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Mobile AR/VR smartglasses developer and manufacturer Osterhout Design Group (ODG) has closed a $58 million series A funding round with the participation of Shenzhen O-film Tech, Vanfund Urban Investment & Development and several individual investors participated, along with principal outside investor and strategic partner 21st Century Fox.

The money will be used to boost ODG’s production capabilities, complete its new products to be introduced at CES ’17 and expand its...

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During the Wall Street Street Journal's WSJD Live conference, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said there was "no question" the company missed its opportunity when it came to mobile. "We clearly missed the mobile phone, there's no question," Nadella said. "Our goal now is to make sure we grow new categories." 

The peak of the mobile...

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ABI Research has argued in its latest note that wearables in the manufacturing and field services verticals represent one quarter of devices shipped to end users in 2016, while video collaboration software developer Pristine says that more than half of its customers have moved from pilot programs to full-scale production deployments with its smart glasses range.

The forecast from ABI Research notes that shipments of enterprise wearable will increase threefold to top 35 million units in...

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A newly developed ‘artificial vision’ wearable technology device aims to help the almost 250 million people suffering from low vision globally achieve everday tasks with more ease than using traditional assistive reading devices, according to a study presented at the latest meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

The Orcam My Eye is a hands-free device that can be clipped to eyeglasses. It features a miniature camera that sees and recognises what the...

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A new report by market research firm Technavio has forecast that the global market for smart glasses will grow at CAGR of approximately 141% in 2016-2020.

The enterprises segment had the largest market share in terms of unit shipment and revenue in 2015, making up around 97% of the global market. Individual consumer shipments had a mere 2.77% market share.

The report indicates that the industry's focus remains on enterprises. Major vendors such as Microsoft, Sony, ODG, Epson,...

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VSP Global and the University of Southern California (USC) Center for Body Computing (CBC) are partnering to launch an important academic study and consumer pilot test involving the company’s latest version of tech-embedded eyewear, Level, which is still in a prototype mode.

Developed by VSP Global’s innovation lab, The Shop, Level incorporates a gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer that helps a wearer...

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Wearable tech has grown in leaps and bounds with new features added all the time to make everyday life easier and more fun. But this new technology isn’t just fun – for children with autism, it can be a game changer. Can a bracelet, glasses, and shoelaces ensure a child is safer and happier?

Wearable tracking devices

GPS tracking is nothing new; we have it...

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The global smart glass market is being driven by a shift in demand from passive to active smart glass technology coupled by factors such as growing applications in aviation, marine, and solar power, according to Technavio.

The firm adds that the global smart glass market is anticipated to see a CAGR of close to 20% through 2020, growing from $210 million (£160.6 million) in 2015 to $520 million (£397.6 million) by 2020.

Chandrakumar Badala Jaganathan, a lead analyst...

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A survey conducted by the Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA), in collaboration with Vital Enterprises, has revealed that adoption of smart glasses could benefit enterprise environments.

Where enterprises in the aerospace, automotive, life sciences and manufacturing sectors are the earliest adopters of the smart glasses technology, the survey shows that adoption of the technology is steadily building.

42% of the enterprises surveyed stated that they will adopt the...

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The insurance industry is facing a crisis of talent. Experts hold that retiring baby boomers will leave a void of 400,000 open positions to fill by 2020. Insurance training provider The Institutes revealed that in 2013 the number of employees aged 55 and older was 30% higher in insurance when compared to any other industry. Additionally, 40% of potential employees – high school students – are not keen on building a career in insurance.

In light on this scenario, Erie...

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A new study by market research specialists Juniper Research points towards over 12 million consumer smart glasses shipping in 2020, with the market reinvigorated from 2017 by Microsoft's impressive HoloLens wearable. 

HoloLens uses Augmented Reality (AR) to manipulate the world around the wearer. In demonstrations, we've seen the HoloLens being used for lifestyle reasons,...

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Sensoria has been awarded the 'Best New Wearable Technology Device' award for its smart socks at the 2015 IDTechEX Printed Electronics USA show.

The textile sensor-infused socks was selected by a panel of judges that included Sandisk Corporation senior vice president Henri Richard, head of fashion innovation agency at the London College of Fashion Matthew Drinkwater, and US Olympic Committee senior sports technologist Mounir Zok.

Each smart sock has three soft, thin textile...

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Enterprise use cases for wearable technology appear nascent, yet there is a diverse selection of case studies and opportunities out there.

That’s the view of Tractica in its latest paper on enterprise wearable technology, which features 40 profiles of wearable applications in industry verticals including automotive, field services, and healthcare.

The paper, published in partnership with the Enterprise Wearable Technology Summit event, is essentially a directory of the most...

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Research released by Salesforce has revealed that for those who have already adopted wearables, enterprise uptake won’t be far away.

79% of adopters polled said wearables would be, or already are, strategic to their company’s future success, while a further 76% reported improvements in their business performance since deploying wearables in the enterprise. 86% plan to increase their wearables spend over the next 12 months.

Not surprisingly, and with one eye on the upcoming...

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Here’s an interesting example of wearable technology: Researchers from the Human-Computer Interaction Group at the University of Rochester have developed a user interface for Google Glass which gives real-time feedback to public speakers on volume modulation and speaking rate.

The premise is straightforward. Given public speaking is often cited as a primary fear of many people – respondents in a 2013 poll said they feared public speaking more than they feared being buried...

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Everyone was either showing off hardware, or discussing the future of wearable devices at Mobile World Congress this year. Smartwatches took most of the attention, but was stalked by some impressive VR headsets from a range of manufacturers...

Huawei

Huawei somewhat stole the show with their smartwatch unveil. The manufacturer is often known for great smartphones which often undercut the...

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Google Glass is gone. Well, it has in its current form anyway, after the tech giant announced in an indirect way it was ceasing sales of Glass Explorer on January 19.

In a Google Plus post entitled “We’re graduating from Google[x] labs”, the company states it is closing its Explorer Program to “focus on what’s coming next.”

“Interest in wearables has exploded and today it’s one of the most exciting areas in technology,” the team...

Japanese giant Sony might be facing serious financial woes at the moment, but it's not stopping them from trying to find their next "Walkman" product. The company has invented a wearable display which can turn your favourite pair of spectacles into a modern wonder next to the likes of Google Glass, maybe.

Sony intends to show-off their smart eyewear kit at the CES in January

An OLED microdisplay is attached to the user's glasses and will provide relevant...

Cardboard is not an Oculus Rift, but Google’s 63p VR headset is accessible to just about anyone with a smartphone - in fact over 500,000 people are said to have adopted it. Developers have created over 24 apps which can be found in the newly-launched store to show-off the incredible feat the Google team has achieved with a piece of cardboard, two magnets, and a pair of...

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Reports have surfaced that the next generation of Google Glass wearables will feature an Intel chipset, having moved on from Texas Instruments.

The move pushes Intel further into the wearable tech space, and represents the search giant going back to the drawing board in terms of its design for the product, which has recently come in for criticism for its target towards the consumer space.