Policemen and Firefighters Now Have a Dedicated Google Glass App

We keep seeing innovative ideas for using Google Glass with the numerous apps that get released and today we have another one. This app, developed by Mutualink, is designed especially for police, firefighters and first responders and could prove to be really useful.

The app is being demoed today at APCO, a public safety communications conference. It offer its users the ability to stream video from the place, while communicating in real-time. Police officers and firefighters can also read documents on-the-go, without the need of a laptop or tablet, which makes it much easier. The app also allows them to stream security cameras directly to Google Glass.

Instead of using smartphones, tablets, or laptops, officers will have all the information they need in their sight, thanks to Google Glass and this app.

But like many of other Google Glass apps, it’s not safe from privacy concerns and regulations. While it can prove to be really useful in many situations, the privacy concern remains and we will definitely see a lot of debate around this. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has already opposed to body-mounted cameras for police officers and he’s not alone.

The debate is going to continue for a long time, for sure. It has both good and bad sides. If the policeman records everything he sees, it could end abuses, especially if he isn’t allowed to delete anything. But the privacy issues remain, as you can’t know what he’s going to record and things might go wrong in certain occasions.

If Google Glass gets approved for police use, it might be a big win for Google, because it could provide a lot of sales in the short run and exposure in the long run. Policemen are on the streets all day long and it would be a great advertising campaign for Google if they all wore Glass.

Mutualink, the company that designed the app, already has contracts with police and fire departments, along with Homeland Security and NATO Special Operations Forces, which could help them get the app passed to officials.

We won’t see the policemen wearing Google Glass very soon, most likely, but it’s really expected in the future, as technology evolves very fast and they need to keep the pace.