OAKLAND, CA – Vuzix makes “wearable computing systems that are going to look exactly like a pair of Gucci’s” says Vuzix founder and CEO, Paul Travers, in an interview with me on my show ‘Poppin Crypto with Cassius Cuvée’.
Vuzix is on the cutting edge of developing augmented reality (AR) technology that is directly integrated into normal sized eyewear for corporations and industries such as Amazon, the military and medicine, to name a few. The potential use for metaverse applications is especially apparent because each pair is sleek, lightweight, and is already stylistically miles ahead of popular headsets like Meta’s Quest.
In an August 2nd press release, Vuzix announced an agreement with L3Harris Technologies “to develop a customized waveguide-based optics engine that is intended to be used in headborne systems designed for military applications.” On August 9th they reported good quarterly earnings that caused their share price to jump approximately 20% on the news.
The timing of this episode of Poppin Crypto feels perfect. If you’ve never watched, at the beginning of every show I perform a custom rap that I specifically write for the project we’re discussing during the interview. In this case, I paint a picture of what 5 years into the future will look like, when everyone uses augmented reality Vuzix smart glasses for everything, including work and social life.
I end by saying “My destiny, better be Web3 music coming out of every pair of brand new Vuzix”. Paul subsequently explains that all of their glasses already have speakers for audio transmission. Apparently the future has already arrived!
During the interview, Paul goes into details about some of the current use cases for Vuzix’s augmented reality eyewear, including Amazon distribution center workers being able to train and perform their job duties with much greater efficiency. Paul says, “Amazon has gone public with that, they’re using them throughout many of their European operations, and they’re moving them into the States also.”
He describes the complex job of packing large pallets of different types of products, and if done incorrectly, can damage significant amounts of inventory, but with the Vuzix glasses it’s like having an expert working right along with the person packing the pallets to make sure it’s done correctly every single time.
I asked him if the glasses are “analyzing, and can see what’s going on with the pallet itself?” His response is “In this case, it’s an artificial intelligence engine that is telling the person how to pack.” He continues, “you give the guy the glasses, the person’s got the glasses on, it shows a representation of the pallet, it shows the piece of merchandise that goes on the pallet, and it shows them exactly where to put it, and it’s really, really fast” which basically eliminates any guesswork or even paperwork to follow.
We discussed the experience of GPS or a mapping app on your phone compared to how it functions with Vuzix smart glasses technology.
“With the glasses on, it’s a perfectly seamless connection to the metaverse, the information about where that restaurant you want to get to, and the road that you’re standing on so that it can paint it on the road and you’re not lost. That information belongs in front of you.”
Paul Travers, Vuzix Founder and CEO
He goes on to say “Google, Apple, they’re all pushing for this…This is only a matter of time though, Cassius. The form factor for the glasses is a key piece to this because nobody is going to want to walk around like they stepped off the Starship Enterprise”.
This interview with Paul left me feeling like Vuzix is basically a tiny iPhone built inside a pair of sunglasses. It’s reminiscent of the rapper Soulja Boy telling the story about how he performed at an Apple sponsored event and Steve Jobs gave him the first iPhone.
Perhaps Paul Travers is the new Steve Jobs and I will be the first rapper to receive the first pair of consumer marketplace augmented reality sunglasses, which leads to Vuzix dominating the hardware that is used by the entire culture. Exciting times ahead!
Click to watch the full episode of Poppin Crypto with Cassius Cuvée, featuring my guest Paul Travers, CEO of Vuzix.
