Google Glass has not been abandoned, insists Eric Schmidt.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Google’s Executive Chairman explained that the US internet giant had not shelved what is "a big and very fundamental platform" for the company.
"We ended the Explorer programme and the press conflating this into us cancelling the whole project, which isn’t true," Schmidt said.
"Google is about taking risks and there’s nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we’re ending it."
The statement comes more than two months after Google halted production of its smartglass prototype, terminating the Explorer programme which had allowed software developers to buy Glass for $1500.
Tony Faddell, head of Google’s Nest connected home division, has been placed in charge of upgrading the product to, in Schmidt’s words, "make it ready for users."
Google’s flagship wearable glasses got off to a troubled start, facing criticisms over threats to privacy, as well as general mockery from the likes of Saturday Night Live. The Android powered, internet-connected device, similar to a smartphone, operates through voice commands and can capture pictures and record video, as well as share content directly via email or social networks.
