Google Glass applications

We have about 4 months of first hand experience with Google Glass. There is a broad interest in the device. We had several dozens of talks with companies that want an app for Glass. And we gave a personal product demo to more than a 1.000 people at one of the conferences we presented or during internal company sessions.

What surprised me the most is that it seems that the true potential of Google Glass is in the business applications. Google Glass ads value when you need to be hands free or when on the go.

But in which specific industries does Google Glass have potential? And what kind of applications can be successful on the device? I summarized my first thoughts:

• Industry: inspections, repairs & maintenance in the (technical) industry. Being able to consult checklists or information in manuals can be important features.
• Education: Google Glass can play a big role in electronic learning. 
• Healthcare: medical specialists can check up on their patients from a remote location. Or have vital patient information on their display when a patient visits.
• Public services: police and firemen experiment with Google Glass in the US and Europe. With the device they have the right information in crisis situations where any second can be important.
• Media: live coverage by journalists in the field. Google Glass as a handsfree camera.
• Market research: mystery shopping, qualitative research and monitoring the actual behavior of consumers.

 Next to the business applications I believe anything leisure sector related can be successful:

• Travel: navigation, live translation and location information can help the consumer when visiting countries and cities abroad.
• Culture: musea can give extra information on Google Glass or dedicated virtual tours.
• Food: cooking not only is a fun activity, but also one that requires that you have your hands free. It is very useful to see a recipe, a step-by-step instruction and some timers running on Glass.
• Sport: Glass is the ideal quantified self device. It can monitor the performance of consumers when exercising. But applications can also help professional athletes and sports teams in tracking, analyzing and optimizing their performance.

 This list is far from complete. Do you have any examples to share? Please drop them in the comments below.