3D lens printing firm Luxexcel has launched a new platform for producing prescription smartglass lenses, the company announced on Wednesday.
The Dutch firm’s VisionPlatform 7 will allow businesses to integrate lightweight and thin prescription lenses in smartglasses after notable market demand with 3D printing technology.
The technology-agnostic innovation also includes support for waveguides, holographic optical elements, and liquid crystal foils, among others, and integrates similar hardware as traditional smartglass lenses.
Luxexcel can also 3D print the lenses on demand, it said, adding the platform would provide designers with flexible smartglass solutions.
The developments come after AR giants Snap acquired WaveOptics, Luxexcel’s industry partner, for over $500 million USD — Snap’s largest ever deal as it works to push AR smart glasses for mainstream use, the Verge reported in May.
Fabio Esposito, Chief Executive Officer at Luxexcel, said the solution would begin “a new era” in prescription smart lens production.
According to him, consumer smartglasses required eyeglassmakers to address the need prescription lenses in their wearable devices as over 75 percent of adults across the world required them.
He added:
“Luxexcel is accelerating the market introduction of true consumer smart glasses by allowing technology companies to manufacture prescription smart eyewear in the comfort of their own manufacturing home”
The developments come after Luxexcel launched the product demo in February to showcases the lenses’ capabilities and announced a partnership with waveform manufacturer WaveOptics in March.
Guido Groet, Chief Strategy Officer at Luxexcel, added:
“To manufacture a device that combines prescription and smart functions requires a combination of skills in technology and optics. It can be difficult to find this combination of skill sets in one team, so we offer this experience to our partners”
The news comes as several MR firms unveiled new products aimed at disrupting the virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR) market.
French MR headset startup Lynx announced this week the firm’s R-1 headset would include modified optics to remove the need for eye-tracking components and would produce a slimmer form factor.
Another startup, Finnish MR firm Pixieray, also raised $4.4 million USD from investors in July to develop its AR autofocusing eyeglasses.
Massachussets-based tech firm Kopin Corp also patented a fully-plastic pancake optics solution aimed at producing super-lightweight headsets with undetectable to no birefringence.
