Perhaps seeking to beat Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to the punch with wearable tech based on the iOS mobile platform, Tzukuri announced today that it will soon be crowdfunding a range of iBeacon sunglasses for the high-tech surfer and sunbathing set. Though it is unclear as to whether “Tzukuri,” as the sunglasses are informally known from the manufacturer’s name, or iWatches will be reach the retail market first, the trend for wearable Apple-compatible tech is clearly taking off.
Tzukuris include a built-in iBeacon, and are the source of signals, rather than being set up to communicate with nearby iBeacons. Obviously, their use will require an iPhone running iOS 7 or later for best results. The special electronic features make it hard to lose the glasses. The sunglasses will run an app that issues warnings to the user’s cell phone at 16 feet, 32 feet, and 50 feet if the glasses are left behind and the owner starts to move away. The app can sense when the user is at home or work and disables these alerts there.
The iBeacon will also work with the user’s iPhone to enable finding the Tzukuri sunglasses if they are misplaced. Two different metrics are offered, one of which shows the distance to the sunglasses in feet or meters, to an accuracy of 1 foot (30 centimeters), allowing the user to home in this way via trial and error. Alternatively, the sunglasses’ location can be shown on a map, which is more useful when they were dropped far from their owner’s current location.
The glasses, which will be manufactured by hand in Japan (though Tzukuri is an Australian company), maintain their own power through use of an integrated solar cell. The glasses are anti-scratch, provide 100% UV protection, and will sell for approximately $250 to those who participate in the crowdfunding project, or $350 thereafter.
Of course, one is left to wonder what the next wearable iBeacon or iPhone compatible item will be. Will there be iShoelaces that ping the user’s iPhone when they become untied, iBeltbuckles that warn when the user is gaining a spare tire, iNecklaces that call the police when they are stolen, or perhaps iPanties and iBriefs – whose purpose is best left to the imagination? Though suggested jocularly, the human love for gimmicks and the rapid advance of wearable technology make such weird novelty items, as well as more serious applications, possible, if not probable.
