Intel’s New Vaunt Smart Glasses

Fashionable Smart Glasses

When Google Glass became available in 2013 for $1,500, many people were in awe of the concept but it also received a lot of criticism. On one hand, it offered a way to display information in a smartphone format that is handsfree with voice commands. [caption id="attachment_5285" align="alignright" width="329"] geralt / Pixabay[/caption] However, the glasses looked geeky and there were safety and privacy concerns. A number of companies have developed their own wearable computer glasses since then, but none have really caught on. Unless you are purposely wearing glasses that are made for virtual or augmented reality, which would probably be for a short-term time period, most people aren't interested in putting on a goofy-looking pair of glasses as part of their daily routine. Until now... The new Vaunt glasses made by Intel are normal looking and light. They have a plastic frame and weigh less than 50 grams, but the way they work is completely different from previous smart glasses:

The electronics are crammed into the stems and control a very low-powered, class one laser that shines a red, monochrome 400 x 150 pixel image into your eye. Critically, the glasses contain no camera, eliminating the "big brother" vibe from Glass and other smart glasses. Vaunt is mainly aimed at giving you relatively simple heads-up notifications. Intel says that the glasses are more stealthy than a smartwatch, allowing you to check notifications while doing other activities. In one demo, it showed that you could see a person's birthday and other pertinent personal info while you're chatting with them on the phone. The motion sensors can also detect whether you're in the kitchen, for instance, and give you recipes or a shopping list. Read the full post here:  Intel unveils smart glasses that you might want to wear

Low-Powered Laser Light

The laser shining into your eye is something Intel anticipated would be a concern. We've long been told not to shine a laser pointer directly at anyone's eyes, so it makes sense that people might worry about the same from the Vaunt glasses. According to an interview with The Verge, Intel claims that the device is a class one laser, so very low powered. The display isn't even visible unless you are looking directly at it. This video from The Verge offers a complete breakdown of Intel's new Vaunt smart glasses:

The applications for such a device a limitless. From notifications such as the time to GPS directions to text or email alerts, the wearable device could be quite handy and discreet. But take it a step further into the future and the potential medical uses, such as heart rate and blood sugar monitoring, would make tracking your health easier. Or how about facial recognition and foreign language translation? It is fun to think about the applications for this kind of technology, although it would also be hard to deal with them in an educational setting to prevent cheating on exams. You would have to embrace the tech and use it to your advantage in the classroom.

Connecting With Your Smartphone

Because it is initially meant to do basic notifications, with no camera or speaker, the battery life is much longer than with Google Glass. Vaunt will pair with your smartphone, connecting via Bluetooth: [caption id="attachment_5288" align="alignright" width="300"] josemiguels / Pixabay[/caption]

Overall, Vaunt isn’t so much a standalone device as a new way of interacting with your existing device… most likely your smartphone. Think of it like a display: your desktop PC is still a PC even if you don’t plug in a monitor. But it’s a lot easier to interact with when you can turn on a screen and look at the user interface. Your phone already has a screen, but it’s not that useful when it’s stuffed in your pocket. Vaunt is an always-on screen that can show a subset of information from your phone without your having to do anything special. See the original post here: Intel Vaunt smart glasses coming this year (as a developer preview) 

The cost hasn't been announced, but they plan to launch an early access program for developers later in 2018 for the purpose of creating more third-party apps and experiences for the platform before it’s released to the public.

Intel’s New Vaunt Smart Glasses Read more on: S&S Pro Blog