Is the upcoming release of the Google Glass device going to inspire a revolution in the realms of wearable technology? The answer to that question remains to be seen, but Intel is certainly keeping an eye on the possibility.

According to a report from eWeek, the California-based computer chip manufacturer recently lodged a “significant investment”  in Recon Instruments, a company that has been making rugged sports computer headsets not unlike Google’s Glass for five years now. Intel’s investment will help the company to go further in its wearable computing innovation and product development, as well as expand the firm’s budget for marketing.

Intel certainly has a good reason for getting on board with wearable devices while they are still on the ground floor. Experts from Juniper Research recently predicted that wearable computing would be the next big boom in technology, expanding from a relatively small market of $15 million today to ten times that in a space of five years. If the Google Glass ends up being the major game changer that it has been heralded as, then there could be an awful lot of money in the wearable device market – for major players, at least – and Intel wants to get its computer chips into Recon’s wearable technology to make sure that it can become one of those major players.

Of course, the start of the wearable device evolution could be in for a delay. Google revealed in August that it would not ship the Glass until 2014 – instead of during the busy 2013 holiday season as had been originally expected. Google Glass has been in beta testing for awhile now, and the company has constantly been in the spotlight for the tweaks and major changes it has made to the device along the way. Most of Google’s product transformations on the Glass have related to privacy or device security.

But while Google’s decision to push back the Google Glass release makes sense – the search engine giant wants to make sure it has the best product possible – it’s a risky one in the feeding frenzy that the wearable device market will likely soon become. With this major investment in Recon Instruments, Intel is developing a strategic position, and they aren’t alone. Other companies, from Samsung to Nike, are preparing wearable technology as well, and Apple, after revolutionizing new market potential for mp3 players, tablets, and smartphones, can never be counted out as a force to be reckoned with.