In an age where technology fuses more and more with our personal lives, an invention like Google Glass is not nearly as far-fetched as it would have been 10 years ago. With the general public able to have their own wearable computers by the end of the year, Google has revealed what the future’s look, feel and interactivity will be like — on a scale nearly unimaginable.

Google Glass is a wearable headpiece that brings constant augmented reality to the user. Looking like a pair of glasses without the lenses- though Google says future models will support prescriptions- Glass has so much technology packed into its frame that the rumored $1,500 price tag might be worth it for some people.

In a promotional video that demos what exactly Glass can do to change the user’s life, users are given the point of view of a Glass user that goes on extreme sports, spends time with his or her family, sightsees and leads a normal workday. All throughout the video, we see what a Glass user would see: an interactive, augmented-reality information box in the upper-right of the vision field that displays info on anything the user is and is not doing.

A recent ISU music education and computer engineering graduate that has had experience with virtual reality and is now a software development engineer for a major tech company gave his thoughts on Glass and the future of connectivity.

“I think it is a great idea and wasn’t entirely surprised. Every video game in which you take someone’s point-of-view already has a HUD (heads-up display).  Why not real life?  It is a fairly logical step.  We’re already carrying around most of the technology; this is just a different method of presentation,” he said.

He went on to say that he, like many others, has a phone, tablet, laptop, et cetera.

“But those are all things that I get out and use,” he said. “Glass [as the name implies] is transparent in more than just its physical sense. It is about augmenting what I’m already doing, instead about providing a platform with which to do something.”

Glass is like a smartphone, but wearable and always active. The term that’s been used to describe this type of technology is called “wearable computing,” and Google aims to make it the next big thing in human-device connectivity.

Glass is all about the built-in camera and the small display in front of the eye. The lens is how Glass connects to the user’s world, seeing what the user sees and telling them what they would like to know about it. Glass’s use of Google’s databases provides many opportunities to learn more about the world around the user, as well as record the memories they care about. The video is just the beginning of what Glass will probably be able to do, as the product is likely to be developed more and more every day, much like the Google Goggles and Google Now services.

Google is staying tight-lipped about the product, as it has not been revealed what the retail version will look like or cost. The rumors so far, however, are suggesting loads of features that may very well be the real deal.

Glass is rumored to run Android, Google’s successful mobile operating system. With so many of Glass’s features dependent on the Internet, a 3G or 4G connection is to be expected. Glass may also be able to connect to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and may always have a connection with the cloud. A feature called “bone induction” is rumored as well. This technology, while not new, isn’t very common as of today. What it does is send vibrations to the user’s skull that their ears can pick up on, eliminating the need for Glass to have an earpiece. The front-facing camera is said to have a flash.

Many people are on the fence about products like Glass, saying that it’s just another way for advertisements to force their way into people’s lives, or for businesses to learn even more about their users. Until Google reveals more about what it intends to do for Glass, and how it plans to support it, anything is possible. Perhaps they will require a monthly subscription fee, or maybe consumers can opt out of a subscription at the cost of an advertisement every now and again.

Glass’s release date was moved from 2014 to late this year as the company is ahead of schedule on testing and design. A recent application has just been closed that allowed people to register in an attempt to test Glass out, and others had the option of paying $1,500 for a preorder. Expect more information later in the year as Google unveils more about Glass leading up to its launch.