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Sony SmartGlasses Attach head-ups display concept revealed at CES

Sony reveals heads-up display concept at CES that attaches to any glasses

At the recent CES show in Las Vegas, electronics giant Sony released the SmartGlasses Attach concept, a heads-up display much like the now discontinued Google Glass or ReconJet. The key difference however is - and the clue’s in the name - the Sony concept attaches to any existing glasses. That means you could attach it to your favourite cycling eyewear for a ride, and remove it afterwards.

The SmartGlasses Attach is packed with Bluetooth, WiFi and other sensors, while a small OLED displays hovers just above your eye and provides a heads-up display. You could, for example, have a map displayed right in front of your eye, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road and look down at the GPS device on your handlebars. Or you could display speed, compass or route directions. It’s still a concept and Sony are set to release a development kit so it would be interesting to see what other possible applications there are for it A Strava app perhaps showing when you're in a live segment?

The idea is that the screen is unobtrusive when you’re looking straight ahead, so you’re not likely to be distracted by the small display, good to know when you’re negotiating tricky country lane descents or heavy traffic in the city. You need to make a conscious effort to look at the screen. The attraction of the Sony SmartGlasses Attach is that, unlike Google Glass and ReconJet, you can remove it from your glasses or sunglasses when you’re done riding your bike, and not like a bit daft when you walk into the office or cafe.

Do we even need head-mounted displays like this? That’s another question entirely, there’s certainly a lot of speculation in the tech world about their future, but there really hasn’t been a credible offering as yet. Google Glass wasn’t met with the warmest reception, never actually went into production and has now been axed. Maybe Sony can succeed where Google failed?

It’s not due out until sometime this year, and there’s no indication of price. road.cc would certainly be interested in giving it a go.

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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levermonkey | 9 years ago
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I like this for all sorts of reasons. The potential is basically limited by your imagination.

Think about it. The main criticism of the Backtracker radar system was "What do you do with the information?". Now fit it with a camera and pair it with this HUD unit and Ta-Dah! Car within detection range, HUD fires up and you now have options because you can see what is coming up.

Night-vision anyone?

The fact that it can be transferred between glasses means that it should be cheaper in the long run too.

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