Vuzix announced the M100 Smart Glasses back in November. The company is now shipping developer kits along with the SDK which was offered for $999 when the unit was first announced. Engadget also has a brand new hands-on video with the M100 at the CES 2013 exhibition which is happening right now!
Late last month Vuzix President Paul Travers announced that the M100 Smart Glasses SDK had begun shipping. The SDK, which is priced at $999, includes early production models of the M100 to be used as developer kits. Travers says that “the developer demand for M100 SDKs has been astounding with many requesting the earliest possible access to development kits and prototypes. In response, Vuzix is offering both a “Silver” and “Gold” version of the Vuzix M100 SDK.” You can request info for the M100 developer kits and SDK here.
Vuzix is at the annual CES conference showing off the M100. Engadget has a brief video:
Vuzix originally showed the M100 as mounting to the ear like a bluetooth headset. One prominent wearable computing expert told me, “from the boom mounted HMDs I have used in the past I think it will only be readable when not in motion,” regarding the M100. However, Vuzix is now showing the M100 Smart Glasses with an over-the-head mounting option, likely to enhance stability. From the video above it still looks like shaking could be an issue — you can see it even more prominently in this video from The Verge.
As seen above, the company is now showing exactly how they expect people to interact with the M100: a companion app can be called up on an Android device and used to control a cursor on the M100 display.
If this control scheme seems a bit iffy… it’s not just you; Vuzix is hopping that developers will step up to the plate and find a better way. “Yes, it starts as a modest hands free display for your smart phone. But we expect that is the tip of an iceberg. A lot of things about a smartphone that limit the experience are about the change with Vuzix’s coming line of smart glasses; starting with information snacking, without having to take your phone out of your pocket, and evolving to first person large field of view AR. Come join the revolution!” said Vuzix President Paul Travers.
Indeed there are many possibilities for the M100 thanks to an on-board OMAP 4 processor running Android 4.0 as well as GPS and other sensors. You can find full Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses specs and more info here.
Vuzix expects to have the M100 Smart Glasses available this summer for “under $500” and may even beat Google Glass to market.
I’ll leave you with a short interview with Paul Travers at CES 2013 from itv.com.