Home » Epson partners with DJI, uses Moverio AR glasses for flying drones

Epson partners with DJI, uses Moverio AR glasses for flying drones

Written By Kevin Bruce Francisco
Published • March 31st, 2017
NewsWearables
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Epson is holding a public event at Bonifacio High Street in BGC, Taguig City, where the company is showcasing its Moverio BT-300 augmented reality (AR) smart glasses. To make things more interesting, they have teamed up with leading drone-maker DJI to be able to use the Moverio in flying the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and see what the drone sees.

Let’s first talk about the star of the show — the Moverio BT-300. It is the successor to the BT-200 that was used to display subtitles in live performances among other applications. This augmented reality smart glasses basically use micro projectors located on each side of the glasses to project ‘transparent overlays of digital content’ straight to the user’s field of view on top of the real-world environment. A front-facing 5-megapixel camera and intelligent tracking sensors are then used to be able to offer hands-free operability so you can snap photos and record videos with ease.

The BT-300 is also said to be the lightest see-through binocular smart glasses on the market thanks to Epson’s own silicon-based OLED digital display technology. In fact, the company boasts that it is 20% lighter than its predecessor.

Epson Moverio BT-300 with its controller.

Inside, it runs Intel’s Atom processor and Android’s 5.1 OS with battery life claimed to last for up to six hours of heavy 3D rendering on a single charge.

The controller is a touch-sensitive device and has buttons similar to Android navigation since the BT-300 runs Android 5.1.

Epson is working with businesses and software vendors to further use the Moverio in different applications. One such partnership is with DJI and using the optimized DJI Go App for the BT-300, drone pilots can see what the drones see in a clear, transparent first person view (FPV). The benefit of this application is so that pilots can still maintain a clear line of sight with their aircraft and at the same time, view and frame the shots properly. This results in a safer, more enjoyable, and efficient experience for hobbyists and professionals alike.

A pilot (behind the drone) flies the Phantom 4 and uses the Moverio to see what the drone sees.

The Moverio BT-300 has been announced to be available before the first quarter of 2017 ends and we should expect it here in the Philippines together with Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Pricing is still undisclosed.

However, if you want to join in on the fun and try the AR glasses, head over to the 2-day event in BGC starting today. Guests will be able to fly the Phantom 4, Inspire 3, and Spreading Wings S1000+ in the Drone Zone. There will also be drone races at a designated track as well as speakers from the photo and video industry in addition to other AR-related activities.

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Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.