1

Lenovo Teams up with Vuzix for Consumer and Enterprise Solutions in China

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK – Vuzix Corporation (OTC:QB: VUZI) (“Vuzix” or, the “Company”), a leading supplier of Video Eyewear and smart glasses products in the consumer, commercial and entertainment markets, is pleased to announce that it has signed a major deal with Lenovo, the world’s largest PC company to launch the award-winning M100 Smart Glasses into China.

The wearable product offering will be co-branded as a Vuzix/Lenovo solution and will be marketed across China as part of Lenovo’s New Business Development (NBD) brand. The “Vuzix 100 Smart Glasses powered by Lenovo NBD” will be marketed exclusively by Lenovo. The agreement between the companies calls for Vuzix to be the exclusive third party provider of smart glasses to Lenovo for the industrial and commercial markets in China and allows for expansion into other geographical markets and products.

Vuzix has worked closely with Lenovo and their development teams to create a new M100 Smart Glasses product offering specifically tailored for the Chinese marketplace with features which include Chinese language, voice recognition, mapping and numerous other domestic cloud based services. This agreement is a major step for Vuzix and through Lenovo will bring it distinction as the first official Smart Glasses product to have direct access into China.

As part of the partnership, Lenovo will begin immediate marketing of the co-branded Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses, with sales shipments commencing in early September and more broad based sales activities across China growing through the Fall of 2014. Paul Travers, Chief Executive Officer of Vuzix, said “China is a significant milestone for us and for the wearable industry. Lenovo is world renowned for its high-quality products and exceptional engineering, making them the most ideal partner with which to bring our M100 Smart Glasses to China.

As Lenovo is number one worldwide in supplying computers to business and the public sector and the number three supplier of smart-connected devices (smartphones and tablets), we see strong market opportunites for our M100 as it was specifically designed for those markets. Additionally we hope the M100 is just the first in a line of future products the companies may introduce together incorporating Vuzix’ video eyewear technology for sale in China and perhaps elsewhere.”

“Lenovo is always seeking new and innovative products that merge and integrate technology into products that offer our customers a high degree of functionality and convenience,” said Mr. Yuli Bai, Vice- President, Lenovo Group, General Manager New Business Development. “The advent of wearable technologies and specifically Smart Glasses, exceeds that goal and provides a new level of mobility
in computing and communications systems. As an established and leading supplier of smart glasses technology, Vuzix was an obvious choice for this strategic partnership.”
The Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK) under the government sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute predicted that the wearable device market will reach US$20.6 billion in 2018, and in China is expected to reach 40 million sales volume and $1.9 billion market scale in 2015.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $US34 billion personal technology company and the world’s second largest PC company overall, serving customers in more than 160 countries. Lenovo is the number one PC company in the world for large business and the public sector and ranked the #3 supplier of smart-connected devices such as smartphones and tablets. In China they have 70% market share in the commercial markets. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the Company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, see www.lenovo.com.

About Vuzix Corporation

Vuzix is a leading supplier of Video Eyewear and Smart Glasses products in the consumer, commercial and entertainment markets. The Company’s products include personal display and wearable computing devices that offer users a portable high-quality viewing experience, provide solutions for mobility, wearable displays and virtual and augmented reality. Vuzix holds 39 patents and 10 additional patents pending and numerous IP licenses in the Video Eyewear field. The Company has won Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) awards for innovation for the years 2005 to 2014 and several wireless technology innovation awards, among others. Founded in 1997, Vuzix is a public company (VUZI.QB) with offices in Rochester, NY, Oxford, UK and Tokyo, Japan.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

Certain statements contained in this release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements contained in this release relate to the impact and success of the Lenovo agreement and the new features and capabilities of the M100 for the Chinese marketplace, among other things, and the Company’s leadership in the Video Eyewear industry. They are generally identified by words such as “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “should” and similar expressions. Readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are based upon the Company’s beliefs and assumptions as of the date of this release. The Company’s actual results could differ materially due to risk factors and other items described in more detail in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Reports and MD&A filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable Canadian securities regulators (copies of which may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov). Subsequent events and developments may cause these forward-looking statements to change. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise these forward-looking statements as a result of changed events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as required by applicable law.

For further investor Information, please contact:
– Investor Relations Contact: Andrew Haag, [email protected] Tel: 877-368-3566
– Vuzix Contact: Grant Russell, CFO www.vuziX..com [email protected] – Tel: 585-359-7562




Aero Glass Announces Pilot Program

Aero Glass provides a unique turnkey solution addressing pilots’ need to properly visualize terrain, navigation, traffic (ADS-B), instrument, weather, and airspace information with access to vital safety procedures and protocols, without the requirement of inspecting instruments, phone or iPad. Using Google Glass, Epson and other Head-Mounted Displays, Aero Glass is the first to bring Augmented Reality to pilots providing an unparalleled 3D, 360° experience in the cockpit.

To learn more about the company’s products, visit the website, watch the video and sign up for the beta program.




Augmented Reality Can Help to Visualize Big Data

This article summarizes challenges in visualization methods for existing Big Data projects and beyond. Moreover, it classifies types of data, analytical methods and visualization techniques and tools, with particular emphasis on surveying the evolution of visualization techniques over the past years.

Following the identified shortcomings of existing techniques, the role of human eyes and their physical limitations on the perception of large amounts of information is evaluated and presented along with discussion on Augmented Reality technology and its capabilities for visualization of Big Data and beyond. Based on the results, a novel approach is proposed — it allows one to obtain a represented information segment in a short period of time without any significant data loss by placing the most essential data in the central area of the human eye visual field. The article also discusses the impact of new technologies, such as Augmented Reality displays and helmets, on Big Data visualization.




Growing Number of Patents Cover both Wearables and Augmented Reality

It’s no secret that there will be some serious patent issues to be worked out around wearables and Augmented Reality over the next few years. This detailed analysis published on the IFI Claims Patent Service Portal uncovers some 35,755 patent documents filed in the general domain of wearables since 2004. Of these 140 also address Augmented Reality. Among the leading companies (owning more than 70 patents) are Pantech, Samsung Electronic, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Siemens, and Nokia. The questions are who is going to be holding the best and most defensible claims when the rubber meets the road and how long will it take for these assets to matter.




Continental Introduces Heads-up Display for Integration into Cars by 2017

Babenhausen, Germany – The international automotive supplier Continental is presenting a new evolutionary stage of its head-up display (HUD). The Augmented Reality HUD supplements the exterior view of the traffic conditions in front of the vehicle with virtual information (augmentations) for the driver. The AR-HUD was developed from the previous HUD, but now the reflected information appears exactly where the information becomes a part of the driving situation. When navigating, for example, a virtual symbol inserted precisely into the exterior view shows the driver the way on the curve in front of the vehicle. When distance controls (adaptive cruise control) are enabled, a marking in the AR-HUD visualizes which vehicle in front is detected by the assistance system. Continental is planning production readiness of an Augmented Reality Head-up Display in 2017.

“In a world that is becoming increasingly complex, the AR-HUD relieves the burden on the driver with a new quality of information. In the augmentation, we are connecting what the driver’s eyes see with explanatory information,” said Helmut Matschi, a member of the Executive Board at Continental and head of the Interior division, about the technology, which is at an advanced development stage and integrated into a demo vehicle. “The AR-HUD is an important step in the direction of holistic human machine interfaces in cars for a more comfortable, more economic, and safer driving experience. Drivers receive all important information before their eyes in an easily comprehensible way. This is a major step against driver distraction and sensory overload, both now and in the future.”

With the AR-HUD, Continental is continuing a development path that began in 2003, when the company started the production of the first color HUD in a passenger car. Continental has already established an ergonomically impressive display technology with the current version of the HUD. As an information filter, the HUD reflects selected information that is directly related to driving in full color in the windshield, where the driver can read it easily without looking away from the road. The HUD is contributing to the vision of accident-free driving as part of a human machine interface (HMI).

“Every driver can experience the benefits of HUD technology, so we are expecting rapidly increasing equipment quotas in the near future,” said Eelco Spoelder, head of the Continental Instrumentation & Driver HMI business unit. “The AR-HUD is the next step in the evolution of the HMI into a holistic display and operating system for growing requirements. The AR-HUD function is creating a real dialog between the driver and vehicle.”

The Technology Behind the AR-HUD

The AR-HUD moves virtual information directly into the driver’s line of sight. The AR-HUD inserts full-color graphics into the real road view in an approximately 130 cm-wide by 60 cm-high section of the driver’s field of vision at a distance of 7.5 meters. The basis for this is provided by digital micromirror device (DMD) technology, as is also used in digital cinema projects. Continental will bring this projection technology into series production as early as in 2016. Three possible applications are realized in connection with driver assistance systems in the Continental demo vehicle. For example, the AR-HUD supports the driver if the vehicle is in danger of unintentionally drifting out of a lane. The AR-HUD also supports the use of ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). When ACC is enabled, a crescent-shaped marking in the AR-HUD highlights the vehicle in front that is detected by the electronics.

“This starts a new interaction between the vehicle and the driver. The vehicle shows the driver what the assistance systems can see and what they are doing. This creates trust and will also help to create acceptance for current and future driving functions,” said Spoelder.

Lastly, the AR-HUD reflects navigation information in the real exterior view. This allows the driver to know at which point they should turn, without having to look back and forth between the navigation screen and the road.

“Our many years of experience with HUD technology helped significantly with the development of the AR-HUD,” said Spoelder. “However, generating the augmentation in the AR-Creator was completely new territory.”

Based on camera and radar data from the vehicle sensors — taking into account the vehicle dynamics data, and digital map data, and GPS positioning — this control unit calculates a model of the real exterior view from the driver’s perspective and can position the augmentations at the correct visual point.

“The quality of the human machine interface in the vehicle is fundamentally changing with the AR-HUD,” summarized Spoelder. “The information appears where the driver intuitively looks first – in the direction of travel. Information can hardly be transmitted in a more ergonomic and intuitively comprehensible way. This augmented reality technology places Continental in a leading role for HUD development.”

 




Vectorform Develops AR Vehicle Exploration Tool for Use with Google Glass

Distributed around the vehicle are various “touch points” where Google Glass recognizes the contours of the car using Metaio 3D tracking technology. The first touch point demonstrates the new laser headlights by projecting virtual light beams right out of the car’s lamps. Subsequent touch points illuminate the inner workings of the chassis or illustrate drive-train components with an  “X-ray” view. In addition, the aerodynamic shape of the vehicle is demonstrated using a virtual wind current that smoothly curves and swirls around the car’s bodywork.

This Augmented Reality experience accompanies the buyer in discovering the features of the new vehicle.  The same technology and concept can be used for communicating about a new product for enterprise customer and increase effectiveness of B2B sales tools.




Putting Wearable Displays to Work in the Enterprise

Enterprises have business cases that could save billions of dollars—especially for specific industries and certain types of workers. Accenture Technology Labs believes wearable displays will begin with companies, not consumers. This study compiles the company’s latest findings on the topic of hands-free displays and Augmented Reality.




Smart Glasses Leader, Eric Johnsen, Joins APX Labs as VP of Business Development

Eric Johnsen has joined the APX Labs management team. For more information about Johnsen, read the press release.

APX-Profile-logo




TruLife Optics’ Optical Waveguide Incorporates Two Holograms

TruLife Optics introduces its first generation of waveguide technology. TL1 is a clear low iron-glass waveguide with two holographic couplers bonded transparently onto the waveguide for introducing and exiting the data to and from the waveguide.

To learn more, watch the video, visit the company’s web site and check out the technical specifications.

 




Autodesk Infraworks Provides Augmented Reality for On-site Visualization

Infraworks is a new tool introduced by Autodesk focusing on the conceptual infrastructure space to allow stakeholders to get a visual perspective of design. Infraworks is not limited to infrastructure but is a useful tool in the building space for conceptual visualisation through to design coordination.  Modeling of the existing site and proposed works is supported within Infraworks. Even the site’s constraints can be visually demonstrated on-site using Augmented Reality to allow stakeholders to get a better understanding and reasoning of the how and why of the design.

To learn more, visit the company website.