EssilorLuxottica has made a splash at its first Consumer Electronics Show (CES) appearance in Las Vegas, unveiling first-of-kind glasses with an advanced hearing solution, Nuance Audio, alongside its Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses and a new platform offering tele-optometry and big data services for eyecare practices.
The company’s latest moves in consumer technology were on display 9-12 January, with a prototype of its Nuance Audio system attracting headlines.
It is described as “a pair of beautiful glasses with advanced hearing technology built in seamlessly”.
EssilorLuxottica believes hearing solutions is an underpenetrated market where – similar to vision care decades ago – consumers are averse to wearing traditional corrective devices for several reasons including their visibility, discomfort and price.
“Almost 50 years ago, EssilorLuxottica removed the stigma of wearing prescription glasses by turning a necessary medical device into an iconic fashion accessory. Since then, the company has reimagined what a pair of glasses can do for the person who wears them,” a company statement said.
“Designed for consumers with mild to moderate hearing loss, Nuance Audio will eliminate the psychological barrier that has stood in the way of adoption of traditional hearing aids integrating proprietary state of-the-art open-ear hearing technology into fashionable eyeglasses. Nuance Audio is expected to launch in the market starting with North America in the second half of the year.”
Mr Francesco Milleri, chairman and CEO at EssilorLuxottica, said throughout the company’s 10-year smart eyewear journey, it has honed R&D, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities through several partnerships and product releases, including the recent introduction of Ray-Ban Meta.
“At CES, we will take our place among the world’s leading innovators with a product, Nuance Audio, that has the potential to improve quality of life for over a billion people,” he said
Meanwhile, the EssilorLuxottica booth also featured Ray-Ban Meta, its iconic Ray-Ban glasses with built-in cameras, open-ear audio, AI-powered solutions and the ability to livestream and take calls hands-free.
The group’s also provided more details on its new HELIX division and the Vision(X) platform, an intelligent and interconnected system to help modernise eyecare practices offering a full range of innovative digital solutions, including tele-optometry and big data services for the world of optics.
“Nuance Audio, Ray-Ban Meta and HELIX are a testament to EssilorLuxottica’s commitment to moving the eyewear industry forward into a new era of interconnected and AI-powered devices and solutions,” the company said.
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