Japanese electronics manufacturer Murata, in conjunction with the cityof Sabae, showed its "Cool Design Smart Glass" concept eyewear at CEATEC 2015. The smart augmented reality (AR) glasses incorporate what Murata claims is theworld's smallest micro PS switch module and are designed to give thewearer the ability to remotely controldomestic appliances without searching down the back of the couch for the remote or making the long trek to the light switch.
Rather than relying on a front-positioned prism to projectimages onto said lenses, the prototype glasses have all the hardware built intoa traditional – if slightly more bulky – spectacle form factor. This includes a microinfra-red laser mounted in the right hand arm that works in conjunction with micro sensors presentlyunder development at Murata that are designed to be placed on or near thehousehold appliances to be controlled.
When youlook at an appliance you want to control, an icon will appear in your line ofsight and if it matches the appliance in question, you confirm the selectionby pushing a button integrated into the right arm of the glasses. This button alsoincludes rotating functionality, allowing for scrolling through menus and adjustingappliance settings, such as volume/power/speed/brightness/etc. Murataclaims this switch module, which measures 3.2 x 3.4 x 2.3 mm, is the smallest of its type in the world.
At CEATEC,Murata was demonstrating the capabilities of the technology using a miniaturemodel house. While it was somewhat difficult to locate and target the microsensors in the model house through the heavily tinted lenses, this wouldn’tpose a problem in a full-sized home with real appliances – particularly since you're likely to know where the sensors are located.
AlthoughMurata has plans to put the rotating/push button switch module into massproduction next year, there are no similar plans for the glasses themselves. However,the company does have a history of continuing development of its concepts. A case in point is the robotic cheerleaders, who were back at CEATEC this year with an improved routine. So there’s a chance we could see an updated version of the CoolDesign Smart Glasses at CEATEC 2016 – which was something the company repadmitted was a possibility.
Source: Murata
