Smart Glasses
City College of New York
ENGL 21007
Professor Jacobson
Josh R, Sohail A, Tonmoy D, Ummay S
November 19th, 2020

Proposal
Not so long ago, wearable smart technology was considered just a passing trend and was
of no consideration by a majority of the population. It was considered an inconsequential
byproduct of advances in other areas of technology and an experiment. Wearable tech is making
its way into the mainstream way of life.
Today there are over 60.6 million wearable smart device users and according to websites
such as statistica it is predicted that the number of users will rise to 67 million by the year 2022
(Tankovska 2020). The actual market value of the wearable tech industry as a whole is projected
to reach $57,653,000,000 by the year 2022 and is steadily on the rise (Reports, 2020). Within the
scope of the wearable technology industry the smart glasses market value sits at $4.60 billion in
2020 and is projected to grow to $9.98 billion by the year 2025. At the moment there are only
two companies at the forefront of the smart glasses market, Focals and Google price their smart
glasses starting at $599 and $999 respectively with additional costs depending on if they are
modified such as, adding blue light filters, anti glare or prescription lenses. The current cheapest
options in the industry are the digiOptix Motus smart glasses which are priced at $90.
The wearable technology industry has an extremely large market value that is constantly
growing and has shown stability in it’s expected growth for the future. Within the wearable
technology market, the smart glass industry occupies 17.5% of the market based on the
aforementioned market values, which is a considerable amount. Based on a large market and its
lack of variety when it comes to smart glasses, we are proposing a new system that will allow
anyone to experience smart glass technology without spending absorbent amounts of money.

This proposal is intended to combat the inflated costs that occur in the smart glasses
industry by introducing a device that is able to be attached to any pair of glasses, modifying any
normal pair into a one that is capable of functioning as other smart glasses do. Smart glasses are
sold as a complete unit in the industry today and can be considerably pricey as a result. The
current cheapest pair of smart glasses available to the market is the digiOptix brand featured in
figure 1. Their smart glasses come with the most basic technologies that consist of bluetooth
compatibility, video recording and answering phone calls. Despite having the bare minimum
features, the need to include this technology in a large glass frame with a standout bulky side
piece can be invasive to most consumers as they
want a more covert option. The price of this pair is
around $90 making it the cheapest pair on the
market. Looking at the opposite end of the
spectrum, the top of the line smart glasses that most
consumers are buying at the moment are North
Focals. These are premium smart glasses Figure 1: digiOptix Smart Glasses
that allow for full customizability as well as allowing the user to have smart glasses that have the
resemblance of normal glasses from a generic view. Despite being premium smart glasses with
an extremely large price tag of $999 with an additional $200 if a prescription lens is added the
frames do have a noticeable bulk to them, giving the illusion of being normal glasses away as
pictured in figure 2. As such, the bulky figure of smart glasses as they are now along with the
fact that there are only specific styles of them available leads us to the proposition that there
should be a device to bridge the gap between functionality and aesthetics.

The device being proposed will be able to
modify any pair of glasses thus giving the user the
ability to have a display in their visible range while
maintaining a covert and minimalist design unlike the
the larger and bulkier smart glasses that are currently
proliferating in the market. Figure 2: Rear view of North Focals Smart Glass
The reasoning behind why smart glasses are sold as a whole unit rather than a clip on
external devices lies in how the lens is designed. In figure 3 below there is a basic layout of how
most current smart glasses operate. They
project an image usually from the inside of
the glasses on higher end models and then
the image is reflected off of the lens and into
the eye of the user. However, this is not at
all possible with any lens. Instead the lens
needs to be a holographic combiner allowing
for the image to bounce off the lens rather than Figure 3: Diagram of how holographic lenses operate
going through the lens and having only a small portion bounce back, adding on to this, the cost
of including the ability to implement prescription lenses into the glasses is not the easiest to
accomplish since it needs to be compatible with the holographic combiner and adds to the labor
cost. This built in alteration of the lens is the primary reason why there are currently no clip on
alternatives in the market.

A solution to the problem pertaining to the lenses comes in the form of a virtual retinal
display. A virtual retinal display is a system where a laser focused image is projected directly
into the eye rather than being sent off a separate surface such as a lens or a backboard, this is
shown in figure 4. A virtual retinal display also has the added benefits of operating regardless of
the current vision of the person using them as they project high resolution, high contrast and
bright images. In studies analyzing the effectiveness of VRD’s it has been shown that people are
able to use them with no immediate negative effects seen unlike the eye strain that is caused
when displays are shown using the glass as a display.(Virre, Pryor, Nagata, & Furness, 1998).
This technology is currently only being utilized by Intel’s Vaunt smart glasses which are still in
their experimental phases and are being included along with the glass frames unlike the proposed
product.
The proposed device’s benefit may be
enough to fill a market void but the cost still
needs to be addressed. The goal of this device is
to be an add-on with the appeal lying in its low cost Figure 4: How Virtual Retinal Displays
Function
when compared to smart glasses
in the market today.
Since the cost of such a product cannot be fully understood in a short period of time a
good estimate of the potential cost can be made using existing products. When Google glass was
revealed, it had an initial sell price of around $1500. When the glasses are broken down into their
physical components the glasses have a raw production cost of around $152. This cost includes

the glass, the frame and the electronics inside that make it work. When the components are
broken down we can have a better understanding on how much our proposed product will cost.
In a study done by research firm IHS, the cost of manufacturing is around $20, the cost of the
titanium frames came up around $22, the liquid crystal silicon display cost around $20, the
processor cost around $8.85 and the memory cost around $10 (Whitney, 2014).
The raw cost for Google glass is a rather small one with the majority of the cost being
focused on the frame and the Liquid Crystal Silicon display. The only costs that would be
applicable to the proposed product would be in the processor, memory, and manufacturing. For
the virtual retinal display technology that is specific to our product the cost is more variable. By
analyzing an expired patent for a virtual retinal display system the components seem to be at low
costs, the estimate that can be given based on this ranges from a few cents to $15 accounting for
the laser and the various other electronic components (Furness & Collin, 1995). The initial
research and development costs cannot be predicted as of yet since due to a multitude of factors
that cannot be accounted for such as initial funding, time and labor costs. The markup sell price
for such a product must be above $53.85 since that is the projected cost of the raw materials and
a suggested msrp can be implemented after initial development. Other costs outside of raw
material cost can come in the form of software and licensing fees. These costs are not worth
mentioning at the moment since they depend largely on the intended use for the proposed
product since the intended audience can range from the general public to privatized sectors such
as military or security.
There may be a few points of contention surrounding the product. One of these
contentions come when talking on the subject of relevance in the market since a consumer would

most likely want to purchase a complete package and if that package includes their prescription
lenses why would they require an addon? To address that point, people who primarily utilize
insurance to cover their glass prescriptions will not be able to pay the bill for current smart
watches each time their prescription changes which is often the case in individuals who need
them. For our proposed product the initial cost of how the user receives their frames or lenses is
up to them. The product’s intention is to supplement their current pair and when it needs to be
changed it will be able to adjust to the new frames as well rather than needing a brand new
product.
The smart glasses industry while exciting and relatively new has not done enough to
introduce innovation into the market, rather there are old ideas that are continuously being
circulated with the changes being made in design of the glasses rather than addressing a niche
that can exist in the market simultaneously with normal glasses. Along with the lack of flexibility
the prices of the high end models of smart glasses lack consideration for those who cannot afford
the high prices for a small amount of convenience. Therefore, we hope our proposed product can
allow for more individuals to take part in having the modern conveniences of a premium smart
device without the high spending.
Technical Description
In the past few decades, computational devices had tremendous growth in popularity. The
innovators of the industry strived to improve efficiency while simultaneously making the devices
with a smaller physical form factor. The smart glasses industry was a product of the
technological advancements and efficiency improvements. Industry giants such as Intel and
Google have spent years researching and designing the smart glasses, putting out the first

implementations of the concept into consumers’ hands. Their products failed to be accessible to
the average consumer, due to their high costs. This set a high barrier of entry for the product,
giving an opportunity for smaller competing companies to come up with cheaper alternatives
such as Motus smart glasses from digiOptix. While this product brought down the cost enough
that it was accessible to the average consumer, it entailed some compromises on the quality and
inconveniences.
The product we propose has major advantages over the previous implementations of this
concept. Our product is a simple attachment that can be used with any pair of glasses, it makes
use of the Virtual Retinal Display technology. This shows the image directly to the retina rather
than having it bounce it off the optics of the glasses. The product will be a small detachable
device that attaches to the side of any glasses. The casing will have dimensions of 6.5cm L x
2cm W x 3cm H, the casing shell will be made of a strong aluminum alloy which will come in
different colors.
Computer render of the device attached.(Fig. 1)
The device will have two buttons positioned on the top, providing basic navigational
controls. The buttons will also function to control the alignment of the Virtual Retinal Display so
that it is calibrated to the retina of the user. The upper end of the device will hold the VRD
angled towards the user’s retina. This will provide a rich and clear viewing experience for the

user regardless of how well their eyesight is, eliminating the need for the glass optic to be
adjusted for every customer.
CAD prototype showing the device. (Fig. 2)
Taking a look at the internals of the internals of the device, the device will be powered by
a ARM Cortex-M0+ processor. This is a “32-bit, Low-Power Processor at an 8-bit Cost” (ARM,
2012), this is a processor from chip maker ARM, it’s their lowest power consumption chip. The
processor provides enough power for small wearable electronics and keeps the cost down. The
processor runs at a speed of 64MHz, the Cortex-M0+ also has 36KB of ram with 128KB of flash
storage (ARM, 2012). This chip is ideal for a small device that needs to be efficient for a longer
battery life.
Layout diagram of ARM Cortex-M0+. (Fig. 3)
https://www.design-reuse.com/sip/arm-cortex-m0-ip-43820/
The device will use the DS-2541-021 bluetooth module, which has a small form factor
measuring at 11.8×15.8×1.5mm(W x L x H). This chip uses the bluetooth protocol to connect to
other bluetooth enabled devices. This will allow the device to connect to smart phones and other

devices to get content to display, the connected device will handle the calculations and
processing and send the output to the VRD for it to display onto the users retina.
Image of the bluetooth module. (Fig. 4)
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/China-High-Quality-Wholesaler-TI-Small_6245479038
3.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.2.67b8647auPOoDE&s=p&fullFirstScreen=true
All these components will be powered by a lithium-ion battery, it holds the charge
necessary to power the components when they are used. The lithium-ion battery carries a high
energy density, with a low self-discharge (Is Lithium-ion the Ideal Battery?), making it ideal for
wearable electronics. Our product will use the Samsung designed battery cell, model
PCF582124 is designed specifically for wearable devices. The cell has a 300mAH capacity
providing long up time for the device, it accomplishes this while maintaining a small form
factor, measuring 5.8 mm x 21 mm x 24 mm (Lx W xH).
Image of the Samsung designed battery cells. (Fig. 5)
https://www.samsungsdi.com/lithium-ion-battery/it-devices/wearable-device.html

At the heart of our products design is the VRD laser projector, this differs from other
methods of projecting an image because it projects directly onto the retina rather than bouncing it
off another surface. This will be placed towards the front end of the device, where it can be
angled towards the retina so that it projects the image directly. This will be a low powered laser
so that it doesn’t harm the retina and also it works efficiently by preserving battery charge.
CAD prototype of the VRD laser on the device. (Fig. 6)

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Smart Glasses 13
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