Today, Vuzix is a world-renowned market leader in the research, design and manufacture of XR wearables. For over 25 years, it has been at the cutting edge of optical technology and HMDs – and it continues to lead the frontier in waveguide technology for applications in healthcare, automotive, manufacturing and more.

With a wellspring of experience and a proven track record of delivering scalable enterprise solutions, you might consider Vuzix a bit of a veteran in the XR world. But Vuzix is far from retiring from the field. In fact, it remains at the forefront of XR technology and innovation. 

We've decided to put together a profile of this pioneering manufacturer, like an episode of This Is Your Life, only without the big red book, the audience or the guest present.

Vuzix – this is your life.

Vuzix history: 1997 to 2010

Vuzix was founded in 1997 by Paul Travers, under the name Interactive Imaging Systems (IIS). It specialised in optical displays and technology for the military, most notably with digital night-vision weapon sights. Through its acquisition of Forte Technologies, Vuzix branched out into consumer XR wearables and began broadening its product portfolio.

Building upon the success of Forte Technologies' VFX1, a VR "helmet" aimed at consumers, Vuzix launched the IIS VFX3D in January 2000. Back in the 90s, the helmet design was popular – but boy does it look retro now! These days the VFX1 and the VFX3D are hard to find, and fetch a pretty penny on the resale market.

In 2001, Vuzix forayed into the then-nascent world of portable internet devices – precursors to modern mobile phones – with the iCOM. The iCOM allowed users to browse the internet through a colour VGA screen and send and receive emails and faxes.

It's a tale of two technologies. Between their early VR HMDs and portable internet browsers (PIBs), the Vuzix vision is a marriage of cutting-edge functionality and portability. After a name change in 2005 to Icuiti – and then to Vuzix in 2007 – the company began intensifying its XR efforts across the board.

In 2011, Vuzix released the Wrap 1200 and the Star 1200. The former was a pair of entertainment glasses for watching media on the move. It boasted a 16:9 widescreen display capable of both 2D and 3D visuals, included an on-screen menu and was compatible with many devices including smartphones and games consoles.

The Star 1200, meanwhile, was its first mass-produced see-through augmented reality (STAR) glasses aimed at serious AR software developers (or any casual punter off the street with £5,000 to spare!) The 1200 had transparent mounted displays that overlaid augmented content over real life, a high-definition front-mounted camera and motion sensors that would map virtual elements onto moving objects in the user's field of view. 

The Vuzix M100 and beyond

Through its experience building military displays, Vuzix had firmly established itself as an industry leader in smart glasses by the 2010s. With the M100, Vuzix made its mark with the first hands-free, cloud-connected wearable device. Its rugged, lightweight and portable design made it suitable for a wide range of industry use cases.

Since then, Vuzix has honed its craft and continues to create transformative products for businesses and vital services. Since the pandemic, Vuzix has continued to thrive and capitalise on the growing adoption of XR wearables, adding a new range of flagship devices including the M400, the M4000 and the Blade series.

Don't just take our word for it, though. In July 2020, Vuzix was busy filing patents left, right and centre. The company caught the attention of the industry when its patent portfolio almost doubled in three years from 90 to 166. And they've even topped that. In 2021, that number had grown to 210 – and today sits at over 270.

Nowadays, Vuzix devices are used in healthcare, manufacturing, warehousing and field services. But Vuzix also manufactures its high-quality components, including waveguides and display engines, for white-label products, as well as offering rapid prototyping for custom specifications. 

Practice makes perfect

With all of its experience and expertise in optical technology, it's no wonder Vuzix is at the cutting edge of waveguide optics and hands-free XR solutions. In 2021, Forbes featured Vuzix in its annual list of America's best small companies. Companies are rated on earnings, sales growth, return on equity and total stock return. 

This recognition was ratified in 2022 when Vuzix published a press release detailing a large order from a US-based Fortune 50 company that wanted custom-built waveguides for its own head-mounted displays. 

Vuzix has since been a favourite of the Fortune 50 list, reporting more large orders for Vuzix parts and devices. More and more businesses are investing in XR to streamline their workflow and create robust and scalable solutions to their operational challenges. Vuzix is a trusted name with masses of industry support – so this news doesn't come as a surprise to us!

Vuzix's support for Ukraine

When we talk about telehealth services delivering quality care to remote areas, warzones don't often come up. When emergency services are overwhelmed, caring for the injured can become extremely difficult.

Such was the situation in Ukraine after the Russian invasion. Vuzix – alongside Ohana One and TeleVU – saw an opportunity to help ease the pressure on the Ukrainian frontline workers by providing much-needed surgical support. 

Vuzix donated a number of M400 glasses to Ukrainian surgeons to connect specialists outside the warzone to doctors and surgeons treating the wounded, in addition to Ohana One's borderless mentor/mentee programmes.

CEO of Vuzix, Paul Travers, stated that "with the country's doctors, nurses and facilities inundated with casualties in many regions, our smart glasses and the remote medical support they can provide will help facilitate the best medical treatment possible under their extremely tough conditions".

We stock the powerful Vuzix M4000 and Vuzix Blade. Want to see what they can do? You can browse and buy XR in our online store.