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Vuzix () is an American multinational
technology company A technology company (or tech company) is an electronics-based technological company, including, for example, business relating to digital electronics, software, and internet-related services, such as e-commerce services. Details According to ''Fo ...
headquartered in
Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
. Founded in 1997 by Paul Travers, Vuzix is a supplier of wearable display technology,
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
, and
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
. Vuzix manufactures and sells computer
display device A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or tactile form (the latter used for example in tactile electronic displays for blind people). When the input information that is supplied has an electrical signal the ...
s and
software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
. Vuzix personal display devices are used for mobile and immersive
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
applications, such as 3D gaming,
manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
training, and
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
tactical equipment. On January 5, 2015,
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
acquired 30% of Vuzix's stock for $24.8 million. The company has offices in New York, Japan, and the UK and is the current market leader for video eyewear. Forte was a pioneer during the mid-1990s developing immersive head mounted displays for
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
and video gaming applications.


History

Paul Travers founded Vuzix in 1997 in Rochester, NY, under the name Interactive Imaging Systems, purchasing the assets of the
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
company Forte Technologies. The company started with products for the military and U.S. Defense, but then developed consumer virtual reality systems. In 1997, the company was hired as a subcontractor to
Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
, designing display electronics for a digital night vision weapon sight. In 2000, the
VFX1 Headgear The Forte VFX1 was a consumer-level virtual reality headset marketed during the mid-1990s. It comprised a helmet, a handheld controller, and an ISA interface board, and offered head tracking, stereoscopic 3D, and stereo audio. History The VFX1 was ...
was featured in a commemorative US Postal Service stamp collection celebrating the 1990s. The VFX1 was replaced by a higher resolution system dubbed the VFX3D in mid 2000. In 2001, Vuzix launched its first consumer electronics product, the iCOM personal internet browser. In 2005, Vuzix provided a custom high resolution handheld display system that created the 3D imagery for Hitachi's pavilion at the 2005 World's Fair in Aichi, Japan. The Hitachi Pavilion allowed users to interact with computer generated models and dioramas of endangered species in a Mixed Reality ride. In 2005, the company changed its name to Icuiti. Later that year, Icuiti launched its first product designed specifically for consumers, the V920 Video Eyewear. Also in 2005, Icuiti was awarded its first military R&D contract to develop a high resolution monocular display device for viewing tactical maps and video. This development would lead to the Tac-Eye product line, which began rate production in 2009 and is currently used in many major military programs including the Battlefield Air Operations kit. A re-branding in 2007 changed the company's name from Icuiti to Vuzix. In 2010, Vuzix introduced the first production model see-through
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
glasses the STAR 1200. It was released in August 2011 for $4999. Vuzix is currently under contract with
DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adv ...
to design and build a next generation heads up display for military ground personnel. The DARPA PCAS program is large R&D program with the goal of allowing the joint tactical air controller the ability to rapidly engage multiple, moving and simultaneous targets within his area of responsibility. In January 2013, at CES, Vuzix Corporation demonstrated working models of its new M100 Smart Glasses, the official press event of CES. Rated as one of the five top gadgets expected at CES by CNBC and given the CES Innovations award, the Vuzix Smart Glasses M100, expected to ship in second half of 2013, will enable wearers to access data and content from an iOS or Android smart phone from the cloud and ‘hands free’. The m100 was officially released in December 2013 for $1000: double the original announced price. In January 2015,
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
invested $25 million in the company, gaining 30% ownership of the company. In August 2017, Vuzix and BlackBerry became partners to deliver smart glasses for the enterprise.


Innovations


Video Eyeware

*Vuzix created the first video eyewear to support stereoscopic 3D for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
.


Augmented Reality Eyeware

*Vuzix created the first commercially produced pass-through augmented reality headset, the Wrap 920AR. The Wrap 920AR has two VGA video displays and two cameras that work together to provide the user a view of the world which blends real world inputs and computer generated data. *During the
Consumer Electronic Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
in 2011, Vuzix announced the Raptyr. The Raptyr is a see-through augmented reality display prototype that will be the first consumer product of its kind when it reaches the market in 2011. *The STAR 1200 is the first see-through
augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
display to be mass-produced and was scheduled to be released in August 2011. *The Vuzix Smart Glasses M100 are scheduled for commercial release in late 2013. Vuzix describes the M100 as the world's first, commercially available, hands free display and cloud connected communications system. The Vuzix M100 contains a virtual display with integrated camera and powerful processing engine, running the Android OS . Users will be able to connect wirelessly to their smartphone (Android-based) or other compatible devices. The M100 is also powerful enough to connect directly to the Internet, run applications and games itself. When connected to a smartphone, users will be able to engage with existing and future applications such as texts, video, email, mapping, and audio. As a hands free accessory with integrated camera/display functionality, Vuzi smart glasses will let users answer the phone with a visual address book and enable applications from text messaging and email to visual navigation (via an integrated GPS and head tracker) along with more advanced features like video recording. The interactive head tracking and integrated HD camera, combined with applications on the M100 and a smartphone linked to the Cloud, empower smartphone based augmented reality applications.


See also

*MyVu


References


External links

* {{Stereoscopy Companies formerly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange Display technology Mixed reality Multimodal interaction Virtual reality companies Display devices Video hardware User interfaces Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies based in New York (state) Eyewear companies of the United States