Smart glasses, or goggles, are a technology that keeps growing with various iterations capable of assorted tasks. There is a pair, seemingly, for just about everything.

Some of these glasses feature displays to work alongside whatever it is the wearer is viewing while others change optical properties for the comfort of the wearer. Whether they are intended for virtual and artificial reality (VR/AR) applications or to actually assist those with vision problems, there seems to be a pair designed exclusively for that task.

Follow along with GlobalSpec as we investigate the assorted smart glasses currently in development and what tasks they might assist with.

Improve vision

Functioning much like traditional glasses, an assistive eyeglass design engineered by Toronto-based startup eSight has been clinically proven to significantly enhance visual clarity for visually impaired users impacted by macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other eye diseases.

According to the company, the glasses use two 1280 × 960 high-resolution screens that display images captured and processed from the forward-facing camera located on the glasses. The glasses also offer improved auto-focus, 24 times zoom, focus and contrast capabilities in addition to custom viewing modes. Adjustable pupillary and screen distance ensures optimal viewing and can help users achieve 20/20 enhanced vision. Meanwhile, a bioptic tilt feature enables users to see directly in front of them with the glasses while viewing what is around them using their remaining peripheral vision.

Tracking gaze, facial expressions

Source: Cornell University

Researchers at Cornell University have managed to create two smart glass technologies — one that tracks a person’s gaze and another that captures facial expressions via sonar-like tech.

Both technologies are described as small enough to be placed on commercial smart-glasses as well as on VR or AR headsets, while reportedly consuming far less power than existing tools that use cameras.

Further, the researchers noted that both technologies use speakers and microphones strategically placed on the eyeglass frames where they bounce inaudible soundwaves off the face and subsequently capture reflected signals caused by face and eye movements.

The first device, dubbed GazeTrak, is considered by the researchers to be the first eye-tracking system that relies on acoustic signals. Meanwhile, the second device, dubbed EyeEcho, is reportedly the first eyeglass-based device to repeatedly and accurately detect facial expressions and subsequently recreate them in real time through an avatar.

The developers suggest that both technologies can enable wearers to have hands-free video calls and enhance a user’s VR experience, while GazeTrak could be paired with screen readers to read out portions of text for people with low vision. Both technologies could also potentially be used to help diagnose or monitor neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s, which often present with abnormal eye movements and less expressive faces.

Conversation starter

Have trouble making small talk? A prototype of smart glasses designed to listen in on conversations and instruct the wearer about what to say next have been developed by researchers from Stanford University.

The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered glasses, named rizzGPT — real-time Charisma as a Service (CaaS) — were built using OpenAI’s language model system GPT-4, OpenAI's speech recognition large language model Whisper and Monocle AR glasses from Brilliant Labs.

Source: Stanford University

According to its developers, the glasses, which feature a microphone, a high-resolution display and a camera, can interpret questions, transcribe answers and display them on the screen of the glasses.

The AI glasses communicate via Bluetooth with an app on the user’s phone. As the user speaks, audio is reportedly converted into text in real time. Whisper then enables the glasses to feed the chat to the GPT 4 chatbot, which makes suggestions about answers to the wearer.

Temperature-taking

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a startup in China developed glasses that measure the temperatures of people within proximity of the wearer.

Source: Rokid

In a bid to keep a safe distance among groups of people, Hangzhou-based Rokid created the T1 thermal glasses, which rely on infrared sensors and cameras to measure and record the temperatures of people almost 10 ft from the wearer.

Night-vision

While not exactly smart glasses, a team from the Australian National University has developed an ultra-thin film that can be applied to regular glasses that promises to enable wearers such as law enforcement and military personnel to see in the dark clearly.

Applied to the glasses, the film is derived from nanoscale crystals that are reportedly hundreds of times thinner than a human hair.

Source: Jamie Kidston/Australian National University

Using laser pointers, the nanocrystals reportedly combine with the infrared light, thereby transforming the film into a layer that creates images the wearer can see in the dark.

According to its developers, the film is appropriate for military and law enforcement applications.

'X-ray' vision

High-tech goggles designed for the U.S. Army promise to enable soldiers to see through combat vehicles, thereby enhancing their situational awareness.

The Integrated Augmented Vision System (IAVS) goggles can reportedly see around corners and in the dark, as well as through the walls of combat vehicles, and can display digital maps, retrieving data instantly.

Source: Courtney Bacon / DVIDS

To see what is happening outside of a combat vehicle, the goggles rely on feeds from omnidirectional cameras located outside the armored vehicles. This enables all of the soldiers within the armored vehicle to see through the vehicle walls without leaving the vehicle and risking their safety.

Additionally, the goggles can also be incorporated into soldiers' weapons through a rifle-mounted thermal imaging night vision scope, which also displays the surroundings within a soldier's field of vision. This would enable soldiers to aim their weapons while shielded or to see around corners without leaving themselves vulnerable to enemies.

Facial recognition

Also built into the U.S. Army's IVAS headset is facial recognition technology that will enable soldiers to identify suspicious persons, enemies and known terrorists.

In addition to its facial recognition, the wearables can also provide video streams from personal reconnaissance drones for conducting surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance, translate foreign languages (for instance on street signs) into English and take part in virtual training sessions.