Find out why Vuzix calls its new USB-powered AR wearables “the ultimate peripheral.”
This month reminds us that we can always be more thankful. Some are grateful for an excuse to grow a moustache. Others are appreciative of turkey drumsticks slathered in cranberry sauce. But us? We’re thankful for these three new productivity-boosting gadgets.
(If you don’t feel like reading about them, we made a video for you. You’re welcome.)
The Ultimate Peripheral?
Wearable tech company Vuzix announced this month the availability of its lightweight M400C smart glasses. The augmented reality (AR) glasses present a heads-up display to users in manufacturing, construction and other industries that could, for example, show a checklist to a quality assurance inspector. The glasses can also stream audio and video for remote collaboration.
The M400C smart glasses have the same form factor as Vuzix’s flagship M400 glasses, but unlike the standalone M400, the M400C glasses require a USB-C connection to a phone or computer. The upside is that without the need for an internal battery, the smart glasses manage an impressively light 68 grams.
“The M400C is the ultimate peripheral… the ideal replacement for external or hand-held monitors, cameras or other recording devices or 2-way audio devices,” said Vuzix CEO Paul Travers in a company news release. Ultimate peripheral may be a slight exaggeration, but the enthusiasm is warranted as AR wearables seem to be poised for a breakthrough.
Vuzix is currently taking orders for the M400C smart glasses from customers in the U.S., Canada, UK, EU and Japan. The company has put an ultimate price on its ultimate peripheral: $1,299.99.
Looking Hot
Sometimes feeling the heat isn’t enough—you need to see it, too. Now you can view heat on the go with what infrared imaging company FLIR calls the “first truly wireless mobile infrared camera,” the FLIR ONE Edge Pro. The new thermal camera is a small, phone-powered device that connects over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to transmit infrared images from up to 30 meters away.
The FLIR ONE Edge Pro has a spring-loaded clip so users can attach it to most phones and tablets. The infrared camera provides a thermal resolution of 160×120 pixels and measures temperatures ranging from -20°C to 400°C (–4°F to 752°F). An image processing feature called MSX combines the thermal images with detail from a visible camera to provide enhanced clarity and detail, according to FLIR. The wireless camera has a 90-minute battery life but can be charged to roughly half capacity in 15 minutes.
Available for order on FLIR’s website, the FLIR ONE Edge Pro costs $549.99.
RDNA Gets an Upgrade
Processor maker AMD announced two new graphics cards earlier this month: the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX and Radeon RX 7900 XT. Built on AMD’s next-generation RDNA 3 graphics architecture, the two new cards achieve 54 percent more performance per watt than the previous generation, and even bigger boosts to AI acceleration and raytracing performance, according to AMD.
What’s the secret of RDNA 3’s success? Chiplets. Just as AMD did for its most recent CPU architecture, the company redesigned its graphics architecture around discrete, specialized chiplets which divvy up the duty of graphics computation and memory control. The chiplets are connected through AMD’s Infinity Link interface, which the company says provides up to 5.3TB/s of interconnect bandwidth. The 58-billion transistor GPU die combines a mix of 5nm and 6nm process nodes.
The new Radeon RX 7900 Series graphics cards will be available from AMD starting December 13th. The 7900 XTX (24GB of graphics memory) will cost $999 and the 7900 XT (20GB) will cost $899.
