Vuzix Smart Glasses Again

Been intriqued by this, mentioned it several times, for a couple of years now,  especially how it claims to eventually integrate with assistant systems like Alexa.   Would like to see that and how it extends the interface.   Engadget here does a hands-on review, coming to the inclusion that it still is not fully developed, and is too expensive.

Vuzix’s smart glasses still aren’t ready for prime time
Despite its features, it's not worth $1,000.    By Nicole Lee, @nicole

After years of development, Vuzix is now ready to ship the Blade, its first pair of consumer-ready smart glasses. I had a good look at it last month, but at the time, it was lacking a few core features like Alexa integration and step-by-step directions. Over the past week however, Vuzix shipped a couple of big software updates and I was finally able to test them out. The features certainly make the Blade a lot more functional than before, but they're still not enough for me to recommend these $1,000 pair of glasses. ... " 

Connecting Smart Glasses to an Assistant

Now we have smart glasses (soon) connecting to an Assistant. To be shown at this weeks CES.   As the review suggests,  most likely interesting for narrow applications in the enterprise, where you really need hands-free, like we tested in the enterprise for machine maintenance.    I remember crawling under a machine, sweating with some smart glasses prototype on, reading a blueprint. 

Still I like the potential ecosystem-broadening aspect of these.  Different than the assistant on a phone App,  but similar.   So if I were climbing a cell tower, or crawling under a machine ...  and need hands-free ... very useful.  Or need to switch assistance quickly based on physical context and voice?  Elsewhere still not so much.    But there are opportunities, and having these examples out there will get people thinking about them.

Vuzix Blade test-drive: The return of the CES smart glasses
Alexa-connected smartglasses are here, minus the Alexa (at the moment). An early hands-on.
By  Scott Stein in CNET

The Vuzix Blade was promised back at CES 2018: The Alexa-connected smart glasses, which I demoed then, were like an updated Google Glass that promised a larger screen and assistant modes. The Vuzix Blade is now the first product I've gotten a chance to test in 2019. So far, what I've realized is that smart glasses are really here.

Whether or not they're useful is another story.

First of all, these $999 glasses aren't really designed for you at all. Vuzix says the glasses are aimed at businesses, or those with impairments that might benefit from pop-up hands-free assistance. This has been the pitch with previous smart glasses and Google Glass-like devices, too, and Vuzix is already focused mainly on enterprise uses for these types of headgear, like the headset the company made with Toshiba that I briefly wore last year.  .... "

Alexa Enabled AR Glasses

I think there is a higher likelihood that something connected to a known and trusted assistant, like Alexa or Google Home will succeed.     But security and privacy, both to the user and the people around people using such glasses, will still be a big issue.  Our own experiments showed there could be real value in narrow domains.

Will consumers wear Alexa-enabled AR glasses?

by Matthew Stern  in RetailWire with Expert Commentary. 

Augmented reality (AR) glasses may finally offer the functionality needed to convince people to wear them — by letting users leverage Amazon.com’s Alexa voice-activated technology.

This year’s CES show will feature the debut of a pair of Alexa-ready AR glasses by Vuzix Corp., according to the Chicago Tribune. Vuzix will initially retail the glasses for $1,000 when releasing them in the second quarter of 2018 (with the eventual goal of cutting that price point in half by 2019). Wearers will be able to speak to Alexa and ask the digital assistant to display images, like maps, on the glasses’ AR readout. The device has been confirmed by Amazon to be the first smart glasses outfitted with Alexa.  .... 

But there remains a belief in some tech circles that a wearable will likely be the device that moves us away from our smartphones and toward interacting with technology in a more intuitive way. For instance, at last year’s IRCE conference, Imran Asani, principal manager of innovation at Walmart Labs, forecasted AR becoming ubiquitous in the next five years, delivered by smart glasses or a similar device.   ....  " 

See also in VRFocus.

Linking Wearables and Augmented Reality

The vendor Metaio is speaking and displaying at the upcoming Consumer Electronics show.  The link between wearables and AR is obvious.   Particularly interesting is the mention of maintenance applications, which we explored for manufacturing applications.

" ... With smartwatches and Google Glass projected to sell tens of millions of units in the next few years, 2014 will begin a new era of wearable computing devices, all of which can be enhanced by visualization technology like Augmented Reality. Metaio, the Augmented Reality Company, will deliver live demonstrations with these devices on the exhibition floor at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show.

Metaio will showcase both consumer-focused and enterprise augmented reality apps on the latest wearable computing platforms like the EPSON Moverio and the Vuzix M-100. Among the demonstrations shown will be a 3-D maintenance app for a Mitsubishi Electric HVAC unit; a demo that allows potential car buyers to switch out components on a vehicle; and “Mirage”, the first AR Browser for wearable computing.... " 

More Smart Glasses

Its not all about the Google Glass idea.  The notion of head-wearable, camera enabled augmented reality is being promoted by a number of vendors.  Metaio reports on another example.  All of these ideas are augmented reality plays.  Metaio is a major software developer in this space. " ... “Wearable computing is the next step for natural, useful Augmented Reality,” said Metaio CTO Peter Meier. “In order to realize the dream of an always on, always augmented world, it is important to have software for developers ready, today, for smart glasses like the Vuzix M100.” ... "