Epson Moverio BT-200

Epson Moverio BT-200
Basic Info
VR/AR	Augmented Reality
Type	Smart Glasses
Subtype	Consumer AR, Enterprise AR
Creator	Epson
Developer	Epson
Manufacturer	Epson
Announcement Date	January 6, 2014 (CES, United States); January 28, 2014 (Japan)
Release Date	May 2014 (United States); June 30, 2014 (Japan)
Price	US$699.99 (MSRP, United States)
Versions	Moverio BT-200; Moverio BT-200AV (Japan, bundled with an adapter for HDMI devices)
Predecessor	Moverio BT-100
Successor	Epson Moverio BT-300
System
Operating System	Android 4.0.4
CPU	TI OMAP 4460 1.2GHz Dual Core
Storage
Storage	8 GB internal; microSD (2 GB max.), microSDHC (32 GB max.)
Memory	1 GB
Display
Display	0.42 inch wide panel (16:9), poly-silicon TFT active matrix LCD
Resolution	518,400 dots (960 x 540) x 3
Refresh Rate	60 Hz
Image
Field of View	Approx. 23 degrees
Optics
Optics	LCD-based projection lens system with optical light guides, left and right
Ocularity	Binocular
Audio
Audio	Dolby Digital Plus surround through supplied earphones
Microphone	Yes
Camera	VGA
Connectivity
Connectivity	Wi-Fi Miracast
Ports	microUSB (USB 2.0)
WiFi	IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth	3.0
Battery Capacity	Li-Polymer 2,720 mAh
Battery Life	6 hrs (video mode, manufacturer figure)
Device
Dimensions	Headset 170 mm x 185 mm x 32 mm (D x W x H, without light shielding); controller 120 mm x 55 mm x 19 mm
Weight	Headset 88 g (without light shielding and harness); controller 124 g
Sensors	GPS, compass, gyroscope (headset and controller), accelerometer (headset and controller)
Input	Handheld controller with capacitive multitouch touchpad and function keys

The Epson Moverio BT-200 is a pair of binocular, see-through augmented reality smart glasses made by Epson and released in 2014 as the second generation of the Moverio line. The glasses connect by cable to a handheld Android controller that holds the processor, battery, touchpad and storage. Each eyepiece uses a small LCD-based projection system and an optical light guide to place a 960 x 540 image in the center of the wearer's view, so digital content appears over the real world.

Epson announced the BT-200 at CES 2014, where it was named a CES Innovations Awards honoree in the wearable technologies category, and sold it in the United States for US$699.99. Compared with the first-generation Moverio BT-100, it added a front camera and head-tracking sensors for augmented reality applications and New Atlas reported that it was 60 percent lighter than the previous generation. Epson aimed the US launch at business uses such as healthcare, logistics, field service and manufacturing, while the Japanese launch also targeted consumers through mass retailers. Its successor, the Epson Moverio BT-300, was announced in 2016, and Epson lists the BT-200 as a discontinued product.

Reviewed 4 October 2026. Checked specifications against Epson UK and Epson Canada product pages, US and Japanese announcement, release, delay and Apps Market notices, the BT-300 comparison, the four English reviews and the AV Watch review, and both cited papers. About review dates.

Announcement and release

Epson America announced the BT-200 on January 6, 2014, ahead of CES 2014 in Las Vegas, and said it had been selected as a CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards honoree in the Wearable Technologies category. The company showed application demos with developer partners at its booth during the show (January 7-10, 2014), opened pre-orders through prelaunch.com, and gave an expected shipping date of March 2014 at an MSRP of US$699.99. On May 6, 2014, Epson said the glasses were shipping commercially through Epson.com and prelaunch.com at the same price. In North America Epson sold the glasses as the "Moverio BT-200 Smart Glasses (Developer Version Only)".

In Japan, Epson announced two versions on January 28, 2014: the BT-200 and the BT-200AV, which added an adapter for connecting HDMI devices such as Blu-ray recorders over Miracast. Keitai Watch reported expected market prices in the upper 60,000 yen range for the BT-200 and the upper 80,000 yen range for the BT-200AV, about 30 applications in the MOVERIO Apps Market at launch, a developer site and SDK from the end of February 2014, and a sales target of 50,000 units over three years. Epson planned to sell the glasses through mass retailers, online shops and business system integrators, with television commercials featuring actress Ryoko Yonekura. The Japanese release was first set for April 24, 2014; on April 9 Epson moved it to May 29, citing development reasons. The glasses finally went on sale in Japan on June 30, 2014. AV Watch gave expected retail prices of about 70,000 yen for the BT-200 and about 90,000 yen for the BT-200AV.

Design and hardware

The BT-200 has two parts: a glasses-style headset and a wired handheld controller. The headset contains the displays, a VGA camera, and motion sensors; the controller runs Android and has a capacitive multitouch touchpad plus HOME, MENU, BACK, brightness, 2D/3D, volume, power and reset keys. Epson's spec sheet gives the headset weight as 88 g without the light shield or harness and the controller weight as 124 g. Keitai Watch described the 88 g headset as about one third the weight of the earlier BT-100.

Display and optics

Each side of the headset has a miniaturized LCD-based projection lens system and an optical light guide, which together project a see-through image into the center of the wearer's field of view. Epson lists 0.42 inch wide (16:9) poly-silicon TFT active matrix panels with 518,400 dots (960 x 540) x 3, a field of view of approx. 23 degrees, 24-bit color and a 60 Hz refresh rate. The perceived screen size ranges from 40 inches at 2.5 m to 320 inches at 20 m. Keitai Watch reported a brightness of 600 cd, double the BT-100's 300 cd. The two displays can show side-by-side 3D content. According to New Atlas, other people cannot see what the wearer is viewing on the virtual screen.

Sensors, camera and audio

The BT-200 includes GPS, a compass, and a gyroscope and accelerometer in both the headset and the controller. Epson said the gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetic compass provide head-motion tracking (head tracking), and that the front-facing camera can capture video and images and detect augmented reality markers. The camera has VGA resolution. Audio formats include AAC, MP3, WAV and Dolby Digital Plus, with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound through the supplied earphones.

Specifications

Component	Specification
Display	0.42 inch wide panel (16:9), poly-silicon TFT active matrix
Pixels	518,400 dots (960 x 540) x 3
Field of view	Approx. 23 degrees
Perceived screen size	40 inches at 2.5 m to 320 inches at 20 m
Refresh rate	60 Hz
3D support	Side by side
Operating system	Android 4.0.4, updated via network
CPU	TI OMAP 4460 1.2GHz Dual Core
RAM	1 GB
Storage	8 GB internal; microSD (2 GB max.), microSDHC (32 GB max.)
Wireless	IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Miracast, Bluetooth 3.0
Wired	microUSB (USB 2.0)
Camera	VGA
Sensors	GPS, compass, gyroscope (headset and controller), accelerometer (headset and controller)
Battery	Li-Polymer 2,720 mAh; 6 hrs (video mode)
Headset dimensions	170 mm x 185 mm x 32 mm (D x W x H), without light shielding
Controller dimensions	120 mm x 55 mm x 19 mm (D x W x H)
Weight	Headset 88 g (without light shielding and harness); controller 124 g
Operating temperature	5 to 35 degrees C, 20 to 80 percent humidity

Software and features

The controller runs Android 4.0.4. Epson's preinstalled applications were SEViewer, the Moverio Apps Market and Moverio Mirror (for Wi-Fi Miracast). The device is not certified for the Google Play Store, so owners installed software from Epson's Moverio Apps Market or by sideloading, as SlashGear noted in its review.

At the US commercial launch, Epson named APX Labs, maker of the Skylight platform, and Metaio as developer partners, and described uses including surgical training, supply chain tracking in retail and wholesale, and remote support for field service. In Tom's Hardware's 2014 review, Fritz Nelson tested AR games from Imaginary Computer and Creative Solutions, a Wipro retail shelf-auditing application called Planogram, and a marker-based Lego assembly guide that overlaid each building step. At SIGGRAPH 2015, Epson showed BT-200 applications including a Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center board game, a medical device training app from CN2, and an HDMI input solution from Colorado Video that let DJI Inspire 1 pilots see the drone's camera view while keeping the aircraft in sight.

On April 1, 2019, Epson Japan announced that the MOVERIO Apps Market would stop serving the BT-200 at 23:59 on June 30, 2019. Epson said it was disabling the 3DES encryption method after a vulnerability was found, which would cut BT-200 access to the store; apps already downloaded would keep working, and BT-300 owners could continue to use the service.

Research use

Researchers used the BT-200 as an optical see-through head-mounted display in medical augmented reality studies. A 2017 study by Long Qian and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University compared the BT-200 with the ODG R-7 and the Microsoft HoloLens as displays for medical information during surgery; it found that the HoloLens performed best in contrast perception, task load and frame rate. A 2022 systematic review in Medical Image Analysis found the BT-200 had the third highest number of articles (four) among the optical see-through displays used in AR-assisted surgery, in work that included ultrasound-guided central venous catheterisation, plastic surgery and mandibular resection.

Reception

Outlet	Author	Date	Verdict
Tom's Hardware	Fritz Nelson	October 8, 2014	"far from perfect", but shows AR "starting to deliver on its promise"
SlashGear	Chris Davies	June 23, 2014	More likely to succeed than Google Glass, especially for enterprise
TechRadar	Lily Prasuethsut	April 17, 2015	2 out of 5
Android Authority	Gary Sims	September 4, 2015	Not ready for the consumer mainstream; a possible platform for companies seeking AR solutions

In Tom's Hardware's review, Fritz Nelson called the BT-200 one of the first commercially shipping binocular AR glasses and wrote that it came with development tools, an app store and a small set of applications. He found the available apps more practical than fun, and during a long Lego-building session he sometimes removed the glasses because they were heavy and caused slight nausea.

Chris Davies of SlashGear found the glasses could be worn over prescription eyewear. He measured four to six hours of active use against Epson's six-hour claim and called the VGA camera's photos "gritty". He concluded that Epson's approach looked "a lot more straightforward and likely to succeed" than Google Glass, especially for enterprise use. AV Watch columnist Nobuyoshi Kodera found the image clear but noted that the real-world background was barely visible behind the image area. He also found the 88 g headset heavy compared with ordinary glasses and criticized the thick lenses and the lack of Google Play.

TechRadar rated the BT-200 2 out of 5. It listed decent augmented reality and good battery life as strengths, and too few apps, weight, appearance and an interface that needed updating as weaknesses. Gary Sims of Android Authority reported no tired eyes or headaches. He wrote that a newer Android version than 4.0.4 would give access to more VR and AR projects built on later versions of the operating system, and that the only apps that did not work were those that must be used in portrait mode. He named the DJI Vision drone app as the closest thing to a killer app and concluded that the glasses were not ready for the consumer mainstream but could suit companies looking for AR solutions.

Successor

Epson announced the Moverio BT-300 at Mobile World Congress on February 22, 2016. Epson said the BT-300 was more than 20 percent lighter than the BT-200 and replaced the LCD backlit projection of earlier models with a silicon-based OLED (Si-OLED) display.

See also

• Epson Moverio
• Epson Moverio BT-300
• Smart glasses
• Optical see-through
• Google Glass