was also thinking that the Raspberry Pi could be slimmed down as much as possible by using a model A board, desoldering the RCI, audio, gpio and usb ports. As the power port hangs off the edge, you could remove that too and wire a rechargeable cell phone battery circuit directly to the board. A USB spy camera - as small as possible (maybe they type that fits in a pen) could be wired directly to the USB connections on the board and you could also use a half height SD card to keep everything within the confines of the Pi board itself. You could wire in a Wifi module to the gpio so it has internet connectivity. Finally, a GPS module could be directly wired to the GPIO holes on the board.
Then there is the case. This would be printed, or even CNC'd. It would contain the Pi, the cellphone battery and charging circuit, wifi module and the gps module. It would contain a belt loop on the back, but the front is the special bit. On the front there would be a laptop-type trackpad so the Pi can be controlled. If this is not possible, maybe a touchscreen interface, without the screen part - I'm not sure if this is possible... In any event, it should be the same colour as the case.
The thinnest guage wires you can get would attach everything to the glasses, in one shielded cable running from the case to the arm of the glasses. The usb spy camera would be built into the glasses, maybe on the side of the reticule?
I have found some examples of the components I am talking about on the (naturally) Element14 website and I have listed them below. I thought the Myvu Crystal glasses would be good to use as there are many of them "out in the wild" so to speak.
Maestro GPS Module - 61W8590
MICROCHIP Wifi module - MRF24WB0MA/RM
The idea would be that you load an absolute minimal install of linux on the pi and output the screen to the glasses. The only software would be a web browser, camera software and a gps navigation programme, leaving the user the option to install calendar apps or such like as they see fit. You might even be able to record video with the camera depending on the size of your sd card.
Anyway, thats my little idea. I hope you like it!
Regards
Ian
*btw I've heard that you give away the projects you make to the people that suggest them. I'm in the UK, so if this is true, please give this to a disadvantaged child in your local area!
