Promising up-and-coming AR and MR company ThirdEye just announced a partnership with NuEyes to use smart glasses to help the visually impaired.
You’d be forgiven for not immediately understanding how smart glasses could help the visually impaired. And, while ARPost has covered ThirdEye for a while now, some readers may not be familiar with NuEyes. So, let’s walk through it from XR company to partnership, to preorder.
Catching Up With ThirdEye
ThirdEye has been touring events like CES for a couple of years now. They debuted their first headset in 2018 and their more advanced X2 headset the following year.
Their claim to fame is being the lightest self-contained MR headset on the market. Not using wires or big computing packs has been a priority for them since square one.
Right now the MR company’s main focus is in industry and medical training and telehealth. However, the possibility of using their headsets to help the visually impaired has been on the company radar for a while.
“Say someone has trouble seeing. Our glasses can magnify what they see,” ThirdEye founder Nick Cherukuri told me in an April 2019 interview. “If they are partially colorblind, we can change the colors that they see to their preferences.”
When we last checked in with ThirdEye earlier this year, the MR company was setting out on an airforce contract.
Meet NuEyes
NuEyes is an XR company that makes “removable visual prosthetics” – headsets that use secure voice commands to do things like send messages and make calls. The company is partnered with industry giants like Pico, and Epson.
The company has two main software packages. Their flagship software “NuEyes” uses XR technology to build on the natural abilities of people with limited vision. “NuCall” is a telemedicine platform that makes it easier for people with visual impairments to get in touch with care providers.
A Partnership Made in XR Heaven
The partnership between NuEyes and ThirdEye results in the “Pro 2” a pairing of NuEye software and ThirdEye hardware.
“We’re excited to be partnering with NuEyes to help users read, watch television and movies, see faces, and, ultimately, improve their quality of life,” Cherukuri said in a release shared with ARPost. “By combining our product with NuEyes’ patented software, the Pro 2 will improve day-to-day functions for thousands and help many regain their independence.”
The dedication that ThirdEye has put into making a light-weight and easy to wear headset seems a perfect match to the dedication that NuEyes has put into making XR software that help the visually impaired see again.
“Augmented reality smart glass technology has come a long way in the past few years, and Nick and his team have done an outstanding job encompassing those innovations in the X2 MR glasses,” NuEyes CEO and founder Mark Greget said in the release. “With this partnership, we are excited to once again make a lasting and positive change in the world for those that suffer from vision loss.”
How and When to Get a Headset
The Pro 2 headset will be available for preorder later this month and begin shipping later this year. For more information, keep an eye on the NuEyes website, linked above.
