InventorSpot

Japan's Scalar Corp. has been developing a lightweight, practical HMD for some time now and with the recently introduced Teleglass T3-F Video Eyeglasses, they have hit the bullseye - pardon the painful pun. Weighing just 35 grams (or just over an ounce), the T3-F dispenses with the Cyborg look that has graced - maybe dis-graced is a better term - previous HMDs and prevented users from doing anything other than watching the video display. Users enjoy the feeling of watching a 28" video screen from a distance of about 6 feet away.

Teleglass T3-F Video Eyeglasses solve that issue by only displaying the video to only one eye, leaving the other free to look out for your mother-in-law at the airport arrival lounge, scan for oncoming traffic or watch for the right subway stop.

It's the latter attribute that Scalar's ad people have been focusing on. According to Taizo Kiyohara, General Manager of Scalar's Technical Development Division, "Many Japanese workers spend a long time in 'commuting hell' on a crowded train every day. Our HMD can change the hell into heaven." Suggested uses for the T3-F are watching movies, taking foreign language lessons or boning up on technical manuals. Students will be able to put formerly wasted time to use studying, provided they can find the right video content for their studies.

Products like the Teleglass T3-F Video Eyeglasses will likely find growing appeal in the US as carpooling, public transit and business air travel becomes more prevalent - and time consuming. As for the still somewhat robotic appearance of a device sprouting from an eyeglass lens, if we got used to Bluetooth receivers, we can get used to anything.

Teleglass T3-F Video Eyeglasses have been available in Japan since late May of 2007 direct from Scalar Corp. or online at the Tsukumo Co. Ltd. website for approximately 98,000 Yen (about $825).

Steve Levenstein
Japanese Innovations Writer
InventorSpot.com