Glimpses
VSP GLOBAL’S INNOVATION
LAB DEBUTS FIRST WEARABLE
PROTOTYPE WITH PROJECT GENESIS
Through the company’s innovation lab, The SHOP, VSP
Global® is announcing the development of the first
wearable tech prototype from a healthcare company to
seamlessly integrate health-tracking technology into
a pair of optical frames.
Dubbed “Project Genesis,” the development of the
device was a joint venture by the company’s bi-coastal
innovation lab, The SHOP. The project has been in
secret development over the past 12 months, overseen
by SHOP co-leads Jay Sales and Leslie Muller.
“As disruption continues to change our industry, VSP
Global businesses need to stay ahead of the curve and
provide forward-thinking solutions that meet the
changing eye care and eyewear needs of consumers,”
said Rob Lynch, CEO of VSP Global.
“With an understanding of a rapidly changing
marketplace and increased expectations from our
clients and members, The SHOP’s purpose is to
drive technological advancements that are helping
to shape tomorrow’s optical industry.”
Project Genesis features sensor technology seamlessly housed within the temple of a pair of Dragon
Alliance frames that tracks steps, calories burned,
activity time and distance traveled. The device
syncs via Bluetooth to a custom application, also
designed by The SHOP, that the wearer can use to
monitor their activity in real time through data
visualization and personalized feedback.
“Eyewear has been the most successful piece of
‘wearable technology’ for over 700 years,” said Muller.
“With Genesis, we’re now adding additional value
into the frame, but doing so in a seamless, fully
integrated design that creates a richer experience
for the wearer.”
“Wearable technology is exploding right now—
some of it could be considered hype, some of it could
be considered the start of a personalized medicine
revolution,” said Sales. “The Genesis prototype is
just that. It’s a first step at providing a deeper or
richer level of contextualized health data through
a device that a large portion of our members are
already utilizing every day.”
“Ultimately, this is not about just tracking steps and
calories. The goal with this project is to build on
these initial capabilities and, in the future, provide
our members with contextual health data about
themselves that they can then use to feel empowered
and make better decisions in their lives,” said Sales.
Additional testing and development is already
underway, with newer versions of the prototype
slated to include more frame designs and additional
sensors to provide more meaningful health data.
The SHOP is currently working with major academic
institutions and is open to partnerships with other
companies and start ups—inside and outside the
industry—to carry the project forward even further.
Interested organizations are encouraged to contact
The SHOP directly at [email protected].
40 Optical Prism | May-June 2015