On August 3, 2020, Richo announced that the company has developed a thin and light binocular vision smart glasses using unique optical technology.
According to the Japanese media Fabcross report, smart glasses can superimpose electronic information in the real field of vision and are expected to be effectively used in work instructions in places such as medical treatment, construction and factories, and in daily life support areas such as walking guides. However, the traditional binocular vision smart glasses are more than three times the weight of ordinary glasses and are not suitable for long-term use.
The weight of the smart glasses developed this time is 49 grams. According to the company, this is currently the world's lightest binocular vision type smart glasses. The lens part adopts an independently developed light and thin plastic light guide plate to reduce weight. In addition, while reducing weight, the company also succeeded in ensuring a wide viewing angle effect, with a picture of about 30 inches visible from 1 meter away. And because the product is manufactured through a small plastic injection molding structure, it can be mass-produced at low cost, which is also a major feature.
Traditional smart glasses have a problem. Because the display unit and the lens are integrally constructed, they are particularly heavy on the nose. This time, however, the company developed a special optical system that uses adapter lenses to place the display unit on the temple. In this way, through the transfer lens, the displayed image at the temple will be reproduced intact near the light guide plate. This configuration makes the weight balance between the front and back of the smart glasses even, so that the weight on the nose is controlled to the same level as ordinary glasses.
The smart glasses can display images in front of the eyes by connecting with smart phones and PCs. In addition to existing applications, new applications developed and connected device platforms can also be displayed as they are. In addition, 9-axis sensors (acceleration, angular velocity, and geomagnetism) are also equipped as standard: it can detect the walking direction to guide the road; it can be equipped with optional cameras and depth sensors to support AR (augmented reality) functions.
The smart glasses developed this time are planned to be released at the SID Display Week 2020 Symposium online on August 3-7, 2020 (Published date: August 5). In the future, the company will seek partners and further develop to achieve its commercialization.