Researchers Develop Smart Eyewear That Assists Those with Motor Disabilities

"A new research project at the Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interactive Technology (CITEC) in Bielefeld University focuses on the development of a mobile adaptive assistance system in the form of intelligent glasses that provide unobtrusive and intuitive support in everyday situations," reports Medical News Today. "The technology platform is being provided by eye tracking specialist SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) (www.smivision.com). The system will be able to identify problems in actual action processes, to react when mistakes are made, as well as to display situation and context dependent assistance in textual, visual or avatar based formats superimposed on a transparent virtual plane in the users' field of view. The project is called ADAMAAS, which stands for 'Adaptive and Mobile Action Assistance in Daily Living Activities.' The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research is funding the project with 1.2 million Euro." Read more.

Seiko Epson See Market for Smart Glasses

"Seiko Epson Corp. projects sales of its smart glasses to climb fivefold to 10 billion yen ($84 million) in three years, President Minoru Usui said in a Feb. 17 interview with Bloomberg," goes the Bloomberg report on Yahoo! Finance. "Seiko Epson employs high-precision sensors already in use in its projectors for its Moverio smart glass, which is targeted at professionals such as engineers and doctors, Usui said. Google stopped selling Glass on Jan. 19, according to its website." 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.

Smart Glasses for the Visually Impaired

Oxford University researchers are measuring how their smart glasses can help people with limited vision navigate and avoid walking into obstacles, says a university press release. "The idea of the smart glasses is to give people with poor vision an aid that boosts their awareness of what's around them – allowing greater freedom, independence and confidence to get about, and a much improved quality of life," says Dr. Stephen Hicks of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford, who is leading the development of the glasses. 'We eventually want to have a product that will look like a regular pair of glasses and cost no more than a few hundred pounds - about the same as a smart phone,' he adds.

The smart glasses consist of a video camera mounted on the frame of the glasses; a computer processing unit that is small enough to fit in a pocket; and software that provides images of objects close-by to the see-through displays in the eyepieces of the glasses. Read more.

Vuzix Takes Its Smart Glasses to a New Stage

Vuzix Corporation is pushing for developers to create and test apps using an Android emulator configured to operate like Vuzix's M100 smart glasses, notes a company spokesperson. Pre-registered and new developers wishing to be a part of the future of smart glasses can log into the new Vuzix developer center (developer.vuzix.com) and sign up as a smart glasses developer to receive the Phase 1 package which will provide them with the software required to start writing code using the PC emulator for Android. The smart glasses reportedly enable wearers to view data and content from their connected mobile device on a 'hands-free' display.

Smart Glasses Wins Innovation Award from CES

Vuzix Corporation's Vuzix Smart Glasses M100 was selected as an Innovations 2013 Design and Engineering best of innovations honoree and picked as the best new technology in the Wireless Handset Accessories product category. In addition, Vuzix Smart Glasses also received the honoree distinction in the Personal Electronics category as well. The awards were given by the organizers of the Consumers Electronics Show, which runs in January.

The device is described as the world's first enhanced hands-free display and communications system that can access data from a smartphone and the Internet. Its virtual display operates using an Android OS and connects to a compatible device via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. It also runs applications and games on its own, and its integrated camera enables a user to take a picture or to record a video. The device includes an integrated head tracker and GPS for spacial and positional awareness. Read more.

Virtual Sight Combines with Real Sight

"We've been here before: the dream of Deus Ex: Human Revolution-vision within reach of the consumer." So starts Tom's Guide. "Experimental contact lenses are awesome, but we're years away from practical demonstrations. So why not the next best thing, lightweight, unobtrusive glasses that provide almost the same experience and manage not to be bulky to the point of making their use impractical. That's what Vuzix's SMART Glasses Eyewear." Read more.