Sep 30
NTT docomo’s Vuzix M100 Hands-On
Posted in: Today's Chili
[CEATEC 2013] We spent some time with the Vuzix M100 smart glasses before the super long queues were formed, and here are some of our impressions on it. The hardware is based off the Vuzix M100 of course, but the software was powered by NTT docomo. We mentioned in passing that this particular pair of glasses would be able to identify someone’s face using facial recognition technology, before it communicates with a server to pull out information on a person for you to see. Here is what we think about it.
NTT docomo’s Vuzix M100 Hands-On original content from Ubergizmo. 
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[CEATEC 2013] Sure, smartphones, phablets and tablets might be all the rage, but this does not mean that there are no other avenues for smart devices. No sir, vehicles have become smarter these days, too, and it does seem as though the ceiling has yet to be reached. Far from it, and at Pioneer’s booth, you have a driver’s cockpit that certainly looks extremely futuristic, although I do not think that the final product should feature so much plastic. Imagine parking this under an intense summer afternoon, or out in the desert. Still, what looks like a cockpit from a starship rather than a car certainly has a story to tell, and tell it we will. Pioneer’s smart car cockpit concept will come with a plethora of sensors as well as works in tandem with your smartphone for a more complete driving experience, which we will talk about later after the jump.
[CEATEC 2013] To say that smart glasses might not end up as the next big thing would be an understatement. After all, there has been plenty of interest surrounding Google Glass in the past, and the folks over at NTT docomo certainly has no intention of missing out on the boat. We managed to get hold of a few smart glasses at the NTT docomo booth today, where the first one of the lot is what Hubert is wearing in the image above. Basically, this pair of smart glasses allows you to watch videos that are being played on your smartphone without having to hold your handset. All that is being played on the smartphone is sent to the smart glasses, and while there were no hard and fast specifications available, it was divulged that it is in all probability, the equivalent of watching an 80” display from 5 feet away. Sweet!
[CEATEC 2013] How many of you out there want to be forensic scientists after watching TV series such as CSI (Crime Scene Investigation)? Isn’t it just wonderful that an insanely difficult case can be cracked in an hour on TV with commercials thrown into the mix, while in the real world, there are plenty of unsolved cases, or at least cases where the leads have turned so cold? Perhaps if the local law enforcement agency had a portable DNA analyzer from NEC, things might have turned out differently. Today, we took a closer look at one of NEC’s more interesting presentations at the CEATEC 2013 showfloor – an NEC portable DNA analyzer.
Vuzix and NTT DoCoMo will team up at CEATEC 2013 that is set to happen next week, where they will let the curious masses check out the M100 smart glasses. That would certainly give the folks over at Google something to think about, wouldn’t you say so? The M100 smart glasses is set to roll out later in the year, so to have it featured at Japan’s biggest electronics show makes us wish that CEATEC 2013 would start tomorrow so that we can lay our hands on it.
It seems that on September 23rd, Microsoft is not going to hold back on the 
CEATEC 2013 is about to be upon us in a week’s time, and you can bet your bottom dollar that plenty of Japanese firms (as well as others in the consumer electronics industry) will be making a beeline there. Expect Pioneer Electronics to be there at the Makuhari Messe this coming October 1st, (forgive me for my interpretation of some machine translation as the original story was in Japanese) where they will deliver some in-vehicle technology that boasts of intuitive operation, where it will work by taking advantage of the sensing as well as cognitive capabilities of the human being.
