Google patents Project Glass wearable display

Look familiar? Google received three patents for a wearable display device.

(Credit: USPTO)

Google has received three patents for a "wearable display device" which appear to be the foundation for its Project Glass augmented reality glasses.

Company engineers submitted patent applications for a wearable display device last fall and they were assigned today.

There aren't detailed description attached to the patents, but the patent references the types of inventions you would expect, such as display designs for showing data and playing music.

Google's secretive research lab, Google X, announced Project Glass last month and showed off early prototypes of the device, some of which are now being tested by Google executives including Sergey Brin and Vic Gundotra.

Images from the patents, apparently first spotted by Engadget, show different versions of the Project Glass, including versions with and without actual lenses.

In a video from the user's perspective, Google showed how the glasses could be used much the way a smartphone is -- for corresponding with friends, listening to music, and searching information.

But one of the engineers behind Project Glass, Sebastian Thrun, said that early tests show the glasses are best suited for taking and sharing photos. Thrun released a stunning picture of his son taken with the glasses as Thrum held him with outstreched arms and spun him around.