Augmented reality—the ability to superimpose virtual data onto real-world environments—is appealing in theory, but typical head-mounted displays have the subtlety of a sledgehammer to your forehead.
Vusix, a video-eyewear company from Rochester, NY, has invented an electronic headset that looks—and works—like a pair of designer sunglasses. Unveiled at the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, the Internet-connected “Smart” device uses holographic film to serve interactive content right before your eyes. Besides changing the way you work and play, not to mention interact with your assorted gadgets, the Smart also has potential applications in
military ops, emergency response, and
disaster management.
SUPERVISION
Featuring a sleek wraparound design, the Smart can be used indoors or out, at night or in full daylight. Thanks to licensing from
Nokia, Vuzix says the glasses are able to offer portability and visual quality while meeting the demands in mobility, thermal sighting systems, tactical wearable displays, and virtual reality.
Featuring a sleek wraparound design, the Smart can be used indoors or out, at night or in full daylight.
The technology comprises a compact display engine that relays any digital output by shunting wavelengths of light onto a 1.4-millimeter-thick polymer lens. It then expands the image back into the eye, creating an image that mixes the virtual with what you see before you in real life. “Smart glasses technology is much more than just a wearable TV,” the company says in
a press release. “Designed to work with smart devices that are typically connected to the Internet, Smart glasses are interactive and merge virtual information with the real world.”
