During CES 2014, Sony decided to show off a prototype of their smart glasses. The glasses are called SmartEyeglass and they seem pretty normal. By normal, I mean SmartEyeglass has a lot of the same features that other smart glasses have.

SmartEyeglass works with Android phones to get and display notifications. The device contains a lot of the same sensors that other smart glasses have, such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, electronic compass, and ambient light sensors. The device also has a 3 megapixel camera for snapping photos.

A lot of people are comparing the SmartEyeglass to Google Glass, but really the device is more comparable to the Epson Moverio BT-200. I say this because the device connects to an external remote control that is also a battery. The remote control / battery has a touchpad, a mic and a camera button. Since the battery and remote control are both external, the actual glasses are definitely lighter. The device can be controlled by voice, but the mic is in the external controller.

Also, unlike Google Glass, the screen on SmartEyeglass is near the center of peoples field-of-view instead of off to the side. Not only that, but things displayed on the screen are green.

Today, Sony announced that they are releasing the software development kit for the SmartEyeglass. The SDK will be available today, and it is packed full of stuff. The SDK includes an emulator, sample code, tutorials to get started, developer guides, design guidelines, API references, and more. With this news, Sony also announced they plan on selling SmartEyeglass to developers by the end of 2014 or early 2015.

So, what are your thoughts on SmartEyeglass? Do you see yourself ever wearing them or picking a pair up? Developers, are you going to take advantage of the SDK? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section down below!

Source: Sony Press Release