Google's Race To Lead Wearable Tech Future

Google is racing other major tech companies - including Samsung and Apple - to develop the next generation of wearable technology.

The race to crack wearable tech continues.

After a few widely criticised offerings, Samsung is releasing its newest bits of kit: a selection of Gear Fit smartwatches.

And in a not-very-well-concealed attempt to steal away the publicity, Google has just announced that from next week it is selling a limited number of its "Glass" devices to the US public.

Previously, Glass was only available to a select group of volunteers called "explorers".

This week it has also been reported that the improbably named BATMAN (Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided Knowledge) Human Performance Wing of the US Air force is testing Google Glass for use.

And even New York City Council is getting in on the act, proposing a bill requiring food hygiene inspectors to wear Glass during visits to restaurants.

If the bill is passed, the Council will join the NYPD and many other organisations, both public and private, who can see the potential of wearable technology and are trying to work out how best to use it.

To find out what all the fuss is about, we visited Google's Glass "basecamp" in a Manhattan loft space.

The secretive company let us in to watch "guides" teach "explorers" how to use Glass using only voice commands or gentle taps.

Each explorer has paid nearly £1,000 for their device.

It is made up of a traditional glasses frame, with a tiny computer screen and camera that sits just above your right eye.

Guide Danielle Murdoch told Sky News: "Glass has all the capabilities of your smart phone, but the beauty of it is that it allows you to be hands free and heads up.