The company is hoping that Tel Aviv will provide applications for its AR wearables.
Epson, a company that is best known for its printer tech, has now started an Israel based marketing campaign for its augmented reality glasses only one week after those wearable devices experienced their European and American debuts.
These AR based wearable technology devices are somewhat similar in idea to Google Glass.
Their augmented reality glasses are called the Epson Moverio BT-200. They include sensors, cameras, projects, as well as Bluetooth connection, which allows an Android smartphone or tablet to be displayed and projected onto the glasses so it can be seen by the wearer. Elements of the device’s software were originally developed in Israel, according to the executive vice president in charge of marketing the Movero BT-200, from Epson Europe, Valerie Riffaud-Cangelos.
These augmented reality glasses now need a broader range of apps and Epson is turning back to Israel for them.
The wearables weigh only 88 grams and are filled with various sensor and imaging components that allow wearers to be able to view what they would otherwise see on the screen of the Android device. In this, they are comparable to the idea behind Google Glass. They can see their emails on the glasses or check out the latest social media posts. It is even possible to watch YouTube videos or browse through web content.
Riffaud-Cangelos explained that the whole idea of the Moverio is that it should be used with augmented reality apps. “For example, you could have an app where a person would see an overlay of how to change a tire while they are actually doing it.” In theory, they would be able to save time, frustration, and money because they could follow a pattern that was being shown to them over top of their view of the real world jack and bolts.
Equally, the augmented reality glasses could also be used for fitness activities and for entertainment games. It could demonstrate the right moves for a specific type of physical activity, such as yoga, or show students how something would have looked if they were seeing it hundreds of years ago.
Recent studies and reports are adding to a growing body of evidence that indicates that people aren’t wild about wearables, yet.
Wearable tech may be one of the fastest growing mobile device categories, but at the moment, the popularity appears to be notably greater among the companies actually developing these gadgets than among consumers who are buying them.
Not only are people not necessarily buying wearables as fast as they’re being produced, but they’re judging those who do.
Some wearable tech has a better reputation than other forms. For example, fitness trackers seem to have been broadly accepted by consumers, as a whole, but at the same time, there are other forms that are bringing about far less love. For example, while spotting a smartwatch on someone’s wrist may generate a great deal of interest and conversation, at the moment, Google Glass and other augmented reality headsets seem to label a wearer as someone much less likeable.
The opinion that consumers have about wearable tech doesn’t seem to have anything to do with its usefulness.
To go back to the Google Glass example, an owner of these wearable devices can take advantage of a very high quality gadget that can be operated by voice command and that brings many of the features that can be found on a smartphone into a hands-free environment. However, despite the fact that it is very handy, people who use the device have been labeled “Glassholes” and are essentially thought of as people who are trying to declare their own self-worth by throwing their money into the latest technology.
A digital research firm called L2 recently released a report that pointed out that while 75 percent of consumers are aware of what wearable tech actually is, only 9 percent have any desire to actually purchase and own one. Even smaller is the 2 percent group that actually owns one of these mobile devices. The report showed that among those who were surveyed, 52 percent felt that the best location for wearables to be worn is on the wrist. Twenty four percent said that some place on the arm was best, and only 5 percent felt that headbands or other head-mounted displays were ideal – even in the form of eyeglasses or contact lenses. Clearly, the design of these products has a long way to go before consumers accept them – and their wearers – more broadly.
