Vuzix Shield are advanced smart glasses that actually look good and safety-certified for enterprise

Eyewear as wearable technology is not new, with Google Glasses available to developers since 2014 (and a second iteration in 2019). It was considered cool to wear a cyborg-looking pair of glasses so that you could interact with your mobile device in a new way and akin to augmented reality.

Being able to make use of Google Maps for directions without looking at your phone to figure your bearings or browse your social feed are probably good use-cases to improve our lifestyle and time spent.

However, I’m not too sure if it made practical sense to dish out US$1,500 (S$2,000) to use these as a daily driver back then with their nascent technology, and of course, there is the battery life restriction, so it won’t really be possible to wear this the whole day.

Well, having experienced how smart glasses and wearable headsets have shaped the possibilities of augmented reality , merged reality and more, it's quite telling at this juncture that the biggest gains to be derived is in enterprise environments/solutions and that's exactly where Vuzix has focussed its efforts on its newest offering, the Vuzix Shield.

I personally feel that at this point in time, such wearable technologies would greatly improve the efficiency for companies and reduce errors through real-time feedback via the MicroLED stereo displays on Vuzix Shield. It’s even more relevant with the current pandemic, where such tools would help improve interaction when we are not able to meet face to face.

I’ll be honest, the glasses are really well designed, and I won’t mind wearing them on a daily basis for work. I mean look at them; it just looks like a chunkier pair of glasses but considering it packs a pair of HD stereo cameras (a first for Vuzix), the world's first miniature MicroLED stereo displays , an 8-core CPU, in-temple stereo audio, and more, I would say that it’s quite a lot of tech for such a form factor.

The Vuzix Shield is a CES 2022 Innovation Awards Honouree (of which our own Editor-in-Chief was part of the judging panel), to get a better idea of what Vuzix is offering enterprises, below is an extract from the CES 2022 Innovation Awards page:-

Vuzix Shield is a revolutionary leap for enterprise AR smart glasses. Lightweight, stylish, prescription ready safety glasses and powerful 8-core CPU combine to deliver a singular wearable experience. Connect to the metaverse accessing IT sensors, instructions, or live remote guidance, leaving your hands free.

Scan codes with an advanced reader or wirelessly stream video from the field all enabled through voice or touch. With the world's first miniature uLED stereo displays, Vuzix Shield connects smart workforces with AR systems for optimized performance, safety and operational efficiency.

Furthermore, the Vuzix Shiled smart glasses also boast Z87.1 safety glass rating where the glasses have to pass high mass impact and penetration tests to be able to safely bear this mark of resiliency.

Let’s look at an example, if you have ever put together a piece of furniture from Ikea, you would usually be provided with a number of screws, bolts, and fittings. At times, some of the screws provided look all too similar. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you were able to easily identify screw A from screw B?

Here is where I think Vuzix Shield will be put to good use. Having the smart glasses connect with the company’s enterprise system, it will allow workers to be fed with real-time identification and feedback to quickly and accurately identify these items in front of them, thus reducing errors, mishaps and in turn improve overall efficiency for businesses.

So will we see smart glasses become part and parcel of our life soon? I don’t really see these glasses becoming mainstream quickly as more companies need to develop solutions that make good use of smart glasses for the masses without intruding on personal privacy concerns and the likes.

However, what I do see are enterprises taking the first step towards smart glass adoption as this technology has immense potential to improve their workforce in many industry sectors.

Vuzix Shield is set to hit the market in the second half of 2022; unfortunately, there is currently no pricing available at the time of reporting.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.