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 Google is letting a larger segment of the public test its futuristic eyeglasses. 
 
 On Wednesday, Google said it was accepting applications for people who wanted to try the glasses, which had previously been available only to software developers who signed up for them at Google’s developer’s conference last year. 
 
 Google also released a few details about the glasses, which it calls Google Glass, some of which it had already publicized. They can take pictures or record video hands-free, show walking directions, search the Web and send messages by voice, offer translations and show alerts like a flight delay. 
 
 People who want a pair of the glasses before they are publicly available must apply by Feb. 27 by writing a post on Google Plus or Twitter of 50 words or fewer with the hashtag #ifihadglass. Applicants can include photos or video and an explanation of what they might do with the glasses. 
 
 “We’re looking for bold, creative individuals who want to join us and be a part of shaping the future of Glass,” the company posted on Google Plus. 
 
 Those chosen by Google’s judges must pay $1,500 for the glasses and attend a pick-up event in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles. 
 
 In a video released Wednesday, Google offered some of its own ideas about what to do with the glasses. A ballerina could stream live video behind the scenes and onstage, a tourist in Thailand could ask Google to translate “delicious” while eating noodles on a boat or a family could video chat with a long-distance relative on her birthday. ||||| Photos via Google 
 
 If you venture into a coffee shop in the coming months and see someone with a pair of futuristic glasses that look like a prop from “Star Trek,” don’t worry. It’s probably just a Google employee testing the company’s new augmented-reality glasses. 
 
 On Wednesday, Google gave people a clearer picture of its secret initiative called Project Glass. The glasses are the company’s first venture into wearable computing. 
 
 The glasses are not yet for sale. Google will, however, be testing them in public. 
 
 In a post shared on Google Plus, employees in the company laboratory known as Google X, including Babak Parviz, Steve Lee and Sebastian Thrun, asked people for input about the prototype of Project Glass. Mr. Lee, a Google product manager and originally worked on Google mapping software Latitude, mobile maps and indoor maps, is responsible for the software component and the location-based aspects of the glasses. 
 
 “We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input,” the three employees wrote. “Please follow along as we share some of our ideas and stories. We’d love to hear yours, too. What would you like to see from Project Glass?” 
 
 The prototype version Google showed off on Wednesday looked like a very polished and well-designed pair of wrap-around glasses with a clear display that sits above the eye. The glasses can stream information to the lenses and allow the wearer to send and receive messages through voice commands. There is also a built-in camera to record video and take pictures. 
 
 The New York Times first wrote about the glasses in late February, describing an augmented-reality display that would sit over the eye and run on the Android mobile platform. 
 
 A video released by Google on Wednesday, which can be seen below, showed potential uses for Project Glass. A man wanders around the streets of New York City, communicating with friends, seeing maps and information, and snapping pictures. It concludes with him video-chatting with a girlfriend as the sun sets over the city. All of this is seen through the augmented-reality glasses. 
 
 University of Washington 
 
 Project Glass could hypothetically become Project Contact Lens. Mr. Parviz, who is also an associate professor at the University of Washington, specializes in bionanotechnology, which is the fusion of tiny technologies and biology. He most recently built a tiny contact lens that has embedded electronics and can display pixels to a person’s eye. 
 
 Early reports of the glasses said prototypes could look like a pair of Oakley Thumps — which are clunky and obtrusive sunglasses — but the version Google unveiled Wednesday looks more graceful. There are reportedly dozens of other shapes and variations of the glasses in the works, some of which can sit over a person’s normal eyeglasses. 
 
 People I have spoken with who have have seen Project Glass said there is a misconception that the glasses will interfere with people’s daily life too much, constantly streaming information to them and distracting from the real world. But these people said the glasses actually free people up from technology. 
 
 One person who had used the glasses said: “They let technology get out of your way. If I want to take a picture I don’t have to reach into my pocket and take out my phone; I just press a button at the top of the glasses and that’s it.” 
 
 Project Glass is one of many projects currently being built inside the Google X offices, a secretive laboratory near Google’s main Mountain View, Calif., campus where engineers and scientists are also working on robots and space elevators.
– Google gave the public its first taste of how it would feel to strap on its much-anticipated digital glasses, releasing photos and a video showing off the system's capabilities and user interface. Users are shown taking video and photos, performing searches, and overlaying directions, weather, and flight info over their field of vision. The system is voice-controlled, activated with a cheerful, "OK Glass," Mashable reports. The device will consist of a single, small screen, positioned over the user's right eye and visible via a mirrored glass block. Google also started taking applications for civilian beta testers, the New York Times reports—until now only developers could get their hands on it—though it will cost $1,500 and be available only to a select few. To apply, would-be early adopters need to post a 50-words-or-less application on Google+ or Twitter with the hashtag #ifihadglass. Those selected will have to pick up their headset in person at events in New York, LA, or San Francisco.