St. Joseph Interpreter Gets Early Peek at Google Glass

By Katharine Allen & Barry S. Olsen

Published: 19 July 2013

From The Kansas City Star...

Article excerpt: Interpreter Al Navas looks forward to a day when he can help police officers communicate with Spanish-speaking car accident victims before he even gets to the scene of a wreck. Navas, a Spanish interpreter in St. Joseph, thinks he’s gotten his hands on the device that will help him do just that: Google Glass. Navas and about 8,000 other people in the country got to buy Google Glass months early for $1,500.

InterpretAmerica's take: Google Glass has gotten a lot of hype in recent months, and it might be tempting to dismiss it as just one more tech fad. But interpreters should be paying close attention. Google Glass represents the tip of the iceberg for "wearable technology" applications coming down the pike that will have a direct impact on many areas where interpreters interact. Because Google Glass has a video function, it has immediate potential for remote video interpreting, among other possibilities. Unlike many other technologies that ultimately disrupt or impact our profession, thanks to Al Navas's initiative, interpreting is at the table at a relatively early part of the beta testing stage for Google Glass. What do you think? Leave us a comment and let us know.