Vuzix Smart Glasses To Look Like Regular Glasses

You might have heard of Vuzix before — the company unveiled its M100 Smart Glasses at CES 2013 with an eye toward competing with Google Glass mainly by beating it to the punch. On Tuesday, the company announced a new point of differentiation: see-through smart glasses with the look and feel of designer sunglasses.

Though we’ll likely be waiting for quite awhile before we get any sense of what Vuzix’s idea of fashionable smart shades looks like, the company says it has entered an agreement with a “leading global electronics brand” to develop and manufacture the device.

"Many analysts and industry executives are expecting this space to exhibit continued rapid growth.  This was evident at CES last week. With the anticipated growth in this sector, those wearable products that address the real needs of the customer stand to garner the largest market share," said Paul Travers, president of Vuzix in a press statement. "Being able to develop Smart Glasses that look like designer eyewear is critical. The waveguide see-through optics we have developed here at Vuzix have the ability to achieve that design goal.  The resources and commercial reach that may be brought to us from a relationship with a major electronics brand have the ability to create a winning combination."

While aesthetics are certainly a vital element to any wearable tech (the look of Google Glass has been one of its greatest criticisms), it’s important to keep in mind that smart glasses are first and foremost a piece of technology. The fact that Vuzix’s announcement pertains almost entirely to the look of a product that isn’t even expected for several years is somewhat concerning.  

Vuzix says that the first phase of its agreement revolves around building a prototype, which is slated to be completed in 2015. This means that consumers probably shouldn’t hold out for a finished product any earlier than 2016.