Epson and Vuzix Press Ahead with Smart Eyewear

Aside from Intel purchasing smart eyewear company Recon, there's more news on the smart eyewear front.

According to ReadWrite, "Epson has unveiled a significant upgrade to its Moverio smart eyewear device with the BT-2000...[T]he BT-2000 is focused on business use, offering a variety of augmented-reality apps for professional users. The integrated camera gets a bump to 5 megapixels and now includes 3D depth sensing, while its AR capabilities are boosted further with the addition of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for more-accurate head tracking. The display has been brightened up and the unit now supports voice control even without an active Wi-Fi connection. That all should mean a clearer display for the wearer and more accurate AR capabilities. The software running on the BT-2000 eyewear is based on Android, and Epson says the device is going on sale in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan and the U.S. this fall." Read more.

Eyeglass World has launched the first retail collection of prescription lenses for the Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses and other smart glasses technologies, says a press release from Vuzix. The debut coincides with Eyeglass World's retail expansion into California. Eyeglass World celebrated the grand opening of a Vista, California location on Friday, June 19, 2015, which is the first of eight Eyeglass World stores planned for the San Diego area by June 2016. Read more.

Intel Buys Smart Eyewear Company, Recon

"Last week Intel announced the acquisition of Recon Instruments, a Canadian company that sell smart glasses dedicated to sport people, and already raised funds from Intel Capital in September 2013," reports GPS Business News. "In total the company raised $17 million over three rounds and the acquisition is said to be upwards of $175 million.'This acquisition gives Intel a talented, experienced wearable computing team that will help us expand the market for head mounted display products and technologies,' wrote Josh Walden, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s New Technology Group." Read more.

Intel Buys Swiss Smart Eyewear Startup

“Just as Google has stepped back from making networked eyewear, Intel is stepping into the gap with the purchase of Swiss startup Composyt Light Labs for an undisclosed amount,” according to a post on ZDNET. “A spinoff of the famous Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, known as the EPFL), the company creates smart glass technology that can work with any type of eyewear. For its initial designs, the startup uses an ultra-miniature laser projector (developed by another EPFL start-up Lemoptix) built into the frame of the glasses. This projects images onto a transparent lens, which has a holographic film coating that reflects the information towards the eye.” Read more.

Intel Makes Two Smart-Eyewear Deals with Luxottica and Vuzix

"Intel's continuing to push aggressively into the world of wearables. On Wednesday it signed a deal with Luxottica Group to develop smart eyewear in time for a product launch next year," reports PC World. "According to Intel's press release, the partnership will 'deliver smart, fashion-forward products that are meaningful and desirable to consumers.'" Read more.

Meanwhile Vuzix Corp. announced that Intel Corporation has made a $24.8 million investment into the Vuzix Corp., according to a Vuzix press release on Yahoo! Finance Canada. Vuzix will use Intel's investment for general working capital to accelerate the introduction of its next generation fashion-based wearable display products. Read more.

Intel and Luxottica Introducing Smart Glasses Next Year

“Chip giant Intel and eyewear manufacturer Luxottica Group are teaming up to incorporate smart technology into premium, luxury, and sports eyewear,” reports PC Magazine. “Details remain scant, but the partnership is in the early stages. The goal, they said, is to "push the boundaries of research and development to anticipate what smart technology for eyewear will look like in the future." The first device from Intel and Luxottica is expected to launch in 2015…Earlier this week, reports indicated that the next-gen version of Google Glass would ditch Texas Instruments for Intel chips. Intel reportedly intends to market Glass to hospital networks and manufacturers, while also developing new workplace uses for the device. Luxottica, meanwhile, cozied up to Google in March, announcing a partnership in which the eyewear maker would provide a team of experts to work on Glass products, developed specifically under its Ray-Ban and Oakley brands.” Read more.