Would McDonald’s be the archenemy
of the wholesale sunglasses of the future?
Not long after the unveiling of
Google’s Project Glass and the approval of Apple’s patent for a head-mounted
device, news about the assault of the first
cyborg spread like wildfire over the internet.
The First Cyborg, Mann
Dr. Steve Mann is the first human
cyborg of our time. This tenured professor at the University of Toronto
Mann began developing the EyeTap
back in the 80’s before he came up with its current design that resembles
Google’s Project Glass. This technology
is described at EyeTap.org describes this technology as:
“EyeTap is a device which allows, in a sense,
the eye itself to function as both a display and a camera. EyeTap is at once
the eye piece that displays computer information to the user and a device which
allows the computer to process and possibly alter what the user sees. That which the user looks at is
processed by the EyeTap. This allows the EyeTap to, under computer control,
augment, diminish, or otherwise alter a user's visual perception of their
environment, which creates a Computer Mediated Reality. Furthermore, ideally,
EyeTap displays computer-generated information at the appropriate focal
distance, and tonal range.”
The (Alleged) Assault
It was
on July 17th of this year when the news broke about the alleged
assault of Mann in a McDonald’s branch in Paris .
Mann recounted the incident vividly in his blog.
The
incident took place June of this year when he, together with his wife and
children, travelled to Paris
for a summer vacation. He said that this is part of their effort to educate his
children on Parisian French as they are enrolled in a French immersion in
school.
Mann
wrote: Subsequently another person within McDonalds physically assaulted me,
while I was in McDonand's, eating my McDonand's Ranch Wrap that I had just
purchased at this McDonald's. He angrily grabbed my eyeglass, and tried to pull
it off my head. The eyeglass is permanently attached and does not come off my
skull without special tools.
According
to his blog post, he tried to calm down his perpetrators by showing them a
legitimate doctor’s note. His efforts to explain and appease his perpetrators
were placed in vain as they destroyed both his copies of the doctor’s letter.
The Official Statement
McDonald’s
has yet to put a period to this incident. However, they have placed a comma to keep the situation at bay by
issuing this statement:
“We share the concern regarding Dr. Mann’s account of his July 1 visit
to a McDonald’s in Paris France France
In addition, several staff members involved have been interviewed
individually, and all independently and consistently expressed that their
interaction with Dr. Mann was polite and did not involve a physical
altercation. Out crew members and restaurant security staff have informed us
that they did not damage any of Mr. Mann’s personal possessions.
While we continue to learn more about the situation, we are hearing
from customers who have questions about what happened. We urge everyone not to
speculate or jump to conclusions before all facts are known. Our goal is to
provide a welcoming environment and stellar service to McDonald’s customers
around the world.”
This brawl seems to be far from
over. But everyone can surely pick up a thing or two from the incident
especially Google and Apple who are considering of further developing the same
technology.
Do you think we are ready for
this type of eyewear innovation? Can you see head-mounted devices as the
standard eyewear of the future?
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