- 3D Printing Makes It Possible to
Bring Functional, Fashionable and Affordable Smart Eyewear Faster
to Market
ROCHESTER, N.Y. and LEUVEN, Belgium, May 30, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Vuzix® Corporation (NASDAQ: VUZI),
("Vuzix" or, the "Company"), a leading supplier of Smart Glasses
and Augmented Reality (AR) technology and products, and Materialise
NV (NASDAQ: MTLS), ("Materialise"), a 3D printing pioneer, have
announced a collaborative effort to accelerate the design and
production of smart eyewear using 3D printing technology. By
integrating 3D printing into the manufacturing process, Vuzix and
Materialise aim to accelerate the development of new innovations
for enterprise applications, from warehouses to operating rooms.
Moreover, the collaboration will enable third party technology,
sports, and entertainment brands to rapidly introduce functional,
fashionable and affordable smart eyewear to consumers using Vuzix'
OEM components and designs, reducing the average manufacturing
cycle from 18 months to just 3.
Vuzix, an optical technology company specializing in the design,
manufacturing, and sale of optical components and smart glasses,
utilizes augmented reality (AR) to deliver a perfect balance of
engagement between the digital and the real world. By collaborating
with Materialise, a 3D printing pioneer with over three decades of
experience, Vuzix gains access to the full potential of 3D printing
to support companies in offering an exciting new series of smart
eyewear.
Augmented reality enhances user effectiveness in various
industries by connecting them to key information in digital world
while staying hands-free and completely aware of the physical
environment. Medical professionals rely on AR eyewear to access
remote expertise during lengthy surgeries, while manufacturing and
logistics companies utilize AR features to drive efficiency and
reduce operational errors. Leveraging the flexibility of 3D
printing in smart glasses production can significantly reduce
design cycles, enabling a more agile response to the fast-paced
introduction of technological advancements.
While smart eyewear has transformed the workplace, consumer
adoption has been limited due to the lack of compelling consumer
applications and the lack of fashionable and affordable designs.
Vuzix and Materialise aim to address these challenges by creating
exciting and innovative designs that cater to companies seeking to
introduce fashionable and affordable smart eyewear to
consumers.
Exciting consumer applications of smart eyewear using Vuzix OEM
components include on-screen displays of speed and heart rate for
athletes, push notifications and navigation, speech-to-text
translation, and augmented reality gaming. Many companies in the
technology, fashion, entertainment, and sports sectors today often
lack the manufacturing expertise to bring these innovative
applications to life and on a timely basis. The collaboration
between Vuzix and Materialise can provide these third-party OEM
companies with a flexible platform for producing smart eyewear with
creative designs, rapid prototyping services, and fast and flexible
production of small series.
Materialise runs one of the largest 3D printing factories in the
world and is the largest manufacturer of 3D printed eyewear. 3D
printing holds multiple advantages for eyewear production with
manufacturers increasingly turning to 3D printing for its unique
design capabilities and its fast and flexible production process.
It offers virtually unlimited freedom of design, allowing designers
to create innovative shapes that are cost-prohibitive or impossible
with traditional manufacturing technologies. Additionally, 3D
printing drastically reduces time-to-market, enabling the
transition from initial design to finished product in less than 3
months, compared to the eyewear industry's typical 18-month
design-to-shipment cycle.
"With its speed, flexibility and digital DNA, 3D printing offers
eyewear brands a competitive edge by allowing them to drastically
reduce their time-to-market while meeting customers' aesthetic
requirements," says Fried Vancraen, CEO of Materialise. "We believe
that collaboration with Vuzix will bring new innovations to
industrial smart eyewear and accelerate the customer adoption of
smart eyewear in the enterprise and broader consumer markets."
"As our OEM solutions ramp up in support of defense, consumer,
and other markets, our manufacturing capabilities need to match
pace for scalability, production speed and above all quality," said
Paul Travers, President and CEO of
Vuzix. "Materialise offers several key advantages that align with
our strategic outlook. We look forward to seeing what's possible
together."
About Materialise
Materialise incorporates more than three decades of 3D printing
experience into a range of software solutions and 3D printing
services that empower sustainable 3D printing applications. Our
open, secure, and flexible end-to-end solutions enable flexible
industrial manufacturing and mass personalization in various
industries — including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, eyewear,
art and design, wearables, and consumer goods. Headquartered in
Belgium and with branches
worldwide, Materialise combines the largest group of software
developers in the industry with one of the world's largest and most
complete 3D printing facilities. For additional information, please
visit www.materialise.com
About Vuzix Corporation
Vuzix is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of Smart
Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies and products for
the enterprise, medical, defense and consumer markets. The
Company's products include head-mounted smart personal display and
wearable computing devices that offer users a portable high-quality
viewing experience, provide solutions for mobility, wearable
displays and augmented reality, as well OEM waveguide optical
components and display engines. Vuzix holds more than 300 patents
and patents pending and numerous IP licenses in the fields of
optics, head-mounted displays, and augmented reality Video Eyewear
field. Moviynt, an SAP Certified ERP SaaS logistics solution
provider, is a Vuzix wholly owned subsidiary. The Company has won
Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) awards for innovation for the
years 2005 to 2023 and several wireless technology innovation
awards among others. Founded in 1997, Vuzix is a public company
(NASDAQ: VUZI) with offices in: Rochester, NY; Oxford, UK; Munich,
Germany; and Kyoto and
Tokyo, Japan. For more
information, visit the Vuzix website, Twitter and
Facebook pages.
Vuzix Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
Certain statements contained in this news release are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities
laws. Forward-looking statements contained in this release relate
to Vuzix Smart Glasses, our evolving potential business
relationship and collaboration with Materialize, and future
business opportunities and among other things the Company's
leadership in the Smart Glasses and AR display industry. They are
generally identified by words such as "believes," "may," "expects,"
"anticipates," "should" and similar expressions. Readers should not
place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are
based upon the Company's beliefs and assumptions as of the date of
this release. The Company's actual results could differ materially
due to risk factors and other items described in more detail in the
"Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Reports and MD&A
filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and
applicable Canadian securities regulators (copies of which may be
obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov). Subsequent events and
developments may cause these forward-looking statements to change.
The Company specifically disclaims any obligation or intention to
update or revise these forward-looking statements as a result of
changed events or circumstances that occur after the date of this
release, except as required by applicable law.
Materialise press contact:
Materialise
Kristof Sehmke
Email: Kristof.sehmke@materialise.be
Or press@materialise.com
Twitter: @MaterialiseNV
Visit: www.materialise.com
Media and Investor Relations Contact:
Ed McGregor, Director of Investor
Relations
Vuzix Corporation
ed_mcgregor@vuzix.com
Tel: (585) 359-5985
Vuzix Corporation, 25 Hendrix Road, West Henrietta, NY 14586 USA,
Investor Information – IR@vuzix.com www.vuzix.com
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SOURCE Vuzix Corporation
