App lets you snap Google Glass photos with just a wink of your eye

 

 

After a huge amount of hype and attention, the very first public generation of Google Glass units have been shipped out to a select few — and we're already starting to see apps pop up that push the boundaries of what the device can do. One developer has created an app that does away with the voice control of Google Glass, and can trigger a photograph with something as simple as a wink.

Mike DiGiovanni of Roundarch Isobar has released Winky, an app he cobbled together after decompiling GlassHome to see what made it tick. He discovered that Google Glass has a sensor for your eye, and can detect the magnitude and duration of a wink. Talking to the Verge, he revealed that there's even code to "detect blinks, double blinks, and double winks." So Google Glass can differentiate between blinking and winking, and this app will choose the correct one to quickly snap a photo. You can see a quick video of it in action on DiGiovanni's G+ account.

Under the built-in controls, you have to trigger Google Glass with either hand controls or a key phrase, and Winky allows users to bypass that. It opens up a whole new world of how to handle Google Glass without having to talk to a pair of glasses on your face.

Conversely, however, it's hard not to hear about this and feel as though there isn't room for lechery. The fact that a photo can be taken with something as non-descript as a wink, rather than requiring a more obvious hand movement or vocal phrase, would make taking photos undetected that much easier. When Google Glass does eventually ship widely to the public, it'll be interesting to see if there are any sort of safety measure in place to prevent that sort of creepy abuse.