Long Beach-Based Epson Hosts Weekend Contest to Demonstrate Its Line of Smart Glasses

Imagine being able to fix a car or install a washing machine without having to study the diagram from the instruction manual. That is what Epson, best known for its printer, is trying to accomplish with its Moverio Smart Glasses, which was launched in the US in 2012.
This is what company calls “augmented reality.” The idea is that the consumer wearing the glasses would be able to see the diagram projected in front of them as they work on the car or washer, Epson project manager Eric Mizufuka said. This is possible because the Moverio projects the image in wearer’s entire field of view, in contrast to Google Glass in which the image is only projected in the corner of one eye.

“With this technology, the worker can work [on things] without having to stop and look at down at their tablet and watch the instruction video,” he said.
While the Moverio was released nearly two years ago, the idea of augmented reality gained wide public attention with the announcement of Google Glass in February 2013. Unlike the Google Glass, which is completely wireless, the Movario is connected to an Android-powered tiny smart-phone-like computer. The user uses the device’s track pad to control the glasses.
Epson, however, is not worried about the competition. In fact, it welcomes it.
“We’re very appreciative of what Google Glass has done for [smart glasses],” Epson’s director of new business Anna Jen said. “They have brought a lot of visibility, education and awareness to [it]. At end of the day, there’s going to be different applications for each of these form factors.”
And demonstrating the difference between in the two products was one of the reasons why the company held a “hackathon” contest at its American Headquarters in Long Beach Aug. 24 and 25.

The winner of the contest is a team headed by USC junior Serhan Ulkumen. His team’s, Torch, winning application is a running app that allows runners to see a virtual 3D image of them running along a course that they set. Once they set an initial course, these runners would be able to race against their virtual image, gauging their performance against their past efforts.
“In a few years, [smart glasses] are going to replace smart phones,” Ulkumen said. “What we’re creating is the reverse of the Wii. You have a game console in your living room. It’s a game, but it helps you exercise. So why not go outside to the real world exercising and then make that into a game.”
Ulkumen also talked about the ability to share results with friends and challenge them to a virtual race.
Contest judge Trak Lord, the communication manager for metaio, a software development firm who co-sponsored the event, said he was looking for inspired, creative works at the hackathon.
“With the limited of time that [the developers] have to actually develop something, what really stand out is respective passion and belief in [their] ideas,” he said.
The hackathon is also a way for Epson to engage developers from both Los Angeles and Orange counties, being ideally located in the middle in Long Beach.
“We have not done the best job in the past with bringing our technologies to our local developers,” Jen said. “We’re excited to work and build relationships with our local developers.”