Epson’s Moverio range of augmented reality (AR) smart glasses already has three devices in its product lineup for businesses to choose from and soon there will be two more. The company has just announced the Moverio BT-40 and BT-40S smart glasses which are now available to pre-order.
Epson Moverio BT-40
With a binocular design powered by Epson’s see-through Si-OLED display technology, the Moverio BT-40 and BT-40S both offer a 34° field-of-view (FoV), full HD 1080p display resolution, improved connectivity, and comfort for the wearer.
The setup provides the “equivalent to viewing a 120″ screen from a distance of 15 ft” states Epson, with both glasses easily connecting to a range of devices via a USB-C connection. The difference between the two models comes down to the BT-40S’ Intelligent Controller. Housing a range of features including an integrated touchscreen, customized user interfaces; expandable memory up to 2TB, Google Play compatibility; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth; GPS, compass; accelerometer, gyroscope; 13-megapixel AF camera and more, it’ll last up to five hours on a single charge.
“With over 10 years in the AR market and its long history in the projector segment – having delivered high-performance optical engines and impeccable colour production – Epson is bringing that same legacy to this next generation of Moverio smart glasses,” said Remi Del Mar, senior product manager, Digital Experiences, Augmented Reality and Commercial Display Solutions, Epson America, Inc. in a statement.
Epson Moverio BT-40s with Touch Controller
“These new Moverio models bring advanced image quality in a binocular display with improved comfort and wearability to the rapidly increasing markets where we are seeing AR adoption grow, including industrial field service and front-line applications such as remote assistance and accessibility usage scenarios,” Del Mar continued. “As a pioneer in this space, we look forward to seeing how these new smart glasses are implemented by customers.”
Firefighting is one of those important jobs where having the latest technology could mean the difference between life and death. VRFocus has reported a number of times on fire services around the world utilising virtual reality (VR) to improve training. Recently, Espon and DJI collaborated on a video showcasing how the Menlo Park Fire Department use their gear when at a scene.
The fire department is leveraging DJI’s drones alongside Epson Moverio AR Smart Glasses to save lives. The Moverio glasses provide the user with a first-person view in its transparent display, directly from the built-in camera on the drone. This allows a firefighter to not only get a birdseye view of a scene but also keep an eye on the drone as well.
One firefighter is quoted in the video saying: “If there’s a tool that can make us a little bit faster, a little bit safer and a little bit better – if it could only save one life, we should be using it.”
Combining these technologies help to give first responders the information they need to make important judgement calls, where to send firefighters first and focus their efforts when a ground-level view is just too restrictive.
The use of remote-control miniature drones has become very popular for a number of reasons, with both hobbyists and professionals in various fields making use of the devices. Epson will be demonstrating how drones can be used in conjunction with its line of Moverio augmented reality (AR) smart glasses at the PhotoPlus Expo in New York.
Epson will be at the upcoming PhotoPlus Expo show in New York City in order to showcse its advancements in imaging technology, part of this will involve a series of presentations which will showcase its Moverio line of AR smart glasses.
The Epson Moverio BT-300PFV smart glasses allow users to don a pair of smart glasses and then use a first-person view for drone photography, providing a transparent display that allows users to see the drone’s video feed along with key flight data, while also allowing the user to keep and eye on where the drone is in the sky.
Also being demonstrated will be the Epson Drone Soar app, a fully-featured AR app for DJI drone pilots that has been created with the aim of changing how photographers utilise and fly their drones. The Epson Drone Soar app provides AR content along with flight telemetry data and video feed monitoring.
Epson will also be showcasing its latest photo scanning and printing technology, including its FastFoto FF-680W photo scanner and its SureColor P800 professional 13-inch inkjet printer as part of its series of live presentation with leading printmakers from the online print academy.
PhotoPlus Expo is due to run from 25th-27th October, 2018 at the Javits Convention Centre in New York City, and almost 20,000 professionals and enthusiasts and students will be in attendance. Further information on the event can be found on the Photo Plus Expo website.
Further information on the Epson Moverio smart glasses can be found on the Epson website. For future coverage on AR products, keep checking back with VRFocus.
As augmented reality (AR) smart glasses continue to raise in popularity and application the likes of the Epson Moverio glasses are being used in interesting ways. One such use is the UK’s National Theatre using the technology to improve accessibility for their customers to make their offerings suitable for a wider audience and now this initiative is coming to fruition.
As reported by techradar, live performances throw up all sorts of difficulties for hard-of-hearing audience members who may find it hard to follow on with the action. Due to not having the ability to turn on any subtitles unlike when watching the media in after it has been recorded. It is estimated that eleven million people in the UK alone suffer from some degree of hearing loss with the number expect to grow in the future. Because of this, finding a solution to allow those with hearing loss to still be able to enjoy live performances needed to be found.
Though some accessibility options currently available rely on occasional captioned performances or visiting British Sign Language (BSL) translator, they are not perfect and scheduling these can create gaps. The UK’s National Theatre is leveraging the Epson Moverio BT-350 to describe the dialogue and sound effects happening onstage and provide a more robust accessibility option.
The smart glasses provide a wearer with their own personal subtitles throughout the performance that follow the users gaze as they move around the stage. These subtitles are not just conversation between the actors but also stage directions informing viewers of additional context to the events on stage. The smart glasses also come with a built-in menu pane which can be accessed throughout a show allowing a user to pick the text size, colour, and placement on the display. Audience members also hold a small trackpad that works like a standard PC cursor and can call for assistance or play a short user tutorial from the menu as well.
Using the Epson Moverio smart glasses to improve accessibility for audience members of live performances is a positive step for the technology and will help make smart glasses more known to a wider consumer audience. VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on AR technology in the future so stay tuned for more.
Epson has found a new use for its Moverio augmented reality glasses: flying drones with its new Epson Drone Soar augmented reality app.
Epson is releasing the app today to make it easier for drone pilots to navigate the skies while keeping the drone in full view. That’s because you see through the glass to the drone and keep an eye on the glasses’ heads-up display at the same time.
Creative agency YML designed the drone AR app to work with the Epson Moverio BT-300 AR glasses, and I tried it out with a DJI drone in a demo at the SF Drone School on Treasure Island. You can see what the experience was like in both videos embedded in this story.
AR is a promising new technology with a wide array of applications, but it has been slow to take off, and so companies like Epson are putting in a lot of engineering and resources to make apps that can help with consumer adoption.
In this case, Epson’s Moverio AR smart eyewear platform works with the Epson Drone Soar app for DJI drone pilots using the Epson Moverio AR smart glasses platform. It provides AR content, flight telemetry data, and video feed monitoring. I was able to use wear the glasses and see both the drone and an overlay on the screen at the same time. Werner von Stein, founder of the SF Drone School on Treasure Island, gave me a few pointers on how to fly. He got the drone up in the air, and then he handed the controls over to me. (Out on Treasure Island, you can fly drones freely, whereas most other urban areas there are restrictions.)
Epson has been making Moverio AR smart glasses for seven years. A few years ago, it identified drone piloting as a good use case for the glasses. Normally, drones such as the DJI model I flew require you to insert a smartphone or tablet into the controller. But that means that the pilot has to look down to see the drone’s camera view, and then look up to see which direction the drone is actually flying. That makes it very hard to stay on a course or make a maneuver accurately, said Leon Laroue, Epson technical product manager for AR, in an interview with VentureBeat.
On top of that, if there’s bright sunlight, all you see is glare when you look at the smartphone screen. With the Moverio glasses, Laroue clipped on some sunshades and I was able to see much better, looking straight at my drone through the glasses.
“With our glasses and our new app, you can now see exactly where you need to fly,” Laroue said.
Redwood Shores, California-based YML made the app exclusively for the Epson Moverio BT-300 (FPV/Drone Edition). It had to figure out how to create a user interface that worked for pilots, giving them the right amount of data in real time to assist with navigation. You can do things like adjust the camera settings, brightness, and shutter settings or toggle between transparent and first-person modes without ever having to let go of the drone controller, Laroue said. While you are wearing the glasses, you can turn on head tracking to move the drone’s camera and point it in a particular direction. If you let go of a button, you can lock the camera in position.
It can also be used to visualize a route pre-flight and then capture post-flight visualization. The idea is to help DJI improve the safety, productivity, and capabilities of DJI drones for hobbyists and professionals alike.
“This was such a great opportunity to bring what we do in innovative design as an agency to a new kind of application,” said Ashish Toshniwal, CEO of YML, in an interview with VentureBeat. “Hollywood studios could send a scout to a location. The scout can use this drone to capture the images of a location and send it back. It makes life so much more efficient.”
Hands-free, heads-up
Enabling a hands-free, heads-up experience with the Epson Moverio BT-300FPV Drone Edition glasses, the application delivers rich AR features to DJI drone pilots.
This functionality allows pilots to simultaneously see crucial telemetry data, augmented flight tools, and real-time video feeds, while remaining within line-of-sight of their drone. As the data is displayed directly in front of the user, pilots using the Epson Drone Soar app no longer need to look down continuously at their mobile device.
“By combining the power of augmented reality delivered by the Epson Moverio BT-300 and YML’s superlative design, the heads-up app is redefining the way drone enthusiasts experience their aircraft,” said Romsin Oushana of DJI Partnerships, in a statement. “Available to the consumer market for the first time, the app enables users to push the limits of drone piloting in ways that have never been done before.”
The Epson Soar app comes equipped with easy-to-use features including a downloadable map, where a user can select the region of the map they want to download for offline usage.
Pilots can also use it for a pre-flight status check, as it notifies users of flight restrictions or if something needs to be changed before takeoff. It has a Drone Connect feature that gives an easily accessible view of drone vitals including flight status, battery, HD mode, altitude, and more.
Users can select and switch between over ten smart modes for desired flight experience. For instance, I was able to switch the view in my glasses from the transparent view (what I saw through the glasses) to the first-person view that the drone saw from its camera, which was pointed down at the ground. If my aim was to capture footage or take pictures, then I could see exactly what was being captured.
The AR glasses have about a six-hour battery life. The drone, which has a 25-minute battery life, can fly a mile vertically or five miles away. During my demo, it was a hazy day, thanks to all the fires in the region. For a while, I lost sight of my drone. Von Stein showed me where it was.
DJI Drone, Credit: Dean Takahashi
“If there’s any bit of latency in controlling the drone, you can crash it,” Laroue said. “It’s a common issue to lose sight of your drone. So it’s important to be able to keep it in view for as long as possible.”
Later on, the AR glasses will have a “find my drone” arrow that will point to the part of the screen where your drone is flying. Another feature in the works is the ability to see a visualized flight path on the glasses.
“We believe the AR glasses are the optimal mode for piloting drones,” Laroue said.
The app also has In-flight Camera Setting Editing, which lets users edit camera settings of the drone while in flight or when connected to select optimal settings for shooting conditions.
The Epson Soar app is the second application from YML, a creative technology agency, in a series of aerial augmented reality applications developed in partnership with DJI and Epson.
The app for Epson Moverio BT-300 smart glasses is available now on the Moverio Apps Market and can be experienced today at most DJI Authorized Retail stores and many local drone retailers.
Fortunately, DJI has a one-button control for landing the drone. Wearing the glasses, you can toggle through the menu and press a button, enabling the autopilot to take over and land the drone. And that’s why I didn’t crash my drone.
Epson have become one of the leaders in the augmented reality (AR) smart glasses area with its Moverio line of smart glasses. The company is now expanding its range with the new Moverio BT-350 ANSI Edition smart glasses, which combine the safety aspect of safety glasses with the utility of AR.
The release of the new line of smart glasses coincides with the launch of the Skylight Upskill industrial software platform, which provides workers with connections to helpful information while remaining hands-free to focus on ongoing tasks.
The Moverio BT-350 ANSI Edition smart glasses were created to be worn in environments where safety glasses are necessary. The smart glasses include both indoor and outdoor shields that meet ANSI Z87.1 safety certification requirements. The Moverio BT-350 ANSI Edition has a flexible and durable design and can be worn comfortably by a wide range of head types.
“Epson was one of the first companies to see the value of smart glasses in the enterprise and their Moverio hardware is an established, trusted name in the market,” said Brian Ballard, CEO and co-founder, Upskill. “By offering the Skylight platform on the Moverio BT-350 ANSI Edition smart glasses, we add increased choice for our customers looking to adopt high quality, industrial-grade AR devices to their operations to drive significant performance improvements across their workforce.”
Customers who have used the Upskill Skylight platform have reported a 32% increase in performance in use cases that cover manufacturing, logistics and field services.
“Since Epson launched its first iteration of the Moverio smart glasses seven years ago, we have been diligently working to enhance the technology to meet the demands of end-users, including the need for an ANSI edition of the Moverio glasses,” said Michael Leyva, product manager, augmented reality solutions, Epson. “We’re confident that addressing this workplace safety requirement and collaborating with Upskill, will enable enterprises to accelerate smart glasses adoption across the workforce.”
For future coverage of new AR products and services, keep checking back with VRFocus.
Epson, provider of the Moverio augmented reality (AR) smart eyewear platform have revealed that it received an XCELLENCE Award by the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI). This award was given to the company after they were selected from a pool of accomplished applicants. The award was given for the company’s AR Flight Simulator app for the Epson Moverio BT-300 (FPV/Drone Edition) smart glasses.
Designed and optimized for drone pilot training, the app allows for users to fly a 3D digital drone in the world using flight controllers from the latest DJI drones. Able to offer a natural, real-world control system to that of their real-world counterparts, the AR Flight Simulator app is ideal for new and returning pilots to learn to fly, sharpen their skills and develop new techniques within a immersive environment.
“The unmanned systems industry is innovating at an incredible rate and creating tremendous benefits for our economy, lifestyle, and society,” said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. “The AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards recognize the companies and individuals who are propelling the industry into the future.”
The AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards honor innovators in the unmanned systems industry, including individuals and organizations, with a demonstrated commitment to advancing technology, leading and promoting safe operations, and developing new programs and applications that use unmanned system as a means to improve the human condition. The work by Epson ticks all those boxes and clearly shows why their have been awards it.
“With the Epson Moverio BT-300 Drone Edition smart glasses and Flight Sim app, Epson is looking to revolutionize the industry with the ability to create a safer and more productive flight, enhancing the flight experience for drone pilots,” said Eric Mizufuka, Manager, Augmented Reality Solutions, Epson America. “This is an exciting achievement that showcases our dedication to innovating new AR solutions and accelerates the industry forward.”
As the unmanned systems industry continued to developer at rapid speeds, it is a growing need for highly effective and immersive training applications to ensure continued development and safety grows with the industry. The work by companies such as Epson will play a key role in shaping the future of the sector. VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest from Epson in the future, so stay tuned for more.
So ends another busy week for VRFocus covering everything at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. As with every year there was much that was revealed and much that left us with questions. Even beyond videogames though there will still plenty of news, so much we frankly didn’t have enough time to cover it all. There’s news across the medical industry, education industry, design industry and a lot more besides that we will get into over the course of the week to come. Because as we always say on VRFocus, immersive technology is in use everywhere.
So, unsurprisingly there are jobs everywhere too. Here’s a selection of roles and titles currently available in the immersive technology sector that you may well be interested in.
As always, if there was nothing in this week’s feature that was a good fit for you, you can always look at the previous edition of The VR Job Hub.
As always, if you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to myself (keva@vrfocus.com) and also Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
Check back with VRFocus next Sunday at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the industry.
Epson have been working with a number of other firms to deliver content for its line of Moverio augmented reality (AR) smartglasses. The company is now working with Crestec to bring the PORECT AR software to the Moverio line in order to provide group AR experiences.
By linking together a tablet, portable wi-fi router and Moverio smartglasses, it will be possible for AR content to be simultaneously displayed on participants glasses by utilising the PORECT AR software.
Epson and Crestec say this technology is a perfect fit for tour guides, or to enhance fan experiences, or to display additional information at a trade show or demonstration. The PORECT AR platform can be used by businesses to offer a new way to display content. Companies will be able to use the software to create their own AR tour experiences without needing custom software tools.
“At Crestec, our goal is to provide exceptional group AR experiences and we knew that our platform is only as good as the hands-free wearable device that is distributing the content,” said Michael Fleder, director of creative engineering, Crestec. “We chose the Epson Moverio smart glasses, not only because it is currently the most widely available smart glasses in the U.S., but because of its top-of-the-line Si-OLED displays.”
“In the past, many end-users have expressed interest in wanting to build their own AR tour experiences without the cost for custom software development,” said Michael Leyva, product manager, augmented reality solutions, Epson. “Through our collaboration with Crestec, together we’re empowering companies to do just that, by providing the availability of an easy-to-use, scalable Group AR tour creation and publishing solution through PORECT.”
The technology will be on display at the InforComm 2018 conference, with attendees able to see a first-hand demonstration by visiting the Epson booth, #C2220 on 8th-9th June. Further information on the PORECT platform can be found on the Crestec website.
For future coverage of new VR and AR products and services, keep checking back with VRFocus.
Epson has been working on promoting and developing its line of augmented reality (AR) smartglasses, the Moverio, for a while. The company is seeking to give the hardware a boost with some now content from AR software company ByondXR.
ByondXR have integrated the Moverio AR SDK into its platform, allowing for developers and content creators to easily bring their work to the Moverio by using a web-based editor.
In many cases, high development costs can be off-putting for developers, particularly in the immersive technology market, which has not reached maturity yet. The two companies believe that ByondXR’s Immersive Suite offers a fast and intuitive 360-degree editor along with an enterprise level content management system which makes creating new immersive experiences easier.
“Whether we’re building our own features or collaborating with other innovative platforms such as Epson Moverio glasses, ByondXR is committed to the advancement of the immersive media industry and finding new ways to support our headset partners,” said Noam Levavi, co-founder and CEO of ByondXR. “Deployment of the Epson Moverio AR SDK gives us a unique opportunity to provide brands and businesses with tools to develop dynamic, interactive AR content.”
“ByondXR’s platform is truly innovative in that it lowers the barriers to entry for AR content creation and can be applied to any industry, representing a global market opportunity,” said Leon Laroue, software manager, augmented reality solutions, Epson America. “By combining the Epson Moverio AR SDK with ByondXR’s platform, our goal is to make it as seamless as possible for businesses to fill the world with new AR content and ultimately redefine the future of how AR content can be created and viewed.”
The ByondXR web-based editor and the Moverio AR SDK will be demonstrated at the Augmented World Expo (AWE), along with the previously released AR Flight Simulator app at the Epson booth #618.
AWE 2018 is taking place from 30th May – 1st June, 2018 at Santa Clara, California. Further news and developments from the event will be here on VRFocus.
