7 minute read
Escaping the niche
Escaping the niche
Smart glasses between medical applications and a brave new AR world
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Syda Productions/stock.adobe.com
The future of so-called smart glasses seemed to be over back in 2014. Google’s innovative smart glasses had failed to capture the market for the time being, despite having undeniably attracted the interest of consumers. Eight years later, a small specialist exhibition at the Silmo international ophthalmic optics trade fair convincingly showed that through new manufacturing techniques and software developments, combined with connection to smartphones via apps, new product worlds are currently being created around this type of spectacles, for the industrial, lifestyle and medical sectors. Will 2023 be the year in which smart glasses finally make the breakthrough to long-term market success?
By Frank Sonnenberg
The market for smart glasses is gaining momentum. This is understandable in the light of the rapid progress in digital transformation that is currently gripping our society and industry. In particular, the opportunities offered by virtual and augmented reality are increasingly being made feasible by new technological developments.
Consumer applications are becoming increasingly interesting
Over the past year, various prototypes and smart glasses nearly ready for market have been presented. More such glasses than ever before. There is no question that something is afoot in this market segment. As elsewhere, this was also evident at Silmo 2022, where a portfolio of new products and their possibilities were presented to the ophthalmic experts, thus sending a clear signal for the future.
Just how important the topic is for the industry is shown, for example, by the investment being made by Fielmann Ventures, the venture and investment arm of the Fielmann Group, in the Israeli deep-tech company Deep Optics, the inventor and pioneer of spectacles with a dynamic optical focus.
Based in Petah Tikva, Israel, the deep-tech company is developing what can be called a disruptive spectacle lens technology in the field of electro-optics: liquid crystal lenses which can adjust the optical focus of the lens to any required distance. The advantage of this patented technology is said to be that, compared to normal progressive lenses, the spectacle wearer benefits from a significantly larger field of view. According to Fielmann, the technology could not only fundamentally change the market for spectacle lenses, it also opens up exciting applications in the field of smart glasses.
AR is helping in the medical field
One area of application for smart glasses with future potential is in the field of ophthalmology with the target group those suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
According to the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS), the proportion of people with late-stage AMD in Germany compared to the overall population is 0.59% (i.e. about 488,000 people), and the proportion of people with early-stage, age-related macular degeneration is 8.43% (i.e. about 6,981,000 people).[1]
In view of the European and global multi-million patient market, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the USA recently awarded a 2023 Innovation Prize in the category ‘Wearable Technologies’ to a pair of smart glasses.
Obe: More concealed is the innovation from Obe. At Silmo, the German company presented a universal hinge solution for secure data connections. The specially designed bracket hinge is said to put less strain on the wiring harness required for smart glasses, to be easy to install and remove again, and to open smoothly.
The award went to Cellico's Arges Smart AR glasses for the visually impaired. The glasses were developed for people suffering from age-related macular degeneration. This eye condition affects the central area of vision, making it difficult for sufferers to recognize faces, read, drive or even perform basic tasks like cooking.
The smart glasses are equipped with a small 4k camera and a mobile app to capture and process images in real time. The images are then transmitted back to the wearer of the glasses via an augmented reality display. According to the company, this process redirects the central vision to the peripheral field of view, allowing AMD sufferers to recover their lost sight.
The low vision glasses exhibited at Silmo by the French supplier Light Vision are aimed at the same target group.
Light Vision: The field of application is ophthalmology with the target group of AMD sufferers. Thanks to eye tracking technology, the glasses recognize the still healthy areas of the retina of the most powerful eye and project the image that the owner wants to see onto these areas.
Revival of smart glasses for consumers –but this time more attractive
Examples of other consumer applications are smart glasses with a connection to a cell phone and data projection into the wearer's field of view.
Skugga: If Skugga has its way, there will be no more clunky data glasses. The company unveiled an electronic module in Paris that can be built into design-oriented eyewear. It is designed for mass production and is said to be suitable for a variety of frames made of different materials such as acetate, 3D-printed polymer and injection-molded plastic frames. With Skugga technology, eyeglass wearers have Bluetooth access to motion and environmental sensor data, notifications, navigation or other app functions.
While the Google glasses of the time were still very technical and polarized, the latest models are more camouflaged and marketed by their producers as a fashion article with additional technical attributes.
The aim of these products is to interact with the surroundings via augmented reality (AR), but without having to wear a special headset.
Smart glasses looking more like normal spectacles are most likely what we will come to expect in future. Their aim is to access specific information quickly and easily, to be able to understand another language or to be guided from A to B by a virtual navigation system.
Cosmo: Smart glasses for cyclists and motorcyclists with head-up display. Cell phone data is transferred to the glasses via cell phone Bluetooth.
The French manufacturer Cosmo Connected showed what this nottoo-distant future might already look like with Cosmo Vision: a pair of biker glasses connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth. The Cosmo Vision app transfers data from a smartphone to the right eye of the glasses, where speed, travelling times and navigation information can be displayed. A practical head-up display that is already familiar from smart helmets. But now it is also available to scooter riders and jet helmet wearers. What is displayed in the glasses is controlled by swiping the sensor of the left lens.
The smart glasses Tooz Essnz Berlin take a different approach. A normal form factor is also in the foreground here, while the technology is somewhat hidden. You might also say: less of a nerdy design, more of a mainstream approach. Here, too, information from the cell phone is projected onto the inside of the lenses mounted in the frame. However, the lenses form an integral part of the smart technology concept. In short, a concrete structure is incorporated into the lens with individual vision correction, via which the information is then projected in front of the eye.
Tooz: The innovation here lies in the combination of frame and lens. Information is made accessible to the eye of the wearer via a prism and total reflection on transparent conductive paths in the lens.
Smart glasses for industrial applications
Different working environments, different demands. Industrial and medical applications call for customized smart glasses with specially adapted monitors, loudspeakers, lighting, etc.
A large number of smart-glass solutions are concerned here, depending on the specific requirements. Including conventional VR headsets. Innovation is also in evidence here. Also recognized by CES with the 2023 Innovation Award was the VR/MR (Virtual Reality/Mixed Reality)
headset insert from Voy Glasses. Reason: The VR or MR lens insert to the system is the world's first tunable lens for VR or MR devices. This insert allows people with myopia to see VR or MR headset images clearly without the need for prescription glasses. The tunable range is from 0 to -6.0 dpt.
Smart glasses are becoming a reality
The future of smart glasses is already here. There can be no talk of a niche product any more. In addition to the lifestyle target group with its natural affinity for smart glasses, the medical applications in particular promise to become another driving force in the market. This also has important implications for ophthalmic optics. Is another industry transformation on the horizon? Who will be responsible for sales and marketing of smart glasses? Can specialist opticians or ophthalmologists do this? Who will be responsible for customer service? Even if smart glasses have a close connection with ophthalmic optics, might other distribution channels soon emerge as additional market players, and thus competitors? And what about the product lifecycle from manufacturing to recycling? Are the frames based on a sustainable design and recycling concept that clearly separates materials and technical components in a circular value chain? Is this as smart as the spectacles themselves? Collecting used smart glasses and later shipping them in bulk to developing countries probably won’t work.
Ellcie Healthy: Smart glasses, which focus on safety for the wearer. Thanks to intelligently networked glasses, drivers are to be notified in real time, for example, if a lack of vigilance is detected. In addition, the data glasses will be able to automatically detect falls and alert help in case of danger. It is also to be positioned on the market in the field of health and activity tracking. The glasses will allow people to monitor their physical activity, such as the number of steps taken per day, which will provide a valuable indication of the energy consumed.
Some smart-glass products have already been scheduled to be launched in 2023. More will follow in the years to come. Large tech companies like Apple and Google are also likely to enter the market with their own products. What the market will actually look like in the coming years remains to be seen. But whatever happens, it’s sure to be exciting. ◆
[1] https://www.woche-des-sehens.de/infothek/zahlen-und-fakten augenkrankheiten-zahlen-fuer-deutschland
