The global smart eyewear market is growing with a significant rate, due to rapid innovation in sensor technology. North America leads the global smart eyewear market, due to high adoption rate of digital components in consumer electronics, smart textiles, fitness and sports market. Large population and high obesity rate is further propelling the market growth of smart eyewear in this region. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow with the highest rate, due to growing healthcare industry. The increasing consumer awareness towards health and fitness, along with technology and computing in daily life is also supporting the growth of the market in the region.
Google dominates the smart eyewear market with its product Google Glass. Recon Instruments recently introduced Recon Jet, smart sunglasses that run fitness applications for athletes to track their progress, as they are being trained. Recon Instruments also designed smart goggles for snow sports. Google glass, launched in April 2014, captured attention of consumers and created new interest in smart eyewear, which in turn created heads-up displays for everyday life. Even as Google glass currently has limited features (only notification delivery and content sharing); adding new features such as GPS can make the product more useful and boost its market growth during the forecasted period. Additionally, some developed android applications can be added in Google glass in the coming years, which would be able to take benefit of the hardware, enable new features like object identification, and offer increased reality and fitness applications.
Other smart eyewear devices focus on creating increased reality experiences. Vuzix, a U.S. based company, provides a range of advanced smart glasses, such as Wrap 920AR and STAR 1200XLD. The new companies in the market such as Meta, offers smart glasses with a combination of high definition (HD) and infrared cameras with translucent displays. The smart glasses of Meta allow the wearer to use gestures for controlling augmented reality objects, directly in their field of vision.
Smart eyewear is a wearable computing device, which enhances information onto reality or actually supports people to see clearly. This is achieved with the help of an optical computerized internet connected glasses or head mounted display, with transparent heads up display or augmented reality. Some of the sensors used in smart glasses are accelerometer, image sensors, gyroscope, touch sensors, pressure sensors, and thermometers.
Two of the key competitors in the global smart eyewear market are Google Inc., and Recon Instruments Inc.
Global Smart Eyewear Market Segmentation
By Operating System
By Application
- Wellness
- Medical
- Personal Assistance
- Others
By Geography
- North America
- Europe
- Asia-Pacific
- Rest of the World
