Latest News Vision Tech Emerges as a Major Focus of CES 2016 By Staff Monday, January 11, 2016 12:21 AM An employee of Avegant demonstrates the company’s new Glyph mediawear personal entertainment system, which USA Today called the coolest gadget of CES 2016. LAS VEGAS—Even amid the acres of high definition TV screens, beeping robots, flying drones, self-driving cars, sensor-equipped clothing and appliances and other attention grabbing gear on display at CES 2016, smart glasses and other vision-enhancing products managed to create a stir.Many of the 170,000 attendees who flocked to the mega trade show in Las Vegas last week came to experience augmented reality with the latest smart glasses or immerse themselves in a game, movie or live event while wearing virtual reality goggles. Others discovered new systems designed to improve visual performance while playing sports or driving. Although innovation in smart glasses has, until now, been driven largely by tech companies, it was apparent at CES that optical companies are beginning to influence this rapidly developing product category. A notable example is Radar Pace, a new type of smart glasses being developed through a collaboration between Intel and Luxottica Group’s Oakley division. The eyewear, a prototype of which was featured in a keynote speech by Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, will offer a voice-activated, real-time coaching system and is designed to provide runners, cyclists and workout enthusiasts with “in-the-moment feedback and analytics, helping to track progress and improve real-time performance,” according to Intel and Luxottica. Spokespersons for the two companies told VMail that the product will be launched late this year.Another notable optical industry entrant in the smart glasses market is Zeiss, which showed a prototype of data glasses that look like stylish, everyday eyewear. The optical system, designed by Smart Optics, a new Zeiss-financed start-up venture, can be fitted in various frame designs, the company said. Wearers will be able to experience augmented reality and app projections in their field of sight as a flying screen in front of their eyes, not as a projection into the eye. The position of the data field can be customized to customer requirements and field of application, Zeiss said.“It’s the missing link for the future of smart glasses,” Matthias Gohl, head of strategy and new business at Carl Zeiss AG, told VMail.An entirely different dimension of vision technology was demonstrated by Genworth Financial, an insurance company, which showed off the R70i Age Suit. Consisting of a headset and exoskeleton, the suit, designed by tech firm Applied Minds LLC, simulates vision loss from glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts and floaters. It also simulates hearing loss, as well as the effects of reduced mobility from arthritis and muscle deterioration.Click here for a video interview with executives from the Zeiss Smart Optics group and look for a slideshow with highlights from CES 2016 to be posted on www.visionmonday.com soon.