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Wearable technology draws out Rochester firms
Several companies working to adapt or manufacture smart glasses or related products
"Think smartphones are big?
Experts say wearable technology — smart watches, Google Glass, augmented reality goggles and digital wristbands — will become the iconic gadgets and quite possibly the next round of needed technology for firms in the foreseeable future.
Simply put, micro computers and monitors are being put in everyday items like glasses, watches, wristbands or T-shirts to track physical activity take video, shoot photos and even help firms collect inventory and more.
Some devices will learn from the data collected to generate a list of recommendations or take actions on behalf of the users.
Now at about $1.4 billion, the wearable technology industry is expected to grow to $19 billion in five years. According to ABI Research, the market will grow to 485 million devices by 2018, including more than 75 million pairs of smart glasses.
And Rochester already has a stake in the emerging industry, especially the sector related to Google Glass and similar eyewear.
Primo customer
RedBottle Design, a software development company in Rochester, has created a shopping app for use with Google Glass to help shoppers get more information about products and pay for them.
Rochester Optical has hired Tim Moore, partly because of his experience in developing wearable technology, to assist in the company's effort to create prescription lenses for use with Google Glass.
And Vuzix, a Henrietta company making smart glasses, is continuing to expand and offer new innovative products, such as augmented reality glasses, video glasses and virtual reality glasses.
"I know that there are four or five Rochester companies that are involved in different levels with Google Glass, and I don't think that any of them want to talk about it," said Tom Battley, executive director of the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster and New York Photonics.
“You look through these glasses and what you see is the real world, but augmented with other information. ”
— Paul Travers, CEO of Vuzix
"That's a pretty primo customer and you don't want to divulge anything that a primo customer is not OK with divulging," he said, adding that the local companies are involved in manufacturing, technology, systems, and "component-level stuff."
As some see it, these firms are already on the ground floor of an industry with sizeable long-term economic potential.
"This is the beginnings of a multi-billion dollar industry, and it's the guys that are out front that have the intellectual property that all stand a chance of doing pretty well with this," said Paul Travers, CEO of Vuzix, which he started in 1997.
"Some people come out and say Google is inventing this whole new category of product, but this technology, the idea of it, has been around forever," Travers said.
Vuzix began with a focus on defense industry by making night vision systems for DRS Technologies and Raytheon, both major defensed contractors. In 2004, Vuzix released the company's first wearable technology product for the consumer market.
"Some years we sold as many as 40,000 or 50,000 pieces. Today we have offices in the UK, we have offices in Japan, we sell our products worldwide. We're in 50-some countries," Travers said.
Vuzix glasses provide on-screen instructions to workers to help find items in warehouses and provide assistance during service calls. Vuzix also makes devices for entertainment, to watch movies and play advanced video games, such as flight simulators.
"You can watch movies, do augmented reality and virtual reality with them," Travers said.
Vuzix glasses are smaller and less bulky than in the past. The device resembles sunglasses, but will have batteries and CPUs to serve as a wearable computer, and if needed, can be outfitted with prescription lenses.
"We're convinced that in the mass market, until these things look like conventional glasses, they're not going to be for everybody. It's one of the biggest concerns people have about Google Glass right now," he said.
Tom Hasselberg, of Spencerport works in an area at Vuzix.(Photo: Jamie Germano/staff photographer)
Massive numbers
Still, the smart glass business is in its infancy.
"The ultimate goal is you're walking down the street, you're getting directional information in front of you," Travers said.
"You look through these glasses and what you see is the real world, but augmented with other information," he added. "That's the ultimate goal of these glasses. An example is a language translation where you hold up the menu and what you're seeing in the menu through these glasses is in English but it's all in Japanese. You'll sit in your living room and characters will step out of your TV set."
Vuzix has about 35 employees, including about a dozen engineers who design and develop products at the Henrietta location. But products, such as smart glasses, are expected to generate jobs for thousands of developers who create apps for the devices.
While Google may become the dominant player in the market, the market will be big enough for others.
"Google's going to make Glass successful. I think they'll sell millions of them, but think about it, there's a billion smart phones sold every year. It's a massive number, and to think that everybody is going to wear Google Glass, I don't think that will be the case," Travers said.
In November, Rochester Optical hired Moore, the founder of Wilmington, N.C.-based Venture Glass, a Google Glass research and product development firm. Moore joined Rochester Optical's marketing and technology teams, and works with the company's research and development team in wearable technology.
Rochester Optical is developing custom lenses for use with Google Glass.
Google Glass is not yet widely available to consumers, but has been made available to about 40,000 buyers serving as a test market. Five such users, including Moore, work at Rochester Optical and they all wear prescription eyeglasses.
"If you want Google Glass, and you want prescriptions for them that are stylish, that are in frames, we're going to have versions for men and versions for women. They'll be very stylish and colorful, and they'll match your glass and so forth," Moore said. "We've got hundreds on the waiting list now and we're trying to ramp up so that as soon as we say we're ready we can start fulfilling them pretty fast."
Moore said he attended a wearable technology conference in Los Angeles recently where "the big acknowledgment was that we're just starting in this effort, this wearable technology stuff."
"The biggest thing that people are looking for is obstacle-free experiences and communication," he said. "Right now the phone requires us to take our eyes off the road, or to look away from someone to look at your device. A wearable headset doesn't require any of that."
www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/...ter-firms/4288565/
Several companies working to adapt or manufacture smart glasses or related products
"Think smartphones are big?
Experts say wearable technology — smart watches, Google Glass, augmented reality goggles and digital wristbands — will become the iconic gadgets and quite possibly the next round of needed technology for firms in the foreseeable future.
Simply put, micro computers and monitors are being put in everyday items like glasses, watches, wristbands or T-shirts to track physical activity take video, shoot photos and even help firms collect inventory and more.
Some devices will learn from the data collected to generate a list of recommendations or take actions on behalf of the users.
Now at about $1.4 billion, the wearable technology industry is expected to grow to $19 billion in five years. According to ABI Research, the market will grow to 485 million devices by 2018, including more than 75 million pairs of smart glasses.
And Rochester already has a stake in the emerging industry, especially the sector related to Google Glass and similar eyewear.
Primo customer
RedBottle Design, a software development company in Rochester, has created a shopping app for use with Google Glass to help shoppers get more information about products and pay for them.
Rochester Optical has hired Tim Moore, partly because of his experience in developing wearable technology, to assist in the company's effort to create prescription lenses for use with Google Glass.
And Vuzix, a Henrietta company making smart glasses, is continuing to expand and offer new innovative products, such as augmented reality glasses, video glasses and virtual reality glasses.
"I know that there are four or five Rochester companies that are involved in different levels with Google Glass, and I don't think that any of them want to talk about it," said Tom Battley, executive director of the Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster and New York Photonics.
“You look through these glasses and what you see is the real world, but augmented with other information. ”
— Paul Travers, CEO of Vuzix
"That's a pretty primo customer and you don't want to divulge anything that a primo customer is not OK with divulging," he said, adding that the local companies are involved in manufacturing, technology, systems, and "component-level stuff."
As some see it, these firms are already on the ground floor of an industry with sizeable long-term economic potential.
"This is the beginnings of a multi-billion dollar industry, and it's the guys that are out front that have the intellectual property that all stand a chance of doing pretty well with this," said Paul Travers, CEO of Vuzix, which he started in 1997.
"Some people come out and say Google is inventing this whole new category of product, but this technology, the idea of it, has been around forever," Travers said.
Vuzix began with a focus on defense industry by making night vision systems for DRS Technologies and Raytheon, both major defensed contractors. In 2004, Vuzix released the company's first wearable technology product for the consumer market.
"Some years we sold as many as 40,000 or 50,000 pieces. Today we have offices in the UK, we have offices in Japan, we sell our products worldwide. We're in 50-some countries," Travers said.
Vuzix glasses provide on-screen instructions to workers to help find items in warehouses and provide assistance during service calls. Vuzix also makes devices for entertainment, to watch movies and play advanced video games, such as flight simulators.
"You can watch movies, do augmented reality and virtual reality with them," Travers said.
Vuzix glasses are smaller and less bulky than in the past. The device resembles sunglasses, but will have batteries and CPUs to serve as a wearable computer, and if needed, can be outfitted with prescription lenses.
"We're convinced that in the mass market, until these things look like conventional glasses, they're not going to be for everybody. It's one of the biggest concerns people have about Google Glass right now," he said.
Tom Hasselberg, of Spencerport works in an area at Vuzix.(Photo: Jamie Germano/staff photographer)
Massive numbers
Still, the smart glass business is in its infancy.
"The ultimate goal is you're walking down the street, you're getting directional information in front of you," Travers said.
"You look through these glasses and what you see is the real world, but augmented with other information," he added. "That's the ultimate goal of these glasses. An example is a language translation where you hold up the menu and what you're seeing in the menu through these glasses is in English but it's all in Japanese. You'll sit in your living room and characters will step out of your TV set."
Vuzix has about 35 employees, including about a dozen engineers who design and develop products at the Henrietta location. But products, such as smart glasses, are expected to generate jobs for thousands of developers who create apps for the devices.
While Google may become the dominant player in the market, the market will be big enough for others.
"Google's going to make Glass successful. I think they'll sell millions of them, but think about it, there's a billion smart phones sold every year. It's a massive number, and to think that everybody is going to wear Google Glass, I don't think that will be the case," Travers said.
In November, Rochester Optical hired Moore, the founder of Wilmington, N.C.-based Venture Glass, a Google Glass research and product development firm. Moore joined Rochester Optical's marketing and technology teams, and works with the company's research and development team in wearable technology.
Rochester Optical is developing custom lenses for use with Google Glass.
Google Glass is not yet widely available to consumers, but has been made available to about 40,000 buyers serving as a test market. Five such users, including Moore, work at Rochester Optical and they all wear prescription eyeglasses.
"If you want Google Glass, and you want prescriptions for them that are stylish, that are in frames, we're going to have versions for men and versions for women. They'll be very stylish and colorful, and they'll match your glass and so forth," Moore said. "We've got hundreds on the waiting list now and we're trying to ramp up so that as soon as we say we're ready we can start fulfilling them pretty fast."
Moore said he attended a wearable technology conference in Los Angeles recently where "the big acknowledgment was that we're just starting in this effort, this wearable technology stuff."
"The biggest thing that people are looking for is obstacle-free experiences and communication," he said. "Right now the phone requires us to take our eyes off the road, or to look away from someone to look at your device. A wearable headset doesn't require any of that."
www.democratandchronicle.com/story/money/...ter-firms/4288565/
