Tech startup introduces Amazon Alexa smart glasses

Startup tech company Thalmic Labs has rebranded itself as North to
sound more like a fashion and lifestyle brand. The rebranding comes
just after the company launched Focals, its augmented reality glasses
that are the latest iteration of wearable tech.

With the wearable tech field growing and smartwatches becoming an
integral part of most consumers’ lives, smart glasses seem to be the
logical next step forward. Focals do not actually utilize a screen,
rather they are built with a holographic lens that displays an image
at an arm’s length away from the wearer’s face. The image is off by
default and wakes up when a notification comes in or when the wearer
chooses to wake it, much like a smartwatch or smartphone.

North raised 120 million dollars in funding two years ago to
develop Focals. Along with Intel Capital, Fidelity Investments Canada,
the product received backing from Amazon’s Alexa Fund, which allowed
the glasses Amazon Alexa enabling as a useful tool. The glasses are
made with a custom version of the Alexa voice assistant that will talk
or listen once woken. Like any other smart device, Focals will show
messages and notifications, call an Uber and browse news
headlines.

Tech company North launches wearable tech eyewear

A pair of Focals retails at 999 USD and are only available in two
physical locations: one in Toronto and one in Brooklyn, New York.
While the glasses can be pre-ordered online, they must be bought in a
physical location as each pair is custom-made for the wearer’s face
and require a scan of the shopper’s skull.

“Eyewear is incredibly personal. When you buy glasses you’re
weighing a combination of fit and personal expression to find the
perfect pair for you. That process is very much at odds with how
consumer electronics are built and sold today,” said Stephen Lake,
co-founder and chief executive of North, in a statement. “Others have
tried and failed to create smart glasses people love because they
built a computer to wear on your face and made them glasses as an
afterthought. We did it the other way around. We designed Focals to be
glasses first and invented new technology that we could conceal
inside.”

Photos: courtesy of North