Detroiters will get a chance to experience the Google Glass — a hands-free computer device encased in a titanium eyeglass frame — this weekend at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit on Woodward Avenue in Detroit’s Midtown District.
“Google brings Glass to Detroit after long admiring the city’s history of invention and innovation,” says Anna Richardson White, a spokeswoman for Google. “We invested in Michigan from our early days with offices in Ann Arbor and Birmingham. Plus we just recently named local start-up incubator, Grand Circus (located in the Broderick Tower), one of seven Google funded technology hubs in North America.”
The Glass event this weekend is part of a tour to educate the public about how the device works, White says. “There are some misconceptions about Glass and how it’s used and these stops in various cities give us the opportunity to show folks what Glass is really like,” she says.
Event goers will have the opportunity to try various applications within Glass, including on-the-go maps, voice searches, video calls, and photo sharing. Participants are encouraged to snap a photo of themselves wearing Glass and share their experience on Twitter or Instagram using #detroitthroughglass.
As far as the venue choice goes, White says the company was “looking for an inspirational, big, and raw space where we can give people the full Glass experience. From our very first visit, the MOCAD team has … worked closely with us to transform the space inside the gallery’s walls into something reflective of the Glass brand.”
This is the second stop along the tour. In October, Google showed off Glass to more than 1,000 people at an event in Durham, N.C.
The Detroit event will be held Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at MOCAD, located at 4454 Woodward. To attend, Google asks that people register in advance at detroitthroughglass.splashthat.com.
