Google Co-Founder Seen With Futuristic Glasses on NYC Subway -- But Was He Actually Able to Use Them?

As Google continues to develop its augmented reality glasses, the company's co-founder Sergey Brin appears to be trying to acclimate the public to cyborg-like technology. Most recently, he was spotted on a New York City subway wearing the high-tech specs.

Noah Zerkin snapped the picture of Brin wearing the glasses and posted it on Twitter saying "Yeeeah ... just had a brief conversation with the most powerful man in the world."

Zerkin tweeted out this photo and started answering an influx of questions. (Image: Twitter/@noazark)

The augmented reality glasses being developed by Google's high-tech research arm dubbed Google X were showcased to the public for the first time in April 2012 and a few months later were offered to software developers to test for $1,500. The glasses were even worn by models walking the runway in Diane von Furstenberg's collection in September.

The glasses, which were named one of Time magazine's best inventions of 2012, are someday expected to put things like the wearer's email before their very eyes or enable them check an actual weather report while looking out they are out the window. In essence, the glasses allow for similar capabilities as a smartphone, but the specs are hands-free and the screen is only something the wearer can see.

But just how realistic was it for Brin to wear them on the NYC subway last week? Zerkin said on Twitter that Brin most likely wouldn't have had a Wi-Fi connection on the train. This isn't to say that Brin just didn't want to take them off and put them in a bag, so he kept them on for the ride.

Brin wearing the glasses on an NYC subway train. (Photo: Noah Zerkin via Twitter)

Zerkin, a self-described augmented reality and wearable computing enthusiast, wrote about the run-in with Brin on his blog. Here are some of his thoughts:

I asked if I could take his picture and he smiled and consented. I asked how the project was coming along and how he liked where it was right now. Of course he told me that he loved it and that it was coming along really well. Somehow, though, I just didn’t trust my own eyes enough to believe it was really Sergey Brin sitting across from me. I mean, I’ve seen the dude’s private jetliner with my own eyes while working out at NASA Ames in my previous job. What would he be doing on the subway? Aside from the fact that he has a ginormous corporate facility and an apartment here.

Zerkin found out from Brin that the Google Glass Explorer Edition (the one for software developers) is expected to ship out in the next couple months.

Read Zerkin's full account of his conversation with Brin here.

Watch Google's initial reveal of the Google Glasses:

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Related:

• WSJ Reviews Google Glasses and Dubs Them 'Disappointing'
• Google Offers Software Developers Access to Prototype Glasses for $1500 a Pop
• Parody: See How Google's Augmented Reality Glasses Will Have You Running Into Lamp Posts
• Google Reveals Design for Virtual Reality Glasses -- Would You Wear Them?