Australian entrepreneurs have started exploiting the latest in wearable technology, including the Google Glass.

Although not officially released yet, a number of the devices are already here and local technology enthusiasts are rushing to explore its new potential.

Among some of the uses already in development in Australia are subtitles to real life conversations for the hearing impaired, identification of objects for the visually impaired and a program to help mothers breastfeed.

Google Glass is essentially a computer that is worn like a pair of glasses.

It is in-your-face new technology that turns wearers into walking cameras and computers.

Glass, as it is known, lets wearers take video and photos - literally with the blink of an eye.

Australian developers have been swift to start work on a number of applications, or apps, to capitalise on the new technology.

Melbourne developer Josh Guest, was an enthusiastic early adopter.

"It's a fantastic technology. It's essentially wearing a mobile phone on my face, so I'm able to do things like read my emails, I can receive a phone call, I can get directions, I can ask Google questions and be able to do it all hands-free so it's a hands-free computing experience," said Guest, managing director of app development company b2cloud.

So far he said he had not received a hostile reaction from anyone who has seen him wearing the device.

He said most people were simply curious.

"There's actually been no hostility, usually just questions. 'Are you filming me?' is a common one, but you can very quickly just explain to someone that it's not filming," he said.

"It's not publicly available, it's more around just educating people on what the technology is and how it works. And then it's usually amazement."

His team has a number of potential apps in the pipeline, including two that have the potential to help vision and hearing impaired people become more independent.

"The hearing impaired app essentially lets someone who is hearing impaired be able to have a conversation with someone and see the words of that conversation appear on Google Glass - like subtitles, but in real life," he said.

Another app in development helps the visually impaired to identify objects, with the device providing audio descriptions to the wearer.

"The vision impaired app allows someone who is hard of sight or completely blind to be able to identify objects in real life simply by looking at them, saying 'OK Glass, what's this?' and then waiting a few seconds and then hearing an audio description through the bone conductive ear piece behind the ear about what the object is," he said.

"So for example if you had a tin, being able to identify that it is a tin of baked beans or a tin of spaghetti or a tin of soup."

The technology is in its early stages, but Mr Guest said there had already been a very positive response from people with hearing and sight problems.

"It's a very exciting time for the possibilities of wearables," he said.

"The apps are not launched as yet but really it's all about experimentation and businesses trying the technology, trying it out before it's publicly available, understanding how it works and building experiments and trialling them in the marketplace."

Success not guaranteed

Wearable technology like Google Glass has raised privacy concerns.

But Google Glass already has a legion of vocal critics and sceptics.

Controversy over the technology led to some wearers being labelled "glass-holes".

It is not yet clear when the technology will be on sale to the Australian public and with a current sale price of $US1,500, it is not likely to come cheap.

Nor it is certain if the device will be a commercial success.

Catalyst presenter Dr Graham Phillips was among those to have a preliminary look at the new technology.

"I tried them once and I could see they could be compelling technology," he said.

"But it's kind of distracting. You can either take part in the conversation in the room, or you're sort of looking to the screen to the right."

He said it was far too soon to say if the technology would endure.

"I don't know, I mean it depends what apps they develop I suspect," he said.

"One of my favourites is the universal translator, you can look at any text in any language and the glasses will instantly convert it into English for you so you could see the entire world in English.

"I've heard of surgeons wearing them while they're doing an operation, beaming the pictures directly back to students who are watching on," Dr Phillips said.

Privacy concerns

But privacy worries surrounding the new technology drew the most criticism.

"The video option is an issue I think. I mean you can video, you can record anything you like anytime and I don't think people like being recorded," Dr Phillips said.

"If you're talking to someone in glasses and you don't know if they're recording your conversation or not, that's quite unsettling.

"At least with a phone, they're kind of pointing it at you, you know when you're being recorded, but with these things you don't know."

Australia's Privacy Commissioner was among the worldwide chorus who wrote to the tech behemoth Google to express concern about Glass's capacity to record and instantly post images to the internet.

Victoria's Acting Privacy Commissioner David Watts told the ABC that like many new technologies, Google Glass and similar devices can be extraordinarily useful for many people working in a range of professions.

"However, they also come with a range of significant privacy and security risks to not only the privacy of people being observed by the glasses but to the wearers themselves," Mr Watts said.

"Privacy is about controlling who knows what about you.

"If a person is wearing Google Glass, how can people they are observing have confidence that they aren't being filmed or recorded and that this information won't be misused, for example by publishing it online?"

He also warned of potential risks to the security of information if employees and others wear these types of devices and are able to film and upload information that they have access to.

Helping new mothers

Another Australian developer also reported a good response from new mothers who used Google Glass to help them learn to breastfeed.

Lucy Colman and her Melbourne team created an app allowing a private video stream to the Australian Breastfeeding Association to give mothers professional, one-to-one advice.

"The idea is the Glass enables breastfeeding counsellors to see what is happening with the baby and the child and the mother through the mother's perspective," Ms Colman said.

She said reaction from mothers who struggled with breastfeeding was terrific.

Sorry, this video has expired Breastfeeding mothers to get help from wearable technology ( Paul Kennedy and Beverley O'Connor )

"It's all positive, they all love it, and everyone one of them has come away being able to breastfeed confidently which is what we're after.

"Breastfeeding isn't necessarily an innate skill, you think it would be but it's actually quite difficult and challenging, and there's a lot of learning and we really wanted people to come away confident in feeding their baby and that's what we've got through Google Glass," Ms Colman said.

There is no release date yet for the device in Australia.

But when it arrives, these young entrepreneurs are urging the technology's many sceptics to maintain an open mind.

Driven to distraction

Australian police are also examining potential road safety risks posed by the device.

Victoria Police warns that motorists who wear Glass may face careless driving charges.

A police spokesman told the ABC that driving is a complex task and that it is essential that drivers minimise the risk of distraction.

"Anyone caught using mobile phones, GPS or other electronic devices while driving could face penalties," the spokesman said.