Much of the hype surrounding smart glasses stems from their ability to inform us of our environment, adding virtual tidbits to what we see around us. But for Japanese eyewear manufacturer Jins, what these wearable computers can tell us about ourselves might prove just as valuable. The company has announced a new line of smart glasses that tracks eye movement to identify when fatigue levels are on the rise, offering up useful data to better manage our workloads.
It should be said that Jins aren’t alone in taking this introspective approach to smart eyewear. An app for Google Glass called DriveSafe was revealed early this year, designed to monitor the drowsiness of the wearer and keep them from falling asleep at the wheel. In March a psychologist at Wichita State University built a Glass app called Glass Fatigue Detector that serves a similar purpose.
But Jins is aiming to wrap its glasses around the heads of more than just weary drivers. Its rep tells us that integrating the technology in a way that makes the eyewear indistinguishable from regular specs was the focus here, and something it believes is key to mainstream adoption.
Dubbed Jins Meme, the system relies on three electrooculography (EOG) sensors located in the base of the frame, the nose pads and above the nose. EOG measures eye movement and blinking by tracking retina position in relation to these sensors, while six-axis accelerometers built into the ends of the arms are intended to monitor the body’s axis and walking behavior.
Data collected by the sensors is presented through a iOS and Android smartphone app, which offers insights into things like the wearer's fatigue levels, when they should take a breather from their work, how many steps they’ve taken, how many calories they have burned and even feedback on their posture.
The company says there is also a series of more ambitious applications in the pipeline, including games where eyes would act as the controller, functions to measure interest levels, focus-training exercises and potentially tools to tackle neurodegenerative diseases.
There’s no word yet on availability or pricing, though the company says it plans on bringing Jins Meme to the US market sometime in 2015. The lineup to date includes sunglasses, half-rim glasses and a thicker-framed model called Wellngton. It will showcase the technology at CES next month.
You can check out the company's promotional video below.
Source: Jins Meme