Feature

 Introduction:

Vue Smart Glasses have turned up on Kickstarter and they look more like normal glasses than other smart glasses we have talked about before.  The Vue Smart Glasses on the other hand can be fitted with prescription lenses, clear lenses, or tinted/transition lenses for sunglasses and look like normal glasses.  Vue glasses also don’t take photos or have integrated cameras. What the Vue Smart Glasses are able to do is allow you to listen to audio via bone conduction technology. You can make phone calls using the glasses and they support gesture control. The battery inside the glasses is good for up to seven days on standby and the battery charges wirelessly.

Vue Smart Glasses Image

 Lens options will include prescription, progressive lenses, photochromic transition lenses, polarized lenses, and prescription polarized lenses. With the tech inside the glasses, you can use your linked smartphone to find the glasses if you lose them. Vue smart glasses are on Kickstarter seeking $50,000 and have raised over $77,000 as of writing with 44 days to go on the campaign. A pledge of $179 or more will get Vue glasses with prescription or tinted lenses and includes the charging case. If you want polarized or transition lenses, you need to cough up $259 or more.

The glasses are controlled by a touch interface embedded on the side of the frames - which means you can tap or swipe on the frames to perform various functions, and you can also customise control settings on the Vue mobile app. 'They are offered with prescription lenses so that they can replace a customer's existing prescription eyewear while offering a host of features through embedded technology.'

 For example, after the completion of a workout, data can be uploaded onto a computer or online to create a log of exercise activities for analysis. Users can "mark" their current location and then edit the entry's name and coordinates, which enables navigation to those new coordinates. Although some smartglasses models manufactured in the 21st century are completely functional as standalone products, most manufacturers recommend or even require that consumers purchase mobile phone handsets that run the same operating system so that the two devices can be synchronized for additional and enhanced functionality.

Privacy concerns

 According to Mann, both devices affect both privacy and secrecy by introducing a two-sided surveillance and sousveillance. There is controversy that Google Glass would violate privacy rights due to security problems and others. Privacy advocates are concerned that people wearing such eyewear may be able to identify strangers in public using facial recognition, or surreptitiously record and broadcast private conversations.[8] Some companies in the U.S. have posted anti-Google Glass signs in their establishments. Balaban then installed face-scanning Glassware that creates a summary of commonalities shared by the scanned person and the Glass wearer, such as mutual friends and interests.

Vue Smart Glasses Image

In February 2013, a Google+ user noticed legal issues with Google Glass and posted in the Google Glass community about the issues, stating that the device may be illegal to use according to the current legislation in Russia and Ukraine, which prohibits use of spy gadgets that can record video, audio or take photographs in an inconspicuous manner. Several facilities have banned the use of Google Glass before its release to the general public, citing concerns over potential privacy-violating capabilities. 

Safety considerations

 On 31 July 2013 it was reported that driving while wearing Google Glass is likely to be banned in the UK, being deemed careless driving, therefore a fixed penalty offense, following a decision by the Department for Transport.H owell stated, "The primary thing is a safety concern, it [the glass headset] could project text or video into your field of vision. I think there's a lot of potential for distraction. While the judge noted that 'Google Glass fell under "the purview and intent" of the ban on driving with a monitor', the case was thrown out of court due to lack of proof the device was on at the time.

Functionality considerations

Today most AR devices look bulky, and applications such as navigation, a real-time tourist guide, and recording, can drain smart glasses' batteries in about 1–4 hours. Battery life might be improved by using lower-power display systems (as with the Vaunt), wearing a battery pack elsewhere on the body (such as a belt pack or companion smart necklace).