Geocaching with Google Glass

[+schrempa]

I just ordered my pair of Google Glass and I was wondering if anyone has found a way to use the Geocaching App with Google Glass?

 

For those who don't know what Google Glass is, Google Glass is a wearable Android device with an optical head-mounted display that is being developed by Google in the Project Glass research and development project.

[+Walts Hunting]

If google,glass attaches to a google phone you might be able to open the app manually and see it on the glasses.

[+kunarion]

I just ordered my pair of Google Glass and I was wondering if anyone has found a way to use the Geocaching App with Google Glass?

 

For those who don't know what Google Glass is, Google Glass is a wearable Android device with an optical head-mounted display that is being developed by Google in the Project Glass research and development project.

You will have to first find out what that product does. I looked it up, and there are a handful of Apps for it. Does it run most other Android Apps? If so, it may run the Geocaching App directly, or as Walts Hunting mentioned. I don't see a mention of GPS capability. It might be handy if it could overlay waypoints on the virtual screen, but would need built-in directional sensors to do that.

[+schrempa]

Glass does not have GPS, it uses your phone's GPS. My understanding is that they only run "glassware" apps, which is why I started a separate thread about being able to search the geocaching website via Google.

 

I suppose if I was dreaming up the perfect app, it would allow me to submit a hands free log based on my location and it would allow me to enter coordinates for multi-caches...but that is me dreaming. I would settle if I could just get a directional heading and distance to a cache.

[+Touchstone]

Interesting idea, although I'm no expert, from what I understand, it would require developing an app through the GDK to interface with the site, which of course, means getting permission from Groundspeak to access the API. Using the website through existing methods would probably render the font so small that it would be unreadable.

 

What would intrigue me a bit more, would be to interface with Wherigo, or Intercache. Those experiences would kind of interesting with a device of this sort.

[+The_Incredibles_]

It's funny, I was just thinking about this the other day. How cool it would be to combine intercaching and Google glass. Unfortunetly it's still really expensive for the average person. Maybe in a few years? I had envisioned something like a 3rd person shooter, without the shooting of course to make it family friendly. You get to a certain location and a charcter appears and talks to you or you have to pick up a virtual object. Would love to make a virtual maze like pacman. Of course you'd look like a total nutjob doing it.

[+Touchstone]

My interest was piqued a bit when my son got an invite to the Explorer program, although I submitted a request and I got one too, so it appears that Google is accepting any old riffraff off the street if they'll take me

 

I had envisioned something like a 3rd person shooter, without the shooting of course to make it family friendly. You get to a certain location and a charcter appears and talks to you or you have to pick up a virtual object.

 

I'm not sure Google Glass has the power for something like that sort of scenario, but my son steered me towards another similar product called Space Glass, which had some impressive, albeit, kind of "staged" looking examples. It appeared to be much more immersive an experience than Google Glass, but with much more stratospheric prices

[Ranger Fox]

Done. I now have a basic Glass geocaching app. It's not much right now since I only had just about two days to go from no knowledge whatsoever of Android programming to what I have done. The app queries the geocaching API for caches around where I am and shows an auto-refreshing navigation screen where I can swipe between the closest ten traditional caches I have not found. I'll take some pictures of finding a cache this weekend with it. These will be posted on my Facebook page because posting them on Groundspeak sites will give them the legal ability to use those pictures without my further permission. I don't want too much attention from this as this is just a little side project and too much attention almost obligates me to continue and release the app to others. I don't need another project that incurs additional expenses while not generating revenue.

[Ranger Fox]

This is a video of the first time a geocache has been found using only Google Glass. I had no advance knowledge of the cache's hiding location, didn't check on it prior to filming, and the video was shot all on the first take.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=759728937391936&ref=notif&notif_t=like

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH5ZlIs0FDU

 

I made some updates to the app and found another cache on Saturday. Here is a link to a picture, taken from Glass, and uploaded to Facebook from Glass:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=760754303956066&l=da59d5585b

 

Not apparent from any pictures are some of the other features. For example, tapping on Glass will cycle through the app's cache navigation card, cache description, and recent logs. Swiping on Glass will show you the next closest cache.

 

Still not certain if I'll release this app to the public. But it's a nice experiment.

[+DiscipleGeek]

This is very impressive. I look forward to actually being able to afford Glass and using it like this.

[bisscuitt]

Still not certain if I'll release this app to the public. But it's a nice experiment.

 

This looks amazing. I'd be very interested in helping you test if you choose to release it.

[Ranger Fox]

Still not certain if I'll release this app to the public. But it's a nice experiment.

 

This looks amazing. I'd be very interested in helping you test if you choose to release it.

I'm using C# to create the app, so this means I need a license to Xamarin if I intend to release it (I'm using a trial version at the moment). The license cost is $1,000/year. I'm already putting money into supporting Wherigo, and this is a cost on top of even that. So I'm going to need to charge for this app's use. That's what's stopping me from even considering releasing it.

 

If I do release the app, I'll first turn the Wherigo Foundation app developers loose on it--if they would like--to see what experienced app developers can accomplish with what I've done (I'm a web developer, not a professional app developer). There are a few other things I have to do before I can release the app to a wide audience, such as fissioning the Glass data service from the Wherigo Foundation API infrastructure. I'm using the WF API because it was easier for me to use the infrastructure I had already developed rather than make something new to talk to Glass, and I needed that endpoint anyway because I had difficulty issuing straight JSON requests to the geocaching API while the WF API is set up specifically to deal with JSON in the first place.

 

Do you have Google Glass? I could send you a version of the app that would be active for 24 hours (because that's a limitation of the Xamarin trial version, not something I'm enforcing). You can contact me off list via my profile page and I'll get you set up if you'd like.

[Muppetmayhem82]

I am UK Glass user and would LOVE to try your Geocache glassware!

[Ranger Fox]

I will contact you off list. Since I'm not publishing it to the Glassware store, you'll have to install the app manually.