Dubai Police to trial Google Glass

Wearable devices to be tested by traffic cops

Dubai Police are to try out Google Glass to see whether the wearable devices can help them to solve traffic-related crimes.

Under the scheme, traffic police will use the devices to identify wanted cars and issue fines to dangerous drivers. The trial has been developed by Dubai Police's Smart Services Department, which has created two Glass applications for use by traffic officers.

"One will allow them to take photos of traffic violations from the Glass, which will go instantly into our system, and the other application helps identify wanted cars," Colonel Khalid Nasser Al Razooqi, general director of Smart Services at Dubai Police told Gulf News.

The applications - developed in-house by the Smart Services team - will enable officers to determine if a vehicle is wanted by just looking at the number plate, and then having the registration cross-referenced with the traffic department's wanted vehicle database.

If the trial is successful, the devices will be rolled out to more officers, Col Al Razooqi said.

Several organisations are beginning to experiment with Google Glass including Virgin Atlantic, which equipped check-in staff with the wearable device.

Shortly after the trial was over, Virgin Atlantic director of information technology Dave Bulman told Computing that the device proved so successful in improving customer service that it could soon be rolled out across the airline.