What if we started to think of eyewear not as a device worn over our eyes to help us read or see better or to protect them from the glare of the sun, but rather as a way to control and experience advanced technologies?
“Think of eyewear as the interface to computers, AI, the web and beyond,” Director of Research at e-Vision Smart Optics, Joshua Haddock, tells The CEO Magazine.
We’re entering a new era of extended reality (XR), Haddock enthuses. But if people want to move away from bulky VR headsets and be able to see computer information right in front of their eyes, a lot of new gadgets are going to be needed for people to use, no matter if they’re working or playing.
“We have technology that other companies can use to make products with all the amazing features people want.”
That’s where e-Vision’s IP in XR space – an umbrella term for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) – comes in.
“We have technology that other companies can use to make products with all the amazing features people want,” he explains.
Smart eyewear
Haddock describes vision as the “foundation of our product enhancement suite”. The company is developing XR technologies that overlay digital images and information directly onto your vision – to either block out everything else in virtual reality applications or enhance how and what we see in the real world.
“In all applications, virtual images – both data and information – are interfaced with vision,” he says.
It’s not all around vision, however. Haddock explains that speakers and microphones will be embedded into these devices so users can hear audio content and communicate with other people wearing similar devices. For people who use hearing aids, the technology will allow phone calls, TV and music to flow directly to them.
“In all applications, virtual images – both data and information – are interfaced with vision.”
Other groundbreaking e-Vision IP includes a HUD (Heads-up Display), a transparent screen that displays important information without you having to look away. For the military, when soldiers need to view critical data without being distracted from their surroundings, or in factories, where employees need to have instructions at hand, the tech is game-changing.
There are also new frontiers in sensors that can track where your eyes are focused on to tell devices what you’re looking at and allow your eyes to control it.
Eyewear is one thing, yet the team at e-Vision has pioneered the Electronic Contact Lens (ECL), which will offer many of the same technologies and is, essentially, a tiny computer for your eyes.
The possibilities are sweeping, says Haddock, from turntable optics, or lenses that can automatically adjust their focus, to variable tint to control ambient light without the need for UV.
Tech benefits
“Beyond the expected names such as META, Apple and Microsoft, a new wave of tech companies leveraging smart optics includes Xreal and Rokid for XR, as well as Huawei, Titan, Hoya and Zeiss and for spectacles, AR and myopia and Luxottica for spectacles and AR,” says e-Vision President Joel Zychik.
“The smart contact lens and extended reality markets are set for explosive growth and projected to reach a combined US$592 billion by 2032.”
Its technology will also open up the ability to display images directly onto a retina, so people can be having augmented reality or mixed reality experiences without anyone else even knowing they are using it. The ECLs are fitted with minuscule electronics to power this and are fully controlled wirelessly.
Real-world applications
Haddock foresees breakthrough products that will impact lives across a variety of fields, and the impact on medicine could be particularly significant.
“Imagine surgeons being able to collaborate globally in real-time, sharing live patient reviews,” he says.
The potential for surgical education, in particular, is enormous – particularly compared to the traditional overhead view learning experience. Being able to access MRI and scope imagery during operating procedures could speed up surgery and possibly help improve the surgical process.
“Imagine surgeons being able to collaborate globally in real-time, sharing live patient review.”
Haddock also sees potential for turntable optics, sensors and AR applications to address the global myopia (nearsightedness) epidemic, particularly when a staggering five billion people are predicted to suffer from myopia by 2050. And care providers with e-Vision’s IP integrated into PPE eyewear can ensure compliance with regulations, facilitate remote monitoring and promote best practices.
Company-derived benefits
Medicine isn’t the only field that e-Vision’s IP has the potential to transform, Haddock says. In the workplace in general, people can access team members, pull up diagrams and have expert advice instantly, such is the capacity for real-time, remote support.
Other company-derived benefits include amplified live video streaming on social media: instead of passively watching someone’s video, people will also see and interact with added layers of information, data and images.
Another possibility is in the product demonstration sphere; mountain-climbing enthusiasts, for example, could watch a professional using a specific piece of gear and get real-time tips on the right way to use a product while they climb. Or users could send feedback to designers as they run, bike or hike.
For Haddock and the team at e-Vision, it’s clear that the goal is to make advanced technology accessible and intuitive. By leveraging its IP, it is empowering industries and individuals to experience the future of human-computer interaction seamlessly and effortlessly.
