Hoosier Business Eyeing Google Glass Market
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA Fort Wayne optical company believes it has developed the world's first digital prescription lenses for Google Glass technology. Longe Optical President Jeff Ostermann says a large portion of the U.S. population wears glasses, so the “sky is the limit” for the size of the potential market. Google Glass is expected to be released to the public next year and Ostermann says Longe Optical is prepared to scale up production to meet possible demand. December 17, 2013
News Release
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – This past year Google introduced the Explorer Edition of “Google Glass,” a line of hands-free, head-mounted intelligent devices than can be worn as wearable computing eyewear. Longe Optical of Fort Wayne is proud to be the first optical company in the world to unveil digital prescription lenses for Google Glass.
Last month, Longe Optical announced that it was the first and only local optical company to provide digital lenses manufactured in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Google Glass looks like a pair of semi-frameless eyeglasses but does not include lenses. The frame unit includes a built-in, interactive, smartphone-like display, with voice command support, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Google Glass will be compatible with both Android-powered mobile devices and Apple IOS-powered devices, and should be available to the general public in 2014.
Up until now, use of Google Glass has been limited to 8,000+ invited “Explorers” who have been testing Google Glass prior to it being available to the general public. Two Longe Optical team members were privileged to be part of this invited group of Explorers.
Consequently, the Longe lab staff was able to develop removable lenses that can be used with Google's existing headset design without any need for messy workarounds or homemade “hacks.”
Sweetwater founder and president, and Longe Optical owner Chuck Surack, said, “when we saw the capabilities of Google Glass we knew that they called for only the best prescription lens technology and that our new ClearVu high-definition digital lenses would be a perfect fit with Google Glass for everyone who wears prescription lenses.”
Longe Optical has begun exploring opportunities for commercial production of its ClearVu digital lenses for Google Glass, including the possibility of offering them as an aftermarket accessory or service. They hope to be able to make them available to other Google Glass wearers in the near future.
Longe Optical was founded in 1949 and for nearly 65 years has been providing state-of-the-art lab services and an unmatched retail optical experience.
To learn more about Longe Optical prescription lenses for Google Glass, visit our website address at: http://www.longeoptical.com/glass/
Source: Longe Enterprises Corp.