Intel Vaunt
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| Intel Vaunt | |
|---|---|
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Augmented reality |
| Type | Smart glasses |
| Subtype | AR Glasses |
| Developer | Intel (New Devices Group) |
| Manufacturer | Quanta Computer (contract manufacturer, according to Bloomberg's sources)[1] |
| Announcement Date | 5 February 2018 (prototype shown to The Verge) |
| Release Date | Never released; Intel ended the project in April 2018 |
| Display | |
| Display | Monochrome red image from a low-power VCSEL, drawn onto the retina (retinal projection) |
| Resolution | About 400 x 150 pixels (The Verge's description) |
| Optics | |
| Optics | Holographic reflector embedded in the right lens |
| Ocularity | Monocular (right eye) |
| Connectivity | |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy to an Android phone or iPhone |
| Battery Life | At least 18 hours (Intel's target) |
| Device | |
| Weight | Under 50 g (design target) |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, compass |
Intel Vaunt was a prototype pair of smart glasses developed by Intel's New Devices Group and shown publicly in February 2018. It looked like an ordinary pair of plastic-framed glasses and had no camera, button, speaker or microphone. A very low-power laser in the right arm drew a small red, monochrome image of about 400 x 150 pixels onto a holographic reflector in the right lens, which sent it into the wearer's eye and onto the retina. The image sat below the wearer's normal line of sight and showed simple information such as notifications and directions relayed over Bluetooth from a phone.[2] Inside Intel the project was code-named Superlite, a name Intel's own statements later spelled "Superlight".[2][3]
Vaunt never went on sale. Intel looked for outside investors to take the business to market, then confirmed in April 2018 that it was closing the New Devices Group and ending the project, saying that "market dynamics don't support further investment."[1][3] In December 2018 the Canadian company North, maker of Focals by North, bought Intel's smart glasses technology portfolio, including the intellectual property and assets of the Superlight project.[4]
Background
Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich announced the New Devices Group in a 2013 memo. The group grew partly through acquisitions: Intel bought the fitness watch maker Basis Science in 2014 and the sports smart glasses company Recon Instruments in 2015.[3] Intel later shut down the Recon goggles business, but some former Recon staff moved to the unit that developed Vaunt.[1][5]
The display technology came from two Swiss start-ups spun out of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Composyt Light Labs, founded in 2014 around a patented see-through display architecture invented at EPFL, completed its sale to Intel at the end of 2014 and announced it in January 2015.[6] Lemoptix, which made MEMS laser scanning micro-projectors, was acquired on 17 March 2015. The two companies had shown smart glasses with direct retinal projection and a patented holographic combiner at the Augmented World Expo in May 2014.[7] After Vaunt was revealed, Marco Boella, a Lemoptix co-founder who had become a director in Intel's New Devices Group, confirmed that the glasses' MEMS scanning projection technology had been developed by Lemoptix.[8] The Swiss daily Le Temps reported that two separate sources confirmed the link to both start-ups, and that Intel reportedly had several dozen employees at its EPFL site.[9]
Announcement
The glasses became public in two steps. On 1 February 2018 Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources, that Intel planned to sell a majority stake in its augmented reality glasses unit and valued the division at as much as US$350 million. According to the report, the unit had about 200 employees in the United States, Switzerland and Israel, Quanta Computer was making the product under contract, and the business to be sold would probably be called Vaunt. Intel wanted investors who could bring sales channels, industry knowledge or design expertise rather than purely financial backers.[1]
Four days later, on 5 February 2018, The Verge published an exclusive hands-on by Dieter Bohn, who had tried two prototype styles at the New Devices Group's San Francisco offices in December 2017.[2] Intel gave a prototype to no other outlet; industry sources told CNBC later that month that this limited release masked the product's business and technical shortcomings.[10] Intel told The Verge it would open an "early access program" for developers later in 2018. Jerry Bautista, who led the team building wearable devices, said Intel was unlikely to sell the glasses itself and was working with frame and lens suppliers. He argued that they belonged in the existing eyewear channel, noting that about 2.5 billion people need corrective lenses and that 60 percent of them buy glasses from eye care providers.[2]
Design and hardware
The New Devices Group's stated aim was a pair of glasses with "zero social cost", in the words of Itai Vonshak, its head of products. To be comfortable for a full day, the glasses had to weigh less than 50 g. All of the electronics sat in two small modules at the front of the arms, which left the rest of the arms and the frame free to flex like ordinary glasses; Mark Eastwood, the group's industrial design director, said rigid battery-filled arms on other smart glasses could not adjust to the wearer's head. The prototypes came in several styles and worked with prescription lenses.[2]
The display was a form of virtual retinal display. Electronics in the right arm drove a very low-power vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL). Its red, monochrome image, which The Verge put at roughly 400 x 150 pixels, was projected onto a holographic reflector in the right lens and from there onto the back of the eye. Eastwood said the laser was "at the very bottom end of a class one laser." Bautista described the parts as power-efficient light sources, MEMS devices that "paint" the image, and a holographic grating in the lens that reflects the right wavelengths back to the eye. Because the light is drawn directly on the retina, the image stays in focus for any wearer, with or without a prescription. Intel designed the silicon itself, and the left arm also held electronics so the glasses were balanced.[2] Karl Guttag, who writes about display technology on his KGOnTech blog, described the system as laser beam scanning with a reflective holographic film acting as the combiner.[11]
The image appeared in the lower right of the field of view, about 15 degrees below the wearer's relaxed line of sight according to Eastwood, and was visible only when the wearer glanced toward it. Each pair had to be set up for the wearer's interpupillary distance so the image landed in the right place; for Bohn's demo, an engineer programmed his measurement into a prototype.[2]
Besides the laser and its drive chips, the glasses had Bluetooth, an application processor, an accelerometer and a compass, which let them detect simple head gestures and the direction the wearer was facing. The prototypes had no microphone, though Intel said later models might add one for voice assistants. Intel's battery-life target was at least 18 hours, and without power the glasses would still work as normal eyewear.[2]
| Item | Reported detail |
|---|---|
| Light source | Low-power VCSEL, red only[2] |
| Image | About 400 x 150 pixels, monochrome, lower right of the view[2] |
| Combiner | Holographic reflector in the right lens[2] |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, compass[2] |
| Wireless | Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy[2] |
| Not included | Camera, button, touch area, speaker, microphone (prototypes)[2] |
| Weight | Under 50 g (design target)[2] |
| Battery life | At least 18 hours (target)[2] |
Software and intended uses
Vaunt worked like a smartwatch: an app running in the background on an Android phone or iPhone sent it content over Bluetooth, and the phone did most of the processing. Intel said little about software when the glasses were revealed. The prototype Bohn wore only ran a demo loop of sample notifications, including walking directions and an incoming call.[2]
Intel's staff described intended uses in hypothetical terms. Vonshak suggested asking a voice assistant for a recipe while cooking and having it appear in the glasses, or seeing restaurant information when looking at a restaurant on the street. Ronen Soffer, general manager for software products in the group, gave examples such as flight details while carrying luggage through an airport, or a shopping list while pushing a cart. Vonshak said the device was "built as an open platform," and Intel said it would offload most of the work to the phone.[2][12]
Reception
Bohn wrote that Vaunt was "the first pair of smart eyeglasses I've tried that doesn't look ridiculous" and that within an hour it had become natural to glance at the display or ignore it. He had not been able to test it in sunlight, and he questioned whether an Intel product could deliver contextual information that Google had failed to deliver with Google Now.[2]
CNBC interviewed five people with extensive involvement in the augmented reality industry. They said the single-outlet launch and the product's looks masked business and technical shortcomings: the display was monochrome, low in resolution, had a modest field of view and a very small eye box, and the glasses had no audio. Two executives at augmented reality companies called it a science project. Venture capitalist Gene Munster said the glasses did not look or feel very different from regular eyeglasses, but that depending on a nearby phone was a drawback.[10]
Guttag argued that Vaunt had not solved the hard problems of laser beam scanning displays: its eye box was very small, its resolution low and its image limited to red. In his view, Intel had presented the small eye box, which makes the image vanish when the wearer looks away, as a feature. He also noted that a laser image can make floaters in the eye cast sharp shadows on the retina, which he said most people develop between the ages of 40 and 65.[13]
Cancellation
On 18 April 2018, after The Information reported the plan, Intel confirmed that it was closing the New Devices Group, which had about 200 employees earlier in the year.[3][14][15] An Intel spokesperson called the Superlight project "a great example where Intel developed truly differentiated, consumer augmented reality glasses" and said the company would take "a disciplined approach" that "will sometimes require tough choices when market dynamics don't support further investment."[3] CNBC wrote that Intel would stay focused on chips for PCs, servers and other hardware.[3] The closure followed Intel's wind-down of its other wearables work in July 2017 and its decision in September 2017 to abandon its virtual reality headset plans, which included the Project Alloy "merged reality" headset.[16][5]
Sale to North
On 17 December 2018 North, formerly Thalmic Labs, announced that it had acquired Intel's smart glasses technology portfolio, including intellectual property and assets from the "Superlight" consumer augmented reality glasses project. North said the deal would bring it to nearly 650 patents and patent applications by the end of 2018; terms were not disclosed. Intel Capital was already a long-time investor in North.[4] TechCrunch described the purchase as Intel's Vaunt patents and noted that North's Focals, launched about six months after Intel dropped Vaunt, also reflected a laser projection into the wearer's eye.[17] Google announced on 30 June 2020 that it had acquired North.[18]
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| End of 2014 | Intel completes its purchase of Composyt Light Labs (announced January 2015)[6] |
| 17 March 2015 | Intel completes its purchase of Lemoptix[7] |
| December 2017 | The Verge tries Vaunt prototypes in San Francisco[2] |
| 1 February 2018 | Bloomberg reports Intel's plan to sell a majority stake in the unit[1] |
| 5 February 2018 | The Verge publishes the first hands-on[2] |
| 18 April 2018 | Intel confirms the New Devices Group is closing[3] |
| 17 December 2018 | North buys Intel's smart glasses technology portfolio[4] |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Sarah Frier, Ian King (2018-02-01). "Intel Is Said to Plan Sale of Majority Stake in AR Glasses Unit". Bloomberg. https://web.archive.org/web/20250620223641/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-01/intel-is-said-to-plan-sale-of-majority-stake-in-ar-glasses-unit. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 Dieter Bohn (2018-02-05). "Intel made smart glasses that look normal". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/5/16966530/intel-vaunt-smart-glasses-announced-ar-video. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Jordan Novet (2018-04-18). "Intel closes its New Devices Group, which built the Vaunt smart glasses". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/18/intel-closes-new-devices-group-that-built-vaunt-smart-glasses.html. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "North Expands Smart Glasses Expertise with Acquisition of Intel's Smart Glasses Technology Portfolio". North. North Inc.. 2018-12-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419165834/https://www.bynorth.com/press-room/north-acquires-intel-vaunt. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Nick Summers (2018-02-02). "Intel spin-out could launch AR smart glasses this year". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2018-02-02-intel-augmented-reality-smart-glasses-superlite.html. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Composyt Light Labs SA acquired by Intel Corporation". Startupticker.ch. 2015-01-20. https://startupticker.ch/en/news/composyt-light-labs-sa-acquired-by-intel-corporation. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Lemoptix SA has been acquired by Intel Corporation". Startupticker.ch. 2015-03-26. https://startupticker.ch/en/news/lemoptix-sa-has-been-acquired-by-intel-corporation. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ "Swisstech inside fascinating innovations". Startupticker.ch. 2018-02-08. https://www.startupticker.ch/en/news/swisstech-inside-fascinating-innovations. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Anouch Seydtaghia (2018-02-13). "Les lunettes connectées d'Intel sont issues de l'EPFL". Le Temps. https://www.letemps.ch/cyber/lunettes-connectees-dintel-issues-lepfl. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Anita Balakrishnan (2018-02-23). "Intel's stylish glasses look more like a publicity play than a product launch, industry sources say". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/23/intels-vaunt-ar-glasses-stylish-but-basic-sources.html. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Karl Guttag (2018-02-04). "Intel AR "Fixer-Upper" For Sale? Only $350M ???". KGOnTech. https://kguttag.com/2018/02/04/intel-ar-fixer-upper-for-sale-only-350m/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Sarah Gray (2018-02-05). "Intel is Betting On Less With New Smartglasses". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2018/02/05/intel-betting-less-with-new-smartglasses/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Karl Guttag (2018-02-10). "Intel AR Glasses Follow Up". KGOnTech. https://kguttag.com/2018/02/10/intel-ar-glasses-follow-up/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Richard Lai (2018-04-19). "Intel cancels its smart glasses due to lack of investment". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2018-04-19-intel-cancels-smart-glasses-vaunt-superlight.html. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Brian Heater (2018-04-19). "Intel abandons Vaunt smart glasses project". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/19/intel-abandons-vaunt-smart-glasses-project/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ David Meyer (2018-04-19). "Intel Is Killing Its Google Glass-Like Project, Vaunt". Fortune. https://fortune.com/2018/04/19/intel-new-devices-group-shuts/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Brian Heater (2018-12-17). "AR glasses startup North picks up Intel's Vaunt patents". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/17/ar-glasses-startup-north-picks-up-intels-vaunt-patents/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Rick Osterloh (2020-06-30). "Our focus on helpful devices: Google acquires North". The Keyword. Google. https://blog.google/products/hardware/focus-helpful-devices-google-acquires-north/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.