R-7 Smartglasses
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| R-7 Smartglasses | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Augmented Reality |
| Type | Optical head-mounted display |
| Subtype | Standalone AR |
| Developer | Osterhout Design Group |
| Release Date | Announced June 2015; shipping reported January 2016[1][2] |
| Price | US$2,750, June 2015 presale[1] |
| Website | Archived product page |
| System | |
| Operating System | ReticleOS, Android 4.4.4 in the November 2015 guide[3] |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, quad-core 2.7 GHz[4] |
| GPU | Adreno 420[3] |
| Storage | |
| Storage | 64 GB[5] |
| Memory | 3 GB PoP LP-DDR3 RAM[5] |
| Display | |
| Display | Dual stereoscopic see-through displays; advertised 80 fps[5] |
| Resolution | 1280 x 720 per eye[6] |
| Image | |
| Field of View | 30 degrees, contemporary hands-on report[7] |
| Optics | |
| Optics | Advertised 80% transmission; removable magnetic photochromic shields[5][4] |
| Tracking | |
| Tracking | Inertial orientation; application-dependent image-target tracking[3][7] |
| Rotational Tracking | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer[5] |
| Audio | |
| Audio | Two digital microphones; magnetic earbud ports[5][3] |
| Camera | Autofocus; 1080p at 60 fps or 720p at 120 fps video[5] |
| Connectivity | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth, GNSS[5] |
| Power | 1300 mAh lithium-ion total; magnetic USB charging[5][3] |
| Device | |
| Sensors | Altitude, humidity and ambient-light sensors[5] |
| Input | Optical trackpad, buttons, Reticle Speed Mouse; optional keyboard[3] |
R-7 Smartglasses are an optical head-mounted display created by the Osterhout Design Group (ODG).[2]
Onboard processing and Android let the glasses operate without a separate smartphone.[1]
ODG marketed the R-7 to enterprise customers and developers, with a US$2,750 presale price in June 2015.[1]
Features
The glasses display stereoscopic imagery while allowing a view of the surroundings through their optics. In his January 2016 hands-on report, Will Shanklin described the image as occupying the lower part of the wearer's view and the frame as resembling bulky sports sunglasses. He distinguished the R-7's 30-degree view from a separate, unreleased 1080p, 50-degree prototype shown at the same CES.[7]
Hardware
ODG's January 2016 specifications:[4]
Specifications
| Part | Specification |
|---|---|
| Display | Dual 720p stereoscopic see-through displays, 80 fps; 80% transmission; removable magnetic photochromic shields |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, quad-core 2.7 GHz |
| Memory | 3 GB PoP LP-DDR3 RAM |
| Storage | 64 GB |
| Battery | 1300 mAh lithium-ion |
| Charging | Magnetic charging port; USB On-The-Go |
| Additional hardware | Three replaceable magnetic nose bridges; removable ear horns; haptic feedback in both temples |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 4.1 (HS, BLE, ANT+); Wi-Fi 802.11ac; GNSS (GPS/GLONASS) |
| Rotational tracking | Three-axis accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer in integrated inertial measurement units |
| Other sensors | Altitude, humidity and ambient light |
| Audio | Two digital microphones (user/environment); magnetic stereo earbud ports |
| Camera | Autofocus; 1080p at 60 fps or 720p at 120 fps |
| Designed to meet | MIL-STD 810G and 461F; 61000-4-2 ESD; hazardous environments. Design targets, not certification. |
The November 2015 guide specifies two 650 mAh batteries and Bluetooth 4.0.[3] Qualcomm lists Bluetooth 4.1; this difference is unexplained.[5]
The inertial sensors and GNSS specification do not establish a general room-mapping capability. Shanklin's AR demonstration used a physical card to anchor a virtual building; he reported that the glasses lacked HoloLens-style environmental scanning.[7]
Software
ReticleOS uses Android 4.4.4 (Kit Kat) in the November 2015 guide. Its launcher has application rows; its menu provides settings and utility shortcuts.[3]
Development support included Vuforia SDK for Digital Eyewear, APIs and tools.[4]
Controls
The optical trackpad supports directional selection or cursor movement. The Bluetooth finger-worn Reticle Speed Mouse adds 2D trackpad control, 3D pointing and four configurable application buttons. The glasses use a magnetic USB cable; the controller charges separately over micro-USB.[3]
Apps
At CES 2016, ODG identified partners developing software for gesture input, visual marketing, spatial audio, healthcare, industrial assistance and 3D mapping. Dean Takahashi's contemporary account named Augumenta, Blippar, Dysonics, Medweb, OpTech4D, Paracosm, Scope and Vital Enterprises. These were examples of the development ecosystem, rather than a promise of present application availability.[2]
Developer
ODG introduced a revised developer site with source code and interface guidance for Vuforia and other SDKs. Its Reticle Application Center was intended for partner application distribution. AeroGlass and Vital Medicals demonstrated software at Augmented World Expo 2015.[1]
Accessories
The presale included a finger controller, earbuds and waterproof case. Announced options included an LTE transceiver, external battery, corrective lenses, Android keyboard and phone companion app.[1] Optional nose pads and ear horns were listed; corrective lenses attached at the nose bridge.[3]
Background
ODG described more than six years of smart-glasses development with government and corporate partners. Its launch release identified automotive, medical, industrial and government uses of ODG glasses, describing broader company activity.[1]
The company also proposed aircraft-cabin uses. At APEX TECH in November 2015, ODG's Patrick Johnson discussed virtual passenger instructions and hands-free video contact with doctors. The conference report describes proposed uses, rather than an airline deployment or evidence that diversions were prevented.[8]
History
ODG was a privately held company based in San Francisco, founded in 1999.[9] Takahashi reported approximately 85 employees in January 2016.[2]
| Date | Documented event |
|---|---|
| June 9, 2015 | R-7 announcement at AWE; the event's contemporary announcement lists the product.[10] ODG's release offered a US$2,750 presale and forecast Q3 2015 shipping.[1] |
| September 27, 2015 | Qualcomm described R-7 preorders as open.[5] |
| January 4, 2016 | Takahashi reported that enterprise R-7 shipments had begun, alongside a demonstration of a wider-view future model.[2] |
| January 19, 2016 | Shanklin reported a Q2 2016 shipping estimate for orders being taken then. This was an order estimate, not the original announcement date.[7] |
Published research
Object-anchored medical images
In 2017, Long Qian and colleagues compared R-7, Epson Moverio BT-200 and Microsoft HoloLens using a simulated orthopaedic scene. Twenty students, including seven medical students, tested all three in randomized order. Unity and Vuforia anchored a 20 x 20 cm virtual display to an image target; testing lasted about ten minutes per headset.[6]
R-7 produced better text-readability results than BT-200; its difference from HoloLens was not statistically significant, which does not demonstrate equivalence. HoloLens produced better contrast and task-load results. Separate camera-based tests, repeated 16 times per condition, measured R-7 system lag of 97 ms for target motion, 204 ms for target jumps and 164 ms for headset motion. These include tracking, rendering and display, rather than isolated panel latency.[6]
The experiment did not establish clinical benefit or prolonged-wear performance. Its application frame rates were software profiling measurements, not display refresh specifications.[6]
Simulated prosthetic vision
Elton Ho, Jack Boffa and Daniel Palanker used R-7 glasses in a 2019 experiment with 19 normally sighted participants. Opaque tape blocked the central 20 degrees in both eyes, while processed camera video appeared only on the right-eye display. Their Android/OpenCV software varied simulated retinal pixel size, grayscale levels and visual field.[11]
Participants performed acuity, sentence-reading and four-choice face-matching tasks; sample sizes varied by task. Reading slowed with larger simulated pixels and narrower fields. Mean face-matching accuracy exceeded 75% across tested settings. The study simulated aspects of prosthetic vision in healthy participants, rather than testing an implant in patients or demonstrating therapeutic benefit from unmodified R-7 glasses. Palanker disclosed consulting and patent interests related to Pixium Vision.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "ODG Announces New R-7 SmartAR Glasses for Enterprise Customers". Osterhout Design Group release, reproduced by Display Daily. 2015-06-10. https://displaydaily.com/odg-announces-new-r-7-smartar-glasses-for-enterprise-customers/. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Dean Takahashi (2016-01-04). "Osterhout Design Group unveils high-end enterprise augmented reality glasses". VentureBeat / GamesBeat. https://gamesbeat.com/osterhout-design-group-unveils-high-end-enterprise-augmented-reality-glasses/. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 "R-7 User Guide, Rev 1.1.1". Osterhout Design Group, preserved by Manuals+. November 2015. https://manuals.plus/m/b3514d04a993b7ec7da06610629c61d6981353e7f4366645949d90d9a524bb8d.pdf. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "R-7 Smartglasses". Osterhout Design Group. Archived 2016-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20160112025755/http://www.osterhoutgroup.com:80/products-r7-glasses?. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 Snapdragon Staff (2015-09-27). "The augmented enterprise: ODG brings VR and AR to business with R-7 glasses". Qualcomm. https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2015/09/augmented-enterprise-odg-brings-vr-and-ar-business-r-7-glasses. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Long Qian, Alexander Barthel, Alex Johnson, Greg Osgood, Peter Kazanzides, Nassir Navab and Bernhard Fuerst (2017). "Comparison of optical see-through head-mounted displays for surgical interventions with object-anchored 2D-display". International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery 12: 901-910. doi:10.1007/s11548-017-1564-y. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Will Shanklin (2016-01-19). "ODG's smartglasses are like a high-end Android tablet for your face (hands-on)". Gizmag / New Atlas. http://www.gizmag.com/odg-smartglasses-r7-review-hands-on/41395/. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ Jessica Sammut (2015-11-18). "The Future is Now: Bringing Virtual and Augmented Realities to the Aircraft Cabin". APEX. https://apex.aero/articles/the-future-is-now-bringing-virtual-and-augmented-realities-to-the-aircraft-cabin/. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ "About ODG". Osterhout Design Group. Archived 2015-11-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20151127141719/http://www.osterhoutgroup.com/about. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ "Augmented World Expo Brings the Impossible to Life With a Flurry of Super Announcements". Augmented World Expo announcement, reproduced by Events for Gamers. 2015-06-09. https://www.eventsforgamers.com/augmented-world-expo-brings-the-impossible-to-life-with-a-flurry-of-super-announcements/. Retrieved 2026-10-16.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Elton Ho, Jack Boffa and Daniel Palanker (2019). "Performance of complex visual tasks using simulated prosthetic vision via augmented-reality glasses". Journal of Vision 19 (13): 22. doi:10.1167/19.13.22. Retrieved 2026-10-16.