Funds for over 50 million euros, a space in the Parco dei Gasometri at Bovisa in Milan, 130 researchers to be hired over the next five years. It is the new Smart Eyewear Lab born from the collaboration between EssilorLuxottica and the Milanese Polytechnic announced today in a press conference attended by the Minister for Technological Innovation and Digital Transition, Vittorio Colao, the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, the President and CEO of EssilorLuxottica, Francesco Milleri, in addition to the rector of the Polytechnic of Milan, Ferruccio Resta, and the Councilor for Education of the Lombardy Region, Fabrizio Sala.
“In a global scenario, a 50 million investment is certainly not enough,” says Milleri. “But the whole group is behind it, with over 30 research centers all over the world, and important partners, primarily Meta. The synergies that we could develop are potentially immense, even if commercially it is difficult to make a forecast ”. However, one thing is clear: “We know this is the way, and as a market leader we have a duty to take it”. It is the first public release of the ad after the death of the company founder: “We are laying the foundation stone of something important, but there is the regret of not having the president with us, because we are talking about things he cared about plus: innovation, digital, change, young people. He was able to see a future that others do not yet see, so much so that a great young entrepreneur took the plane from California and came here to Italy to meet him ”.
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The future
It was Mark Zuckerberg, and from that meeting Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses were born. “They are our first real approach to wearables. We could have distributed them through traditional electronics channels – observes Milleri – but we have chosen the opposite path: we are investing so that electronics enter the world of eyewear ”.
The reception to the Ray-Ban Stories was cold, both from the public and critics, but the future could be very different: “We are collaborating with the research centers of Menlo Park for the development of augmented reality”, explains Federico Buffa, director of research and development. “In the years to come we will have a transposition of digital content from smartphones to eyewear, but this must not happen at the expense of portability and aesthetics, and this is where our expertise is fundamental”. “The biggest challenge? “The miniaturization of components”. In Milan, at Bovisa, however, the research will focus on three fundamental aspects: eye tracking, that is the ability that the devices will have to follow the gaze of the wearer, then the camera and sensors, with the relative algorithms because the device adapts to the environment around us. Finally, integration, to see digital information that is added to physical reality through the lens. “We will not overlap the Oculus – explains Buffa – it will be a completely different experience, which will transform our everyday life”. No virtual offices and half-length figures, therefore, but video calls with people who will seem to be next to us in the same room. No remote surgery, but interactive lessons and virtual concerts. And a thousand other applications yet to be invented.
“We like to call them smart glasses to remember the world we come from. But they will be something much more and different “, explains Milleri, underlining that this” is a challenge that can change our group, the country and can contribute to change the world “.
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Furthermore, EssilorLuxottica and the Politecnico aim to jointly carry out an ad hoc course of study with a specialist address in the field of wearable and smart eyewear, and power the research activities of the new structure in a virtuous way. The intent is to attract young talents – students, PhD students, researchers and teaching staff at an international level – who make their energies available in this innovative project, to train new resources capable of responding to the demands of the current labor market and future. “The agreement with EssilorLuxottica is a milestone in the development of the Goccia di Bovisa area, for several reasons”, explains the Rector of the Milan Polytechnic, Ferruccio Resta. “The first is to have internationally recognized excellence alongside the Politecnico di Milano, an Italian company that is synonymous with innovation, which is a great catalyst for other entrepreneurial and research realities within the innovation district that is taking shape in the Gasometers area. The second is linked to the terrain on which we will operate: the metaverse, of which today we can only guess the possibilities, is a complex field of study and experimentation, which calls into question developed technological fields within the university: electronics, photonics, data science “.
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The tribute to the founder
Minister Colao underlines how Milan and Lombardy are “best interpreting the spirit of the PNRR, what we try to do here is very virtuous, bringing together public and private sectors. The private sector has the entrepreneurial spirit, the academic world is the propellant for success “. And Mayor Sala does not fail to underline the spirit of the agreement, perfectly in line with the founder’s ideas: “Del Vecchio has always had the courage to think big. Businesses are born small, they usually reach an average size and then stop there. Del Vecchio and his company have shown instead that we can go further, bringing the best of Italy to success: competence, creativity, innovation ”.
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