Google’s attempt to get into augmented reality has proved to be most successful so far, in comparison to other providers of smart glasses technology. Even though Google Glass is not yet ready for the mass market, its beta version has already attracted a great number of people with innovative views, including some of our customers. Geolocation is one of the most useful features that you can implement using Google Glass.

Two ways to implement geolocation

There is no way a user can access geolocation on Google Glass if the device is not connected to a smartphone, either iPhone or Android because there is no GPS inside Google Glass. If you have questions about how geolocation technology exactly works and how to create a location-aware app, read first this post: https://yalantis.com/blog/location-aware-app.

That’s why we decided to investigate how to implement geolocation using your smartphone and a buzzed Google’s device. We are going to look at the two ways of doing that. They are:

• GDK (Glass Development Kit, native)
• Mirror API (Cloud-based service)

Implementing geolocation on Glass with GDK is similar to that on regular Android devices. It implies using standard APIs for the Android platform to get location data from available location providers. With GDK you can access location data anytime, and with the interval you need.

On the other hand, when you’re developing glassware using Mirror API, your cloud-based app has very limited access to location data. Glass sends location data to MirrorAPI once in 10 minutes. Then, if your app is subscribed to the user’s location updates, it will receive a callback with location data from MirrorAPI. Also, you can request the last known user location data in the same way. Now let’s take a closer look at each method.

GDK

The Glass Development Kit (GDK) is an add-on to the Android SDK that lets you build Glassware that runs directly on Glass. You should use the following Android SDK classes to get location data:

• LocationManager – Provides access to Android location service which handles communication with LocationProvider.
• LocationProvider – Glass provides special “remote” location data sources. They let you get access to data from a paired device that has a MyGlass companion app installed.
• Criteria – It’s a condition under which location data can be considered accurate. You need to create a set of criteria to be able to choose the most fitting location data from the data source.

You would need to use the LocationManager class to get the data from one or more location providers.

Android apps retrieve location data from local GPS and mobile networks. On Glass, however, a set of available location providers is dynamic and may include remote ones. They supply location data from another source, such as Bluetooth enabled devices paired with the MyGlass companion app. To handle these additional providers, subscribe to location updates from multiple providers, rather than a single one.

Note: Subscription to location updates doesn’t imply using LocationManager.getBestProvider() method or the constants GPS_PROVIDER or NETWORK_PROVIDER. Glass uses a dynamic set of providers. Thus, if you subscribe to a single provider only, your app might miss location updates.

To request data from all available location providers:

• Create a Criteria object with your location requirements.
• Call getProviders() to retrieve the list of providers that satisfy your criteria.
• Iterate over the list of providers and request updates from all of them. This will not only allow you to receive updates from available remote providers, but also from the local ones, which communicate with Glass (e.g. through a wireless network provider).
• Pay attention to the accuracy of the timing information provided with each update to determine whether the current update is correct or if you should wait for another one.

Here is an example of how to choose location data source and request updates:

LocationManager locationManager; // initialized elsewhere

// This example requests fine accuracy and requires altitude, but

// these criteria could be whatever you want.

Criteria criteria = new Criteria();

criteria.setAccuracy(Criteria.ACCURACY_FINE);

criteria.setAltitudeRequired(true);

List<String> providers = locationManager.getProviders(

criteria, true /* enabledOnly */);

for (String provider : providers) {

locationManager.requestLocationUpdates(provider, minTime,

minDistance, listener);

}

A full example of how to implement geolocation on Glass.

Using directions app in Glass

Glass has a pre-installed app that lets you build routes and use navigation. In order to launch it, you should send an Intent to the system: Action: ACTION_VIEW

Data URI Scheme:

google.navigation:ll=<latitude>,<longitude>&title=<title>&q=<query>&mode=<mode>

1. ll – Location coordinates. There is no need to specify a query if you have specified the coordinates.

2. title – The name of the place displayed. It will show you the latitude and longitude of the location by default (in case you specified those properties). Otherwise, it will display the name of the location (in case you specified a query).

3. query – A string to query for places you need to build a route to. Do not specify ll if you specify this.

4. mode – Defaults to MRU (most recently used) if not specified or “d” if MRU does not exist. Possible values are:

d – Driving

w – Walking

b – Bicycle

r – Transit

MRU – Most Recently Used.

Example:

Intent navIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse(“google.navigation:ll=37.4219795, -122.0836669&title=Belvedere Ln”));

As you see using GDK is pretty simple. Here is an example of geolocation-enabled glassware I wrote using GDK. So let’s move further and see the possibilities of Mirror API.

Mirror API

Google Mirror API allows you to build web-based services that interact with Google Glass. It provides this functionality over a cloud-based API and does not require running code on Glass. You have the following possibilities if work with the location in MirrorAPI:

• You can request the user’s last known location
• You can subscribe to periodic location updates
• You can render a map on timeline cards

Note: Glass device sends location data to the cloud every 10 minutes. All location updates will be received by your server-side. Firstly, you should request additional permission scope to acquire user location during the OAuth 2.0 authentication process:

https://www.googleapis.com/auth/glass.location scope

Then you should call the “subscribe” method from Google Mirror API and provide the URL which will receive location updates.

To retrieve the last user’s location:

Send a GET request to the REST endpoint:

GET /mirror/v1/locations/ HTTP/1.1

Authorization: Bearer {auth token}

You will receive the following JSON response.

{

“kind”: “mirror#location”,

“id”: string,

“timestamp”: datetime,

“latitude”: double,

“longitude”: double,

“accuracy”: double,

“displayName”: string,

“address”: string

}

Using this query you’ll receive the last known user location and its timestamp. To subscribe to user events: Send POST request to the REST endpoint:

POST /mirror/v1/subscriptions HTTP/1.1

Authorization: Bearer {auth token}

Content-Type: application/json

Content-Length: {length}

{“collection”: “locations”, “userToken”: “harold_penguin”, “verifyToken”: “random_hash_to_verify_referer”, “callbackUrl”: “https://yalantis.com/notify/callback”}

Response is similar to that when you request the last known location.

Note: callbackUrl should ALWAYS be https

To render the map on the timeline card sent from the server:

Google Mirror API can render maps for you and overlay markers and lines to identify important places and paths. Use the glass://map URI to request a map. Here’s an example:

<img src=”glass://map?w=width&h=height&marker=0;latitude,longitude&marker=1;latitude,longitude&polyline=;latitude,longitude,latitude,longitude”

width=”width”

height=”height”/>

Here is a description of the required parameters: w – The width in pixels of the returned map image h – The height in pixels of the returned map image

As you can see MirrorAPI isn’t perfect for apps where you need to get the data immediately since the location data gets updated every 10 minutes. However, you can apply this method for other purposes, such as targeted content (pinned to the location). For example, you can send a card with current films to the user’s timeline right when she is walking near the cinema.

In conclusion, operating with MirrorAPI and GDK doesn’t cause any difficulty. If you would like to know more about technical particularities of implementing geolocation on Google Glass, as well as some advice about which method will work best for your app, you are welcome to send us a note!

As time passes, it is clear that technology is becoming ubiquitous in our lives. In both our personal and professional lives, we can see that we are becoming increasingly dependent on technology with each passing day.

The same is true for our cities and urban areas where we live and work. As more people leave their rural living spaces in search of a better life for them and their families, it is becoming quite clear that without the proper use of technology, we will not be able to meet the needs and demands of urban dwellers.

There needs to be sustainability in economic growth to achieve a harmonious urban living strategy. This requires huge changes across all aspects closely attached to the economics of the urban area. This refers to the available resources and the ways that these limited resources are being used.

It is high time that we move towards a more technologically advanced and efficient society so that we can make sure that our resources are used more responsibly, and we minimize and reuse the waste that is being produced.

It would be worthwhile for all professionals involved in this industry, whether governmental or private, to further their education or refresh their existing knowledge by completing smart cities online course. This could help them increase their awareness of all the ways that technology can be used for the city’s benefit and the best ways to implement it.

While technology affects all the factors that go into planning the policies of an urban area, these are some of the most important activities that directly affect society and thus need to be integrated with the latest and cutting edge technology.

Energy

Energy is by far the most crucial factor. For an urban space to be modern and sustainable, it needs to use technology to its advantage and create policies that can benefit the communities living there. It is challenging to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, but in the future, we will have to do something about it.

Technological advancements can help ensure that we turn towards more energy-efficient methods as time goes on. For this purpose, authorities in charge of urban planning must create policies that can help individuals, communities, and organizations increase their energy efficiency. Technology can also help us lower the pollution that is caused by the use of fossil fuels.

Technology is also being used to create and maintain energy-efficient buildings that provide better and longer-lasting social and economic results. For example, if we use technology to increase the energy efficiency of a city’s transportation system, we not only make it easier for people to reach their offices and workplaces, we also boost the city’s economic growth. A lot of countries right now are working on developing fuel-efficient vehicles and introducing them for mass transit.

Public Infrastructure

For a city to be economically prosperous, it needs to address the public infrastructure. It is one of the essential aspects of any urban living area, and achieving sustainability in this regard is paramount. Public infrastructure includes everything available for use by the general public, such as water, electricity, roads, bridges, individual and mass transit systems, and essential communication services. Technology has already been integrated into many of these systems, but there is still room for improvement. This is especially true for underdeveloped or developing nations.

Water

Just like fossil fuels, water is another resource we have that is quickly being depleted due to wastage, as well as the increased demand from an ever-expanding population. Technology can and is playing a decisive role in the development of the public, industrial as well as agricultural infrastructure.

Water treatment and water recycling are some of the ways that we can use highly advanced technology to not only save water but also reuse it and decrease wastage. Technology can also be used to improve the quality of the water supplied by these systems.

Right now, a lot of countries are using technology to identify and control water pollutants, metal pollutants, and micropollutants. This is something that has already become a necessity for many urban and industrial spaces, and the need is only growing.

Food

As the population of urban dwelling areas grows exponentially, another resource that needs to be addressed is food production. There is a dire need to improve the production of food as well as ways to store it so it lasts longer and can be distributed efficiently.

This is one of the after-effects of a burgeoning population, and it is creating sustainability issues across a lot of urban cities. Technology is also making its presence known in this sector as scientists are using biotechnology to develop strains of crops that are resistant to various diseases and drought. They are further working on using technology to create pest-resistant plants so that we can minimize the use of toxic chemicals in fertilizers.

Another way that technology is helping us is through genetic modification, not only in agriculture but aquaculture also. Now we can produce bigger, better, and longer-lasting fruits and vegetables as well as seafood.

Manufacturing and Production

Thanks to technology, a lot of manufacturers have started reducing their use of scarce resources to help reduce the strain on the environment. They are also creating various methods to recycle and reuse materials used to produce their products. This is one of the ways that technology is helping to create an ecosystem that is closer to the natural one than what we had before. Companies are switching to these raw materials in order to place as much emphasis on climate safety as they do on worker’s safety.

Conclusion

These are only some of the ways that technology has helped us create safer, more sustainable, and livable urban spaces. The more we integrate technology with our policies and our practices, the better the results we will see.