November 26, 2019 – Vuzix Corporation has announced that its OEM partner, RideOn Vision, has received regulatory approval for its RideOn Smart Ski Goggles, which are based on the Vuzix Blade augmented reality (AR) smart glasses. The company also added that RideOn is now moving to volume production for the program. The Blade is effectively integrated into RideOn’s ski goggles and brings AR to the slopes by offering hands-free interaction and navigation of the mountain’s ski-routes, recording of time on the slopes, and an audio player, all fully controlled by the RideOn goggles.
Vuzix had previously delivered initial Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses to RideOn beginning in Q1 2019 to support the company’s proof of concept effort. In Q2 2019, Vuzix received a follow-on order for 100 Blade units from RideOn to advance the program from pre-production through regulatory approval and into volume production. As part of this continued OEM effort, Vuzix has also provided software updates and recently shipped an additional 20 Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses to RideOn.
Vuzix stated that it expects to deliver the first volume batch of Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses to RideOn before the end of 2019, and anticipates Blade shipments to the AR sportswear company will expand significantly in Q1 2020 in order to fulfill its Smart Ski Goggle reseller orders across several countries during the 2019-2020 winter ski season in Europe and the United States. Additionally, Vuzix and RideOn are working together on the initiation of a proof of concept for a wearable Vuzix Blade-based system for a major motorcycle company.
“The team at Vuzix has been great to work with to support the overall development effort of this program to deliver the best possible experience for our Smart Ski Goggle customers,” said Alon Getz, CEO and Founder of RideOn. “The 2019-2020 ski season is a coming out party for AR experiences for skiers and we are looking forward to bringing additional products to market with Vuzix.”
Paul Travers, President and Chief Executive Officer at Vuzix, added: “The overall design and the see-through waveguide optics are critical must-have features for our prosumer partner RideOn. We’re excited to see this customer move rapidly from proof of concept and now into volume production of a product that will deliver innovative location-based information to ski and snowboarding enthusiasts on the slopes.”
Each set of goggles includes the following features:
- HD camera and video recording;
- Virtual map and highlighted points of interest;
- Personalized stats such as speed and altitude;
- Friend and family locator;
- Hands-free calling;
- 3 layers of foam for a comfortable, ergonomic fit;
- Battery life of ~7 usage hours / 24 standby hours;
- Connectivity: MicroUSB for charging and data transfer, audio connectors, Bluetooth and WiFi.
At the time of publication, the RideOn AR Ski Goggles are currently retailing for EUR €1,285.00, down from a usual sale price EUR €1,500.00.
Other extras that RideOn has to offer include a 4K 130° field of view ‘Action Camera’ with advanced Sony Exmor R Sensor, which costs €170.00, as well as a Photochromatic lens option that changes transparency according to different lighting conditions, and also a Polarized lens. The lenses retail for EUR €75 and EUR €50, respectively.
If these googles work anything like the promo-video suggests they do, then we are very excited to try these out on the slopes, especially the Friend and Family locator feature. No more waiting at the bottom of a ski lift for an indeterminate amount of time for the last one in your party to show up after they couldn’t handle the mogul field. Although, we would imagine that in order for this feature to work, your friends also need to own a pair of Smart Ski Goggles themselves as well. Whether or not this feature also works in the evening for the après ski is another question though.
Video credit: RideOn/YouTube
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About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.