Recon Jet
Recon Jet is a pair of smart glasses intended for outdoor use by cyclists, kayakers, runners, athletes, and sports enthusiasts in general. The device looks like a pair of regular sports glasses, but with a kind of double arm on both sides. The right one houses a touch pad, a camera, and a projector that sits on the outside of the lens below the right eye, making it the least obtrusive for the wearer’s field of view. It is also equipped with infrared (IR) glance detection, turning the display on and off when the wearer is or is not looking at it. The battery pack sits under the left arm of the glasses, balancing the device. Performance metrics such as speed, distance, and elevation gains, are displayed in a segmented view. Navigation interface enables the display of routes, while connectivity to external devices enables the display of heart rate, power, cadence, and more. When connected to a smartphone, the device displays weather conditions, messages, incoming calls, and social media notifications. Recon Instruments has a developer programme for anyone interested in developing apps for the device. The newest operating system of the device is ReconOS 4.
Contents
Main characteristics
Recon Jet has a widescreen 16:9 WQVGA display. The image has high contrast and brightness and appears as 30″ HD display at 7′, in the bottom of field of view. An IR eye-detection switches the device on and off. The device runs on 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU with 1GB SDRAM and 8 GB Flash memory. Sensors include 3D accelerometer, 3D magnetometer, 3D gyroscope, pressure sensor and IR sensor. The device connects via GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, ANT+, WiFi, and Micro USB 2.0. It has two control buttons, an optical touchpad usable with gloves and in all weather conditions, a camera, dual microphones, and integrated speaker. Battery is interchangeable and rechargeable via Micro USB. The device weighs 85 grams. [1]
Purpose
Sports, outdoor activities.
Company & People
Recon Instruments is a Vancouver, Canada-based company, founded on January 17, 2008 by Fraser Hall, Hamid Abdollahi, and Dan Eisenhardt. It specializes in smart glasses and Heads-Up Display (HUD) technology.
Leadership: Dan Eisenhardt, CEO and Co-founder; Hamid Abdollahi, CTO and Co-founder, Todd Tessier, Chief Financial Officer; Tom Fowler, Chief Marketing Officer; Dave Birkenheuer, Vice President of Supply Chain; Mario Palumbo, Vice President of Engineering; Tyson Miller, Director of Consumer Products. [2]
Important Dates
The Recon Jet was first presented as a pre-production item at Google I/O developer event in 2013. The device was released on June 27, 2014 and available for pre-order. [3] The shipping was announced for late spring 2014, but the company delayed the shipment until September 25th. [4] The product is since available to consumers via the company’s website.
Ethical Issues
Health Risks
Enhancement/Therapy/Treatment
Public & Media Impact and Presentation
In all the relevant reviews, Recon Jet is presented as a highly useful, must-have device for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. [5] [6] [7] The convenience of the device, and especially its availability, makes it a highly rated Google Glass competitor. Given that the shipment is still in an early stage, there are no reviews by regular users or wider public opinion available yet.
