Innovega Closer to Offering AR CLs/Eyewear

“Google's Glass wearable has yet to exit its beta ‘Explorer Program’ -- though prescription lenses appear to be on the way -- and still tends to freak people out and keep the critics testing it in the wild apprehensive of wearing it in public settings,” according to CNET. “Innovega, which showcased its unique iOptik augmented reality (AR) device on the head of a mannequin at last year's CES, is confident that it's getting closer to [augmented reality contact lenses that]…we'll actually want to wear, but with the unconventional caveat of contact lenses, an untested stipulation at the moment. The company, headed up by CEO Stephen Willey, will be back at CES 2014 next week, but this time with a fully functioning prototype. The device, a pair of sleek eyeglasses capable of overlaying digital media and transparent AR data onto the accompanying lenses, will be worn by Innovega staff on the floors of CES. But why does one need to slip something over our eyeballs to use the iOptik system?” Read more.

Augmented Reality Eyewear/CL Roundup

“The rush is on to market eyeglasses that augment your vision with a dose of media -- from the much-celebrated Google Glass project to a pair of specs made by Visux that my colleague Scott Stein sported the other night here at CES 2013.” That's the beginning of the augmented reality eyewear/contact lens market from CNET. Read more.

Update: AR System Using Eyewear and Contact Lenses

“With Project Glass an early prototype, competitors are pushing to deliver augmented reality glasses before Google makes its move.” So starts a Verge post from the Consumer Electronics Show. “Unlike every other set we've seen, though, the Innovega iOptik system is more than a pair of glasses. Half the system, to be sure, is a pair of the large, slightly goofy frames and lenses we've come to expect. But the core of iOptik is a pair of contact lenses embedded with tiny optical components and a filter. On their own, these behave just like ordinary contacts, and they'll incorporate users' prescriptions when necessary. But add the glasses, and you've got a heads-up display that promises a far wider field of vision than you'd get from a competitor like Vuzix.” Read more.

In a separate announcement, the company explained that by eliminating the usual magnifying optics from the eyewear and integrating them into a nano-tech contact lens, Innovega designers have been able to deliver high-performance imagery from compact and stylish eyewear. The Innovega eyewear system is thus comprised of two elements: 1) micro-projectors or flat-panels that are integrated into eyewear and provide a media gateway, and 2) novel iOptik contact lenses that deliver a crisp view of both near-eye rich media and of the environment. 

The lenses are based on modern fabrication methods and can be worn in the usual fashion with or without the Innovega eyewear. When the eyewear is worn, any accessible media is instantly available and is overlaid onto or blended with the environment. An interesting benefit of the iOptik lenses is that they include the wearer’s prescription and therefore improve their normal view of their real-world surroundings.

The company reports that early adopters may be those with the lowest switching costs - more than one hundred million global consumers who already wear and enjoy contact lenses (as do more than 20% of North American 18 to 34 year-old consumers who already drive demand for mobile and other media devices). Once the unique benefit of iOptik is realized, other market segments will quickly form. Read more from iOptik.

AR System Using Eyewear and Contact Lenses

“With Project Glass an early prototype, competitors are pushing to deliver augmented reality glasses before Google makes its move.” So starts a Verge post from the Consumer Electronics Show . “Unlike every other set we've seen, though, the Innovega iOptik system is more than a pair of glasses. Half the system, to be sure, is a pair of the large, slightly goofy frames and lenses we've come to expect. But the core of iOptik is a pair of contact lenses embedded with tiny optical components and a filter. On their own, these behave just like ordinary contacts, and they'll incorporate users' prescriptions when necessary. But add the glasses, and you've got a heads-up display that promises a far wider field of vision than you'd get from a competitor like Vuzix.” Read more.

iOptik Wins Popular Science Invention Award

How iOptik works according to Popular Science.

"After two decades as an electrical engineer, Randy Sprague quit his job in 2008 to start a solar power company," starts the Popular Science post. "He had been planning the venture for years, saving up, getting his wife’s blessing. But then one morning while taking a shower, he had a brainstorm for an entirely different idea: contact lenses that could act as part of a wearable display. Users could instantly augment their view with information—say, the price of an antique in a store or the species of a tree in the forest—or transform their field of vision into a virtual videogame screen. Suddenly the solar company no longer seemed as appealing." That was the birth of iOptik. Read more.

Pentagon Orders Dual Focus CLs

"The Pentagon has put in an order for prototype contact lenses that give users a much wider field of vision," according to a report from the BBC. "The lenses are designed to be paired with compact heads up display (HUD) units - glasses that allow images to be projected onto their lenses. Much bulkier HUDs are already deployed by the US Army and Air Force to superimpose data about targets and other status updates over users' views. The tech could help troops enhance their awareness on the battlefield. The iOptik system's developer, Innovega, told the BBC it had signed a contract earlier this week to deliver a fully-functioning prototype to the Pentagon's research laboratory, Darpa." Read more.