When all of us have “Terminator Like” powers

Undoubtedly you remember scenes from the Terminator when Arnold gets all sorts of intelligence about his surroundings, complete with risk assessments and recommendations of what to do next.

Several weeks ago, DARPA revealed that they are close to releasing contact lenses for soldiers that “give warfighters access to systems that greatly enhance their awareness, security and survivability.”

Currently being developed by DARPA researchers at Washington-based Innovega iOptiks are contact lenses that enhance normal vision by allowing a wearer to view virtual and augmented reality images without the need for bulky apparatus. Instead of oversized virtual reality helmets, digital images are projected onto tiny full-color displays that are very near the eye. These novel contact lenses allow users to focus simultaneously on objects that are close up and far away. This could improve ability to use tiny portable displays while sill interacting with the surrounding environment.

Today, Google revealed Project Glass, a wearable device that aims to bring similar capabilities and interactivity to everyone. Watch the video below.

By the way, here is where Google may have a considerable advantage into the future, being able to bridge search (or all digital activity), location awareness, social graph activity, productivity applications, email, phone and mobile OS all together into an embedded device. I am reminded of a quote from Eric Schmidt from a couple of years ago.

What are your thoughts?

Would you buy one if commercially available and how much would you spend?

More importantly, what impact would widespread use of interactive augmented reality devices have on society?