Epson Announces the Moverio® BT-300, the World's Lightest Binocular, See-Through Smart Glasses with Breakthrough Display Technology

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS - Epson today announced the third generation of its Moverio^® smart glasses for augmented reality. On display at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain this week, the Moverio BT-300 features Epson's breakthrough silicon-based OLED (organic light emitting diode) digital display technology, enabling truly transparent mobile augmented reality (AR) experiences for business and consumers.

The Moverio BT-300 is the lightest binocular see-though smart glasses announced to date, and is more than 20% lighter than the Moverio BT-200, setting a new standard for augmented reality smart eyewear. The glasses are powered by a quad core Intel^® Atom^™ X5 processor and Android 5.1, enabling efficient rendering of complex 3D experiences. An upgraded 5 mega pixel front-facing camera and on-board sensors enable the Moverio BT-300 to more precisely determine the location of objects in the real world. The Si-OLED projection system can then seamlessly render and lock 3D content to these objects, with no display background or edges in the field of view.

The Epson Moverio BT-300 will be available in late 2016 and is available for pre-order at Epson.com/Moverio. Attendees of Mobile World Congress are invited to visit Epson at Hall Congress Square, Stand CS100 to preview the new smart glasses.

"The Epson Moverio BT-300 is a major leap forward in mobile AR smart eyewear, with its comfortable, lightweight form factor and amazing new display engine – and at a price comparable to smartphones," said Eric Mizufuka, product manager, New Ventures for Epson America. "The transition from LCD backlit projection to Si-OLED enables higher contrast levels, a wider color gamut and true display transparency – this is a game-changing technology that will accelerate the adoption of AR glasses."

"We've built our AR ecosystem of partners and solutions over the past five years and three commercially available products - it's been a long journey and we've learned a lot.  We've incorporated these learnings into the design of the Moverio BT-300 and are confident that this device will be the standard in the AR glasses category," Mizufuka said. "In addition to pursuing new markets for our technology, we will rapidly scale in areas where we've had commercial success, including drone photography, remote support, AR training/maintenance, healthcare, retail, logistics and more."

"The Moverio BT-300 marks an impressive advance in performance for the platform, and will offer drone pilots crystal clear, transparent first person views (FPV) from the drone camera while simultaneously maintaining their line of sight with their aircraft," said Michael Perry, director of strategic partnerships, DJI. "The Moverio smart eyewear will make flying and filming safer and help users stay in compliance with local and federal regulations. We are excited to see the incredible applications that can be built with the BT-300 and the recently relaunched DJI SDK – the possibilities truly are endless."

"Moverio is distinct from other smart glasses on the market where form often supersedes function, to the detriment of the product's usability," said Atsunari Tsuda, general manager responsible for Moverio. "Every design decision we make is driven by consideration for the product's ultimate usage scenarios and our Si-OLED technology opens a new world for us in binocular see-though smart eyewear development. With OLED we can take advantage of reductions in power usage and weight, and improvements in response times, HD resolution, brightness and contrast. By choosing silicon rather than glass for our base wafer we achieve an even more precise pixel display."

Click on the following video links for additional insights into the new Moverio BT-300 smart eyewear:

• Moverio BT-300: A New Way of Seeing the World
• Optimized for Augmented Reality - Si-OLED, The Innovative Epson Display Technology Behind the Moverio BT-300
• Moverio BT-300 Product Overview Video  

Note to Editors:

The Moverio platform is shortlisted for three Global Mobile Awards 2016, to be announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 23^rd February. Categories in which Epson Moverio is shortlisted are:

• Best Wearable Mobile Technology
• Best Use of Mobile for Retail, Brands & Commerce
• Best Use of Mobile for Accessibility & Inclusion

About Epson
Epson is a global innovation leader dedicated to exceeding expectations with solutions for markets as diverse as the office, home, commerce, and industry. Epson's lineup ranges from inkjet printers, printing systems and 3LCD projectors to industrial robots, smart glasses and sensing systems and is based on original compact, energy-saving, and high-precision technologies.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 72,000 employees in 94 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates. Epson America, Inc. based in Long Beach, Calif. is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: www.epson.com.

You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Epson), Twitter (http://twitter.com/EpsonAmerica) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/EpsonAmerica).

Note: Specifications are subject to change without notice.  EPSON and Moverio are registered trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation, and EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks.

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SOURCE Epson America, Inc.