Historically, the primary purpose of eyeglasses has been to improve the vision to 20/20. But now, eyeglass makers and internet pioneers are joining forces to make those correcting glasses smarter as well, examples of which include focals smart glasses. But, what are smart glasses? Simply put, they are an attempt to bring the wireless connectivity and imaging available on home computers and cellphones into the frames and lenses of eyewear.
Just as it is hard to imagine life without a laptop or mobile phone, it may be possible to enjoy the same versatility and connectivity from eyeglasses and even contact lenses in the near future.
A new generation of smart glasses
Google Glass and its spectacular demise are probably what most of us may think of when talking about smart glasses, but there is a new generation of smart glasses that might be utilised in a business or personal context.
The first is Intel’s Vaunt, a promising product from the New Devices Group (NDG) that Intel established in 2013 and invested hundreds of millions of dollars in to develop consumer products like smart glasses and fitness trackers, according to NextWeb.
Google Glass shows the way
Google was first to launch this new vision of eyewear in 2013 with the introduction of Google Glass Explorer, hoping to build on the popularity of smartwatches and other wearable wireless devices.
Unfortunately, the Explorer proved too geeky, uncomfortable, and expensive for most, prompting Google to pull it off from the market after 18 months.
How smart glasses work
Google Glass, however, proved a worthy smart glasses archetype that other tech players would soon refine.
Features of smart glasses:
Sound: The speaker for wireless audio inputs and cellphone reception sits at the end of the ear rests. Audio is transferred to the ear via bone conduction instead of air conduction through the audio canal.
CPU: The central processing unit (CPU) is situated on the arm of one ear rest.
Mic: The microphone for cellphone conversations and hands-free voice searches is perched under one hinge. Most smart glasses today pair the microphone with a micro speaker for audio feedback and notifications, as well as to listen to music and podcasts.
Projector and Prism: Located above the upper part of the lens, this projection method, called curved mirror or curved mirror combiner, offers partially transparent digital displays without obscuring the real-world view. Some manufacturers now offer an alternative version called waveguide holographic optics. The digital overlay of text and images within the field of view is the key that unlocks the smart glasses experience.
Camera: While an obvious feature in the selfie age, the camera lens at the temple of the Google Glasses brought with it an unintended consequence in the form of privacy concerns. Many onlookers weren’t thrilled to essentially be filmed without their permission, a reaction that may have hastened Explorer’s departure. While smart manufacturers now make camera lenses small enough to fit inconspicuously inside the frame of their products, a few, including Focals by North and Vue, now offer camera-less models.
Powered by touch, speech, or thoughts
Perhaps as entrancing as the visual overlays of smart glasses are the various ways you can control them.
Instead of the keyboard and mouse set-up that we are all used to, smart glasses can be controlled by touching, tapping, or swiping controls built into the frame, verbalising requests as it is done with Alexa and Siri, and/or directing its displays through phone or wearable devices such as the focals smart glasses by North’s.
Other options available to smart glasses makers include gesture recognition of head, eye, and hand movements including nodding or looking up or down, directing via eye tracking, and even controlling the glasses with thoughts.
Smart glasses and better vision
Developers have not overlooked the obvious visual role of all glasses: improving and correcting sight.
Several models have incorporated liquid crystal technology to enable users to filter the level of brightness coming through their smart lenses, controlling the amount of ambient light in their natural surroundings also helps users optimise the visual overlays of their smart glasses.
Filtering brightness is a technological step forward from the photochromic or transitional lenses and could make sunglasses unnecessary.
Increasing style, lowering price, adding AR
As for that troublesome geeky look and sky-high price tag that sank Google’s Explorer, smart glasses are making some headway with stylish models such as the Jins MEME, Meta Pro, and WISEUP. The results are mixed, as although their functionality is limited by their relatively sleek designs, their prices do reflect the limited functionality.
What does the future of smart glasses look like? There’s promise in the recent partnership of Facebook and Ray-Ban parent company Luxottica to launch its augmented-reality collaboration, code-named Orion.
Reportedly designed to replace smartphones, Orion will use augmented reality (AR) technology to live-stream digital images, with voice control through a Siri-like digital assistant. Orion is expected to hit the market between 2023 and 2025.
What’s more, major tech players such as Apple and Bose are also pursuing the potential of smart glasses as a major game-changer in the coming decade.
While the details of Apple’s T228 project remain a mystery, it’s believed to centre around combining virtual and augmented reality in a headset in the same way it did in its popular ARKit platform for iPhone developers.
Meanwhile, Bose, a major audio brand, is working to connect sound-based AR, motion sensors, and GPS data to produce three-dimensional real-time navigation and virtual street tours of attractions like restaurants.
Another is Amazon, which is now offering by invitation Amazon Echo frames which put Alexa on your prescription eyeglasses.
According to c/net, the glasses look like any normal glasses, but discreetly voice Alexa’s responses to your queries through tiny speakers by your ears. You can also swipe the side of the glasses to get more information, set reminders and use smart home gear while on the go.
A filter lets you control which notifications you want to get via the eyeglasses so you won’t be bombarded with every email, phone call or doorbell ring, making for a comfortable wearing experience.
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