Google Glass is coming to market this winter, ushering in an era in which users augment reality by strapping the internet to their faces. Not quite, says Det Ansinn, founder and president of Doylestown-based
BrickSimple. The company is busy creating apps for users who truly need to keep their hands free.
With BrickSimple's Glass apps, critical care doctors can save invaluable time by virtually accessing medical records while they treat the patient. Construction crews can receive instructions from remote managers while they build. Drivers can anticipate directions without looking down at a GPS screen. The company has even developed
GlassBattle, the first game made for Google's new platform.
"There are a lot of things that you do that don’t work well while holding a smartphone or tablet," says Ansinn. "We realized we could build a whole new class of apps."
The company's ambition is no surprise. In 2002, BrickSimple launched Foundation Suite, one of the first successful app development platforms. In 2008, they were among the first to release products for Apple's app store. This year, they were among the few companies in the world invited to
Google Glass Foundry, a top-secret hackathon that first unveiled Glass to developers. Soon after, Google provided BrickSimple with pre-released devices.
Since its 2001 inception, the company has been developing apps for a slate of industries, from entertainment to finance. They currently employ 25 people, and plan to hire two more developers this month.
With six glass apps ready for release and six more in development, BrickSimple has been spending a lot of their time investigating new needs for a world not yet realized. DrivingGlass for example, will allow drivers to monitor performance and fuel economy as they drive -- and their eyes will never leave the road.
"I'm very excited where mainstream wearable computing will take us in the industry," says Ansinn.
Source: Det Ansinn, BrickSimple
Writer: Dana Henry