The M100 smartglasses platform has been in the market for quite some time and has been offered in a wide range of professional applications. As a short refresher, the M100 smartglasses offer a monocular design similar to the now withdrawn Google Glass, but in contrast to that device, provide see through capability. The M100 has a WQVGA (400 x 240) resolution and a 15° field of view (diagonal).
The design allowed to use the device on either the right or the left eye and was worn like a bluetooth headset over the ear.
Source: Vuzix
The latest announcement adds safety glasses to the mix by attaching the M100 to a pair of safety glasses provides by Rochester Optical. A similar solution was also announced earlier by Rochester Optical for the Google glass and the Epson Moverio BT 200 devices.
The Safety glasses are ANSI / ISEA (International Safety Equipment Association) Z87.1-2010 certified, allowing the use in challenging environments, where wearing safety glasses is a requirement. This expands the use of the Vuzix smartglasses into this area of industrial use.
As the image shows, this is a no-nonsense setup that leaves very little room for fashion statements. At the first glance, it seems a bit obvious to attach the M100 smartglasses to a safety glasses frame. However, Rochester Optical is using its Smart Gold lenses, introduced in 2013.
These lenses allow the users of augmented headsets to not only use augmented reality technology with prescription lenses, but are also optimized for viewing the augmented headset display without interfering with real world vision. The area for viewing the augmented reality displays is in the upper corner of the lens and is designed to reduce any prismatic effects and spherical aberration. They are also inteneded to improve visual acuity and relieve eye fatigue. When used with an M100, the lenses support a monocular design, Rochester Optical also offers solutions for binocular headsets. – NH
