Vuzix Corporation has inked a deal with Toshiba in which the American technology firm will supply its custom M300 smart glasses to the Japanese conglomerate company over a three-year term. Under the agreement, Vuzix will deliver its augmented reality (AR) smart glasses exclusively to Toshiba for up to 12 months after the Tokyo, Japan-based company submits purchase orders for the said consumer electronics products worth at least $5 million, with the Vuzix-powered smart glasses slated to carry the Toshiba brand and set to be sold on a global scale. Vuzix also said that the smart glasses will ship with a mobile computing system to accompany the head-mounted device.
The press release from Vuzix announcing the supply agreement did not specify the volume of smart glasses slated for shipment to Toshiba, and it only referred to the “minimum order quantities and deliveries” as well as pricing stipulated under the terms and conditions of the agreement. Vuzix also stated that production of the M300 smart glasses is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year. For the uninitiated, the Vuzix M300 smart glasses are designed for enterprise customers with the goal of helping to improve the workflows in various areas such as medical, industrial, retail, and supply chain, among others. Launched as a successor to the M100 model unveiled way back during the Consumer Electronics Show 2013, the M300 features a 20 degrees diagonal Field of View and offers up more than 2000 nits of brightness with 24-bit colors.
On the hardware side of things, the AR eyepiece is fueled by an Intel Atom CPU and it also packs 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal flash memory. The smart glass model also boasts a 13-megapixel camera with 1080p video capabilities and image stabilized auto-focus, dual noise canceling microphones, and a 100 mAh battery. On the connectivity aspect, the Vuzix M300 includes support for microUSB 2.0 HS, Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, MIMO 2×2, Bluetooth 4.1/2.1+EDR, and built-in GPS. Other than Toshiba, Vuzix also previously entered into agreements with other tech companies that wanted to grow their stake in the smart glass segment. Last August, the company formed a AR smart glass partnership with BlackBerry, which also marked the Canadian multinational company’s first foray into the wearable category.