Google.org, Google’s nonprofit arm, has chosen five nonprofits to test out new ways to use Google Glass, the Web-connected eyewear. The search attracted 1,300 submissions for how nonprofit organizations could uniquely use the new technology. A Google.org spokesperson explained that each applicant was assessed based on the passion, impact, and shear feasibility of their proposed project.
The grant recipients and their proposed projects are:
- Classroom Champions, which connects top performing athletes with students in high-need schools, will ask Paralympians to record their routines with Glass. It then will create a sharable library of videos to help kids build empathy and learn to see ability where others only see disability.
- 3000 Miles to Cure raises funds for, and increases awareness of, brain cancer research. It will use Glass to record portions of the 3,000-mile bicycle competition Race Across America from racers’ points of view and communicate messages of encouragement and donations to racers.
- Women’s Audio Mission is an organization dedicated to the advancement of women in music production and the recording arts. WAM will use Glass to enhance its instructional programs by creating a more immersive lab experience for students.
- The Hearing and Speech Agency supports and facilitates effective communication. The organization will develop and pilot new ways to improve the lives of individuals with communication difficulties, hearing loss, and autism using Glass.
- The Mark Morris Dance Group in conjunction with Brooklyn Parkinson Group offers dance workshops at the Mark Morris Dance Center for Brooklyn Parkinson Group participants, family members, and friends through their joint Dance for PD program. The program will use Glass to develop a series of video prompts to guide Parkinson’s sufferers through a range of exercises aimed at stimulating physical movement.
Each winner will receive $25,000 and a free Glass (expected to soon retail for $1,500). The organizations will also meet with Glass engineers on the Google campus to determine how the technology can be tailored to meet the particular needs of each organization’s project.
How would your organization use Glass?