China's leading PC and smartphone maker Lenovo is inching its way into the booming AR industry as it announced to the formation of a joint venture with Kopin Corporation, a leading developer of innovative wearable computing technologies, during the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Jan. 5.
Lenovo New Vision, the joint venture by Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group (LCIG) and Kopin, will focus on AR smart headsets for a broad range of enterprise applications.
Under the terms of the agreement, Kopin will provide a small capital investment, industrial design solutions, and know-how to utilize key Kopin components to Lenovo New Vision, including the micro-displays, optics, software and Whisper Voice Chip.
"AR/VR is the next generation technology that will change the world after PC internet and mobile internet," said George He, senior vice president of Lenovo and president of LCIG. "We truly value the cooperation with Kopin, and believe that this cooperation can further accelerate the growth of the enterprisinge AR market by bringing users optimized products and services."
Dr. John C.C. Fan, Kopin's president and CEO also applauded the newly-formed strategic relation with China's tech giant.
"By combining Kopin's advanced wearable technology and Lenovo's strength as a global IT and equipment solutions provider, both parties can accelerate the commercialization of AR products and succeed in the fast-growing China and global AR markets," he said.
Lenovo has also displayed its New Glass C200, along with compatible AR software that leverages AR and AI, two of the hottest technologies in the industry, at the CES 2017.