Houston Zoo wins contest to use unreleased Google gadget

The Houston Zoo is taking the phrase "up close and personal" to a new level with the help of the newest tool in its animal-loving arsenal - state-of-the-art Google Glass.

The zoo recently entered a Google-sponsored contest in hopes of landing one of the optical head-mounted displays, which allow users to record hands-free video. The Houston Zoo is one of only 8,000 contestants be selected as Google Explorers, and to get their hands on the cutting-edge technology.

Google Glass is the search giant's project to produce a wearable computer. For now, it's only available to developers and a select few, sold for $1,500 as a pair of lenseless glasses with a temple-mounted computer and camera. Google hasn't said exactly when it will be available commercially, but analysts expect it may appear by the end of this year or early next.

The winners were selected based on the most creative ideas for putting the technology to use in everyday life, said Ryan Draper, interactive marketing coordinator at the zoo. The zoo's proposal: "To share a first-person view of what it's like to work at the Houston Zoo," he said.

Draper flew to Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., on June 22 to pick up the new Google Glass unit, which the zoo now gets to keep.

Already, zoo officials have used the technology to videotape zoo staff caring for a giraffe and a feeding a red-billed blue magpie chick. They hope to soon explore carnivores and other popular animals there.

April Zimpel is a bird keeper at the Houston Zoo and is using Google Glass to show what a day in the life of a zoo employee is like. April Zimpel is a bird keeper at the Houston Zoo and is using Google Glass to show what a day in the life of a zoo employee is like. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Houston Zoo wins contest to use unreleased Google gadget 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

"It's going to be a brand new way to experience the zoo," Draper said. "Normally the public doesn't have the training required to handle the animals, but with Google Glass you don't need it. They can just ride along with the keepers, and get that up-close-and-personal animal experience.

"It's going to be a brand-new way of experiencing the zoo," he said.