Epson brings Moverio BT-200 advanced AR smart glasses

LONG BEACH, USA: Epson announced the commercial availability of its second-generation Moverio BT-200 smart glasses, delivering a full-featured augmented reality platform for enterprise, Android app developers and early adopters.

Leveraging Epson's patented core technologies, the Moverio BT-200 offers an unparalleled binocular smart glasses experience optimized for augmented reality applications. Micro projectors located on each side of the eyeglasses project transparent overlays of digital content directly in the user's field of view over the real-world environment.

In addition, the Moverio BT-200 glasses contain sensors such as a gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetic compass for head-motion tracking and hands-free navigation. A front-facing camera for video and image capture also detects real-world markers for augmented reality applications.

AR smart glasses can improve worker efficiency in vertical markets such as healthcare, logistics, field service, energy, manufacturing, education, retail and more.

Developers such as APX Labs and Metaio are working with Epson and enterprises to incorporate the Moverio BT-200 smart glasses' "see-through" augmented reality technology to allow for use cases such as retail and wholesale supply chain tracking, surgical training for doctors in the operating room, and remote field service support for complex repair assistance.

Anna Jen, director, New Ventures/New Products for Epson America, said: "Moverio BT-200 is Epson's second-generation smart glasses and incorporates much of the feedback provided by both the AR developer and end-user communities. With these improvements, Moverio BT-200 is poised to deliver an AR experience that will revolutionize workflow, training and repair in the enterprise environment."

Andrew Vaz, chief innovation officer, Deloitte Consulting LLP, said: "Wearable technologies present a very compelling opportunity for those organizations that want to push the boundaries of innovative design and technology applications. It's crucial for organizations to build a baseline understanding of how wearables will impact the strategic drivers of their market, and find ways to use wearables in their businesses to gain competitive advantage."

APX Labs built Skylight, the enterprise software platform for smart glasses which takes full advantage of the Moverio BT-200 capabilities. Skylight uses the front-facing camera to stream real-time video feeds, enabling workers to get instant expert help; it uses the powerful motion sensors to enable completely hands-free user interaction; and it uses the rich overlay display to provide data right where work is getting done.