Kikuo Hayakawa, NOST Tokyo
Origineel gepubliceerd op de site van RVO.
Samenvatting
Op 13 mei 2014 kondigde het toonaangevende Japanse brillenbedrijf JIN Co. een nieuw bril aan, de JINS MEME, die het lichaam van de drager voortdurend checkt op vermoeidheid en slaperigheid.
JINS MEME is een nieuw type bril waarin een drietal sensoren zijn ingebouwd, die de oogbewegingen volgen en, met behulp van zes-assige versnellings- en gyrosensoren, de bewegingen van het lichaam. De verzamelde gegevens worden naar een smartphone gestuurd, die het niveau van vermoeidheid en slaperigheid zichtbaar maakt.
De nieuwe bril werd ontwikkeld in samenwerking met Japanse universiteiten, waaronder Tohoku University voor de driepunts-EOG (ElectroOculoGraphy) detectietechnologie. In vergelijking met andere recente innovaties, zoals Google Glass is de JINS MEME alleen gericht op het volgen van oog- en lichaamsbewegingen.
JIN Co. is van plan zijn API (Application Programming Interface) in de herfst van dit jaar open te stellen voor onafhankelijk applicatieontwikkelaars. Het bedrijf verwacht dat er allerlei toepassingen zullen worden ontwikkeld. JINS MEME zal in april 2015 op de markt gebracht worden.
Details
A Japanese leading eyeglass company JIN Co.*) announced new innovative eyeglasses ‘JINS MEME’ on 13 May 2014 (1, 2). (Fig. 1) Compared with other innovative eyeglasses such as Google Glass and Sony’s SmartEyeglass focusing on augmented reality, JIN uniquely focuses on measuring eye movements and body motions to monitor the body condition of tiredness and sleepiness. According to JIN, JINS MEME possesses the incredible ability to accurately measure tiny differences in electrical potentials (EOG: Electro Oculography) generated by eye movements, making it highly sensitive to changes of mind and body that the eyeglass wearer may not even notice. JINS MEME has three sensors installed in the portions of the frame touching the eyeglass wearer’s face, enabling to detect eight different eye movements and an eyeblink (3). (Fig. 2) In addition, the total six-axis acceleration and gyro sensors at the tips of earpieces measure even a slightest change of the human body. It enables to detect a waking speed and distance and a body tilt (4). JINS MEME has been co-developed with EOG experts from Tohoku University, Keio University and Shibaura Institute of Technology. The weight of JINS MEME is about thirty six gram including a rechargeable lithium-ion battery allowing to use for eight hours continuously. JIN focuses on “deep data” coming from the eyeglass wearer. It is not “big data”, meaning enormous quantities of information coming from the public domain. About eighty percent of human senses is located in and around the head, and nearly ninety percent of all the information from human’s five senses is perceived through eyes. JINS MEME will allow the eyeglass wearers to obtain accurate information about their body (deep data) from their eyes and the areas around them (1). JINS MEME was announced with the smartphone applications for office, drive and fitness (4). (Fig.3) The applications have an alert function to take a break, based on the signals of tiredness and sleepiness, aiming to keep in good health and prevent from incidents. The fitness application can measure a body axis, a number of steps and an amount of consumed calories as well. JIN will open its API (Application Programming Interface) to third-party program developers in autumn 2014 and expects various types of applications will be developed. JINS MEME will be released in April 2015.
Figure 1. JINS MEME (source: JIN Co., Ltd)
Figure 2. JINS MEME’s 3-point EOG sensors detecting eight different eye movements and an eyeblink (source: JIN Co., Nikkei)
Figure 3. Examples of smartphone applications with JINS MEME (source: JIN Co.)
*) JIN Co., Ltd
JIN Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells eyewear products in Japan. The company offers glasses and sunglasses. It also sells fashion accessories and related products for men and women. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
Sources:
1) JINS MEME
3) Nikkei article (in Japanese)
