Aero Glass Augmenting the Cockpit with Google Glass

From time to time we see true technological innovation. As I've said before, innovation is anything that can reduce the cost of a transaction, either in terms of time or money. Revolutionary technology doesn't necessarily need to be disruptive, but, ideally, if a new technology (i.e. iPhone) can replace multiple, older, technologies, (camera, iPod, phone, maps, etc), then it's a game changer.

At last night's San Diego Startup Week VC after-party, I had a long talk with the VP of business development at Aero Glass (glass.aero). I had a clear idea of the augmented reality benefits of using Google Glass as a HUD in the cockpit. But, I didn't fully grasp the checklist benefits until I watched their demo video. Pilots, quite literally, live and die by their checklists. If I forget to turn on my carb heat when landing on a cold humid day I could get ice built up in the engine. Also, a surprisingly common mistake made by private pilots is that they forget to put down their landing gear, even with an audio alarm beeping in their ear. Most importantly, during an emergency, a checklist displayed on a personal HUD will keep the pilot focused.

The Aero Glass features in this video, below, will become very common place in the cockpit. It's just a matter of when; and, from the looks of it, it'll be very soon since Aero Glass will be attending "Oshkosh" in six weeks. Their business will definitely get some attention there.