How Smart Tech is Penetrating Eyewear

Smart technology has fast gained popularity in recent years. It impacts different industries by integrating systems and applications featuring components of artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced features. This kind of technology is revolutionizing homes, security systems, cell phones, social media, and even wearable accessories. As such, it is unsurprising that leading players in the eyewear industry are innovating their products to be fitted with smart tech.

Some brands are currently making waves for incorporating smart features into their eyewear products, which also contributes to the further growth of the market, with Yahoo! Finance reporting that the industry is expected to become worth $10 billion by 2030. Here, we take a closer look at some notable smart eyewear applications released in recent years to understand better how this kind of technology is revolutionizing wearable accessories today.

Contact lenses are one of the most surprising types of eyewear to have smart technology applications. This is because contacts sit directly on top of the cornea to help correct vision and provide clarity for people with a prescription. With this, companies like Mojo Vision created the Mojo Lens, which are contacts integrated with augmented reality (AR) features by tracking movements in the eye using a microLED display. However, this type of contact lens cannot be worn directly on the eye, although the company has stated that it is working towards a safe prototype to wear as one would regular contacts.

In line with this, some companies such as Xpanceo have unveiled prototypes of their smart contact lenses. The company plans to develop a kind of contact lens that is able to use AR features to “extend” a person’s view and perform tasks like scrolling through media, reading documents, and playing games all through the lenses. While there is no definite release date for these contacts, it is an interesting development in how smart innovations can be applied.

For many, having glasses with advanced tech seems like something out of a movie. But different tech giants have released their own iteration of smart glasses, which all showcase their own strengths. For example, Google released the Google Glass that featured a HD camera and advanced displays that let wearers scroll through social media, use maps, and send messages. However, Google Glass met its demise early, with the company suspending its development by 2015.

However, other eyewear companies have since stepped up to create smart glasses that can meet the current market demands and fit into the fashion niche at the same time. Case in point, Ray-Ban sunglasses have long since been a style accessory that turns heads, but they've now entered the digital space with their Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The glasses are housed with Ray-Ban’s iconic sunglasses frames, such as Wayferer, and have a HD camera that provides a unique first-person point of view when capturing moments, which wearers can share directly to social media. Moreover, the latest AI tech from Meta is also used on these smart glasses, and wearers can simply call out, “Hey, Meta,” to have an AI assistant help them brainstorm ideas, access control features, and ask questions. These smart glasses are a testament to how smart tech is changing the ways we can interact with the world, which is why more people are interested in seeing any further developments for this accessory.

Interestingly enough, specialized eyewear such as goggles have also been integrated with smart technology. Form Swim company took the initiative to develop the FORM smart swim goggles, which help athletes easily track their performance while having coaching features for a more direct approach underwater. These goggles have AR tech that shows swimming their time, distance, and tips in their line of sight, providing more convenience during training and making improvements.

These goggles also connect to a smartphone app so that swimmers can monitor their recorded times and workouts easily while also having features that enable sharing with their coach and other concerned parties. With this kind of tech in the market, other athletes are also waiting for companies to create specialized eyewear to enhance performance in their respective sports, especially considering the huge benefits of smart tech for training.

Much smart tech works by using AI, and that might make our article 5 Ways AI Is Helping Improve Customer Service Performance for Businesses the next interesting read for you.