Vue is the world's first pair of smart glasses that are designed for everyday use. Offered in prescription, plano, and sunglasses. Pre-Order Below.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
August Update: Working through colors
over 5 years ago
– Sun, Sep 01, 2019 at 01:03:43 AM
Hey backers!
Welcome to another monthly update! We've been continuing to work on production, backer support, software bugs, and logistics management. Let's dive in!
Production
Production has been going smoothly, though we continue to encounter new challenges with every increase in manufacturing volume. Though our target has been 2000 units per week, we've struggled to hit that, and so far have hit about 1500. We also had some scheduling issues with our factories in the previous month so some of our production runs were pushed back while other clients were given priority.
Nevertheless, we've pushed ahead and are still working on ways to automate processes in order to achieve higher volumes. In the last update, we showed a fixture that was used to assess the bone conduction transducers. In August, we installed that fixture within specialized machines (seen below) that help automate and speed up inspections.
This has the potential to be a huge time saver for us, as previously some of these checks were done by having trained audio technicians listen to each pair, which took considerably longer to perform.
When you typically buy a product that already exists on the market, the reality is that all of those products go through similar production challenges like this. The difference, of course, is that you buy such products after they have finished production and are in stock and ready to sell. The unique part of Kickstarter is that backers get to see all the behind-the-scenes details of what it takes to actually take something from start to finish. Though we are focused on our product, keep in mind that everything you see in the real world goes through years of work just like this before you get it into your hands!
Reliability Testing
We're also performing ongoing reliability tests for things like product packaging. We want to reduce the number of issues that happen during transit that might result in a backer getting a broken unit. We perform a variety of tests which help evaluate how sturdy our packaging is. Below you will see packages undergoing cycles of high-frequency vibrations meant to simulate the type of conditions they are subjected to during international shipping.
Packages change hands, vehicles, conveyor belts, and more throughout their journey, and often might be dropped a few times. But this work is important to limit the damage or defects that might be caused during transit! Coupled with running production, it can be a lot to manage! We're excited to see many thousands of units delivered to backers around the world, but still want to make sure we're doing our best to get quality units out there.
Lens Production
The biggest barrier to shipping faster has been lenses. If we had originally offered Vue with either no lenses or non-prescription lenses, production would be a breeze. It would mean every frame coming down the production line gets the same lens, and there is no need to double-check anything.
The addition of prescription lenses has complicated things in ways that were difficult to foresee. It's not insurmountable, but it has been an extraordinary amount of work to manage. Below you will see an internal diagram we use when fulfilling lenses, where we mapped out all of the different steps we have to go through before the lens is installed into a frame.
Flow document that outlines how lenses go from start to finish
On the far left is the moment a backer submits their prescription. On the far right is when a backer receives their reward. Each box in the diagram represents a step that requires some sort of inspection either manually or via software. Because we offered so many types of lenses with unique prescriptions, across tens of thousands of frames, the required steps to make any given frame is often different and extraordinarily complex.
We've actually had to create an entirely customized production management tool via software just to manage everything, as other available tools on the market were not well suited to handle our complexity.
Shipping
Shipping continues! The vast majority of units ship direct from our factory. They are handed off to our courier directly, separated out by region, scheduled with international couriers, and then sent to the customs office for export.
However, a lot of units require individual care. Sometimes, backers email us at the last second and update their address or their prescription. Other backers might have multiple pairs, and we need to hold a finished pair while their second pair is finished. Whatever the circumstances, units like this are usually held at our office until the issue is resolved.
Below you can see a recent stack of shipments from backers that we've been handling individually at our office.
Pile of individually managed boxes ready to ship out
Once we hear back from the backer, or have resolved whatever issue took place, we can send them off to our courier for export. The logistics for this project have been an unreal amount of work—that's the challenge of shipping globally to over 100 countries, each with their own domestic couriers and import requirements.
We're working to both expand our team and put in place systems that can help track all of this, as we still encounter many situations that require a considerable amount of manual work, which slows things down.
Help Center
We wanted to take a moment to highlight some guides that might help resolve any difficulties backers encounter with their rewards. You can see these at our Help Center, but we'll also highlight a few of the main ones folks ask about:
The double-tap. To put the glasses into pairing mode, you need to hold the touch panel for 8 seconds, wait for the voice prompt to say "double-tap to enter pairing mode", then double-tap the panel. To see what the double-tap looks like, see the link to the guide, complete with a handy YouTube tutorial!
Pairing tutorial. There are specific steps to get the glasses into pairing mode. We've recorded these steps in a video so backers can have a guide when performing it themselves.
Charging the glasses. Some backers are having trouble charging, so we want to emphasize that there's a crucial step which is to press down on the left side of the glasses frames so the glasses get fully seated into the case. We've created a simple guide with 4 steps that walk backers through charging. You can also see the video below!
We encourage everyone to go through these guides when they get their reward, as these are helpful tutorials that help backers see how each step works on a real pair of glasses!
Timelines
We haven't been able to stay exactly on track but we continue to make progress with fulfillment. We are now working on Classic — Ink Black units, and will then move onto Brown and White.
As we move through fulfillment, you might find that we move onto another color without having shipped yours. This will happen in each batch depending on whether or not we have received your lenses. For example, though we are currently running Ink Black units, we still have Carbon Fiber units that we have not finished. Once we receive the lenses, we'll make Carbon Fiber units again, and ship them.
Current schedule based on production capacity
The good news is that Classic — Carbon Fiber units was our biggest batch by several thousand units. Now that we have wrapped it up (save for the ones whose lenses we are still waiting to receive!), we should be able to move through subsequent styles quicker. Stay tuned!
Support
Due to the high volume of support inquiries we receive, we can only conduct support via [email protected]. We cannot conduct support via comments or private messages. Backers must email us to get assistance with any questions.
We are no longer accepting changes to frame styles, colors, or lens types.
You absolutely must send the email using the email that you originally used to make the pledge. For example, we cannot provide account access if you originally used “@gmail.com” but now you email us from “@yahoo.com”. If you don’t do this, we’ll just ask you to email us using the other email and it will extend the time it takes to assist you!
We receive hundreds more emails than normal immediately after posting updates, so we apologize if it takes longer than expected for us to get back to you!
Until next time!
With love,
the Vue team
July Update: Production continues
over 5 years ago
– Thu, Aug 01, 2019 at 02:49:26 AM
Hey backers!
We've made it through another busy month of production and fulfillment! It's been a considerable amount of work balancing manufacturing, logistics, and software updates, but we're learning a lot and are continuing to progress toward total fulfillment of all your rewards. Let's dive in!
Production
Production continues to hum along. Our manufacturing processes are quite stable at this point, so most of our work has been focused on figuring out ways to continue to increase the overall volume of each manufacturing run.
As far as production improvements go, we've been installing more fixtures that help further simplify and automate the inspection process, which will help improve the quality of the units going out and reduce the chance of any backer receiving defective units. Below you can see a recent fixture we've developed, which closely analyzes each bone conduction transducer via software after final assembly.
Transducer test fixture
We've also worked on a new fixture to help install small components more precisely since they are difficult to manage by hand, which has been one source of the bottleneck during production. See the latest prototype of that fixture below.
We've really enjoyed the work of making a more robust production line. Not only does it ensure that we can ship better quality units, but it also is exciting to watch the glasses go from a collection of disparate components to a precisely assembled pair of Vue!
Logistics
Throughout July we hit a few snags when shipping out the units. Because each pair of Vue is unique, we aren't able to do anything in bulk like a typical warehouse fulfilling orders. Instead, every package must be handled individually, which increases the time it takes for units to go from final packaging to actually getting shipped with a courier.
It took a few weeks for us to figure out the most efficient way to handle transferring and tracking each pair of Vue between our factory and our logistics partner, which lead to a few weeks between units leaving our factory and ultimately making it into the hands of international couriers. For future shipments, we should have this resolved!
Timelines
Though production is stable, scaling up to our target of 2000 units per week has been a bit of a challenge. To make that many units, processes are sped up, which inevitably stresses the production process. If a particular assembly step was stable at 1000 units per week, it may start to reach its quality limits when we try 2000 units per week. When this happens, it usually means we need to adjust the process, often by installing better and more controlled equipment to handle higher volumes. When we started to scale above 1000 units/week, we saw a decrease in yield, so we knew we had to make changes before going higher.
Because of this bottleneck, we're about two weeks behind in our fulfillment schedule. The adjusted schedule is as seen below.
Current schedule based on production capacity
Sequence of events
Here is what you can expect if you are waiting for your unit to ship:
When we receive your lenses from our lens partner, we'll email you to double-check your shipping address.
Your unit will then go through production, get packaged, and be handed off to our logistics partner.
Once our logistics partner schedules shipment, we'll email you the corresponding tracking number.
We appreciate everyone's patience and continued support throughout this project!
Support
We're in the process of switching our domain from enjoyvue.com to vueglasses.com. We've already switched over our email domains, so please note the change.
Reach us at [email protected] with any questions, and remember the following before emailing:
We are no longer accepting changes to frame styles, colors, or lens types.
You absolutely must send the email using the email that you originally used to make the pledge. For example, we cannot provide account access if you originally used “@gmail.com” but now you email us from “@yahoo.com”. If you don’t do this, we’ll just ask you to email us using the other email and it will extend the time it takes to assist you!
We receive hundreds more emails than normal immediately after posting updates, so we apologize if it takes longer than expected for us to get back to you!
Until next time!
With love,
the Vue team
June Update: Production capacity increases
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Jul 01, 2019 at 02:14:48 AM
Hey Backers!
Another month of production runs and batch shipments has flown by! We hit a lot of big milestones this month that we're feeling really good about, and that will translate into a more efficient production process moving forward! Let's dive in!
Production
As we mentioned in previous updates, we've now largely transitioned into focusing on increasing production volume. This work has been going quite well, and we've managed to effectively double our production volume week over week. We just shipped a new batch on Friday, and will be sending out tracking numbers for those units early this week. So far, we've delivered rewards to over 40 countries around the world!
A pallet of about 500 units getting sent off to our international logistics partner
Our production activities are going to look pretty familiar from here on out, save for any new fixtures we might develop as we continue scaling production. What we're focused on is figuring out ways to automate or simplify production processes so that we can steadily increase the number of units we can make during each run. Otherwise, you can expect to see more sights like the video below, where assembled glasses are making their way down the production line toward packaging.
It's become a familiar sight to us at this point, but it's still really exciting to see boxes getting packaged up with rewards! As production volume increases, we've been pretty amazed with how much space hundreds and hundreds of units takes up!
We'll keep sharing images from the production line as production continues to hum along!
Share your photos!
Just got your Vue in the mail? Snap a photo of yourself and share it using #wearvue and #vueglasses. We'll look for the hashtags and reshare them on social media! Check out a recent backer donning his pair of Vue!
Looking forward to seeing more of you in your new pairs soon!
Troubleshooting
Have questions about the app, the glasses, or its accessories? Head on over to our help center to read through some of our guides.
Website Relaunch
In addition to our work on production, we're also preparing for the transition that will take place after fulfilling all our rewards. This includes, among other things, launching a new version of our website where customers will be able to directly purchase a pair of Vue.
A glimpse at the in-progress website
We've still got a lot of work ahead of us, but we're excited for that next stage on this journey! The Kickstarter campaign is just the beginning, and with all our backers' help, we'll have many more versions of Vue to come!
Manufacturing Order
We wanted to spend a bit of time talking about our manufacturing order. We recognize that this process has been a bit unclear, and we apologize for that. The truth is, the logistics of coordinating production for thousands upon thousands of unique lenses has been extremely challenging.
Although we provide our lens partner with lists of lenses in the order that pledges were made, ultimately they pick and choose which lenses to manufacture according to their own manufacturing processes. Instead of following our order, they organize their production into batches of lenses that are similar to each other. Doing it this way is faster, more efficient, and more cost-effective. For example, they'll manufacture plano lenses first, then prescriptions without astigmatisms, then prescriptions with higher values, then progressive lenses, etc.
For this reason, each batch that we make is not in perfect order. For example, as we have been doing production runs for Carbon Fiber units, we take whatever lenses which have been delivered to us and assemble those into the frames that are being made. When we receive multiple batches of lens deliveries, we organize them by backer number as best as we are able.
But ultimately, the units that make up any given batch might not match the expected backer order—it all depends on what lenses get made and delivered to us first.
Timelines
Moving forward, we'll be working off the below schedule. Backers should refer to this general outline to get a sense of when they can expect their reward. If you email us to ask when your unit is being made, it's unlikely we'll have an answer unless your lens has been delivered to us from our lens partner—most often our answer is going to be that you should refer to the general schedule.
Production schedule based on current production capacity
For backers with multiple frame styles in their pledge, your rewards will ship once all of the units in your pledge are made. In the meantime, we'd recommend that all backers ensure that their shipping information is updated. To do this, please read below:
Visit vue.backerkit.com to look up your shipping address. If the address is outdated, email [email protected]. If it is correct, then there is no action needed on your part.
If you are moving sometime in the near future, but the schedule we've given is too general for you to know which address to use, then email [email protected].
We know everyone is anxious to receive their pair, especially after the delays! We're doing our best to continue increasing production capacity so we can get these rewards out quickly. We appreciate your continued enthusiasm and support and will continue to work diligently to ship rewards.
Support
We're in the process of switching our domain from enjoyvue.com to vueglasses.com. We've already switched over our email domains, so please note the change.
Reach us at [email protected] with any questions, and remember the following before emailing:
We are no longer accepting changes to frame styles, colors, or lens types.
You absolutely must send the email using the email that you originally used to make the pledge. For example, we cannot provide account access if you originally used “@gmail.com” but now you email us from “@yahoo.com”. If you don’t do this, we’ll just ask you to email us using the other email and it will extend the time it takes to assist you!
We receive hundreds more emails than normal immediately after posting updates, so we apologize if it takes longer than expected for us to get back to you!
Until next time!
With love,
the Vue team
May Update: Shipping, scaling up, and more
over 5 years ago
– Sat, Jun 01, 2019 at 01:45:49 AM
Hey Backers!
We're finishing up May strong as we continue to co-work with our factory. In fact, we're posting this latest update directly from the production line! We've delivered rewards to over 20 different countries around the world already and are continuing to ramp up production volume to get everyone their rewards!
Already received your pair? Snap a selfie in your new specs and send us a picture via email or tag us on social media. Look for us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Use the hashtag #vueglasses so we can see your pictures, and we'll sift through them to share in some of our subsequent updates!
With that said, let's dive in and take a look back at May!
Production
Production work continues and we are steadily ramping up volume. Every substantial increase in production volume brings its own unique issues. Manufacturing 10, 100, or 1000 units are all very different tasks, and each scale up has been both challenging and fun to work through. We've got tens of thousands of units to ship in total, so it's exciting to see production scaling toward such volumes.
The production line is humming along quite efficiently at this point, and our efforts in scaling up are going smoothly. Below is a shot from our production line that we took just minutes ago!
Below you can see the final area of the production line during a recent batch, where packaged units were queued up waiting to be placed into boxes for shipment.
Packaged units piling up at the end of the line
Another shot of the finished units
Mailer boxes being delivered to the line for the finished Vue packages
Off the production line, we continue looking at ways to improve the manufacturing process, which often involves investigating new assembly or inspection methods and performing tests. Below you can see a destructive test we performed while assessing glue strength on the leg.
We've also been testing inside specialized chambers for audio devices so we can assess how different assembly methods impact the quality and consistency of the sound delivered by Vue's bone conduction speakers.
Vue inside an anechoic audio test chamber
Ultimately, the goal is for production to reach a point where we can manufacture at high volumes with little day-to-day involvement. This will free up the team to connect with backers, fix bugs, send firmware updates, and answer customer support inquiries. We're almost there, and we expect June to be our biggest production month yet.
App Bugs
It has been really exciting to see backers use the Vue apps! Some of the feedback so far has been great and we're excited to continually update the app to meet our backers' needs. Of course, on-boarding so many new users has not come without a few hiccups. A lot of folks have encountered bugs that we hadn't experienced before. We've been adding everything to a bug board and are actively working on fixing them.
A glimpse at our internal bug board
Bugs will be fixed through periodic app updates. We're targeting our first set of fixes to be released sometime next week through the app stores.
Troubleshooting
Have questions about the app, the glasses, or its accessories? Head on over to our help center to read through some of our guides. A couple backers have had questions regarding the charging case, specifically on how to fully seat the glasses. Check out the GIF below to see how to properly load the frames inside the case.
Pressing the frames to seat them in the charging case
We've also got a handy guide written up if you'd prefer step-by-step instructions and some useful GIFs. If there's a particular guide missing that you'd like to see, let us know and we'll get to work on adding that to the help center!
Timelines and next batches
Next week, all the remaining backers with Classic pairs will be receiving an email to confirm their lens details as we queue them up for production. We're still nailing down the production order for the remaining colors, though these are substantially smaller than the Carbon Fiber batch, which is our biggest batch by many thousand units.
We will email you when your batch is ready for production. It is not possible to change your frame color to skip ahead in the queue—the frame colors are locked in. If you have already received an email about your pair being queued for production, but haven't received a tracking number, then it means we haven't manufactured your reward yet. We are trying to manufacture in the order pledges were placed, but due to some logistics issues we mentioned in previous updates, production isn't running perfectly in order. If you haven't received the email yet, then hang tight—you'll get it soon!
Shipping all units will take a couple months, though it's possible that we can bring this timeline in as we move through June and our volumes increase. We'll keep you posted.
Support
We're in the process of switching our domain from enjoyvue.com to vueglasses.com, and will be launching a refreshed version of the website soon. We've already switched over our email domains, so please note the change.
Reach us at [email protected] with any questions, and remember the following before emailing:
We are no longer accepting changes to frame styles, colors, or lens types.
You absolutely must send the email using the email that you originally used to make the pledge. For example, we cannot provide account access if you originally used “@gmail.com” but now you email us from “@yahoo.com”. If you don’t do this, we’ll just ask you to email us using the other email and it will extend the time it takes to assist you!
We receive hundreds more emails than normal immediately after posting updates, so we apologize if it takes longer than expected for us to get back to you!
Until next time!
With love,
the Vue team
April Update: Ramping Up
over 5 years ago
– Wed, May 01, 2019 at 02:08:42 AM
Hey backers!
Welcome to the April update! We're excited to see the first hands-on impressions from the glasses rolling in! We've been communicating with backers who have received their units and are busy collecting feedback so that we can update any software bugs, make UI tweaks in our apps, and create online tutorials (more on this below). Let's dive in!
Production
We've had our work cut out for us this month! It's great that we're finally at a place where we are shipping units, but we still have thousands more units to go. Our primary focus this past month has been on ramping up (i.e. increasing) the manufacturing volume. Production has become far more streamlined now because of this focus, and it's been great to work with our factory on training so that some of these steps can be easier to perform. The goal is to make the product as easy to assemble as possible, and as time goes on, we're seeing those improvements.
As always, we want to give backers a look into what this work looks like. Below you'll see one of the final steps of assembly, where line operators are inspecting the fit of the glasses within each case, scanning for visual defects, as well as ensuring that charging is functioning.
We've also installed the new gluing fixtures (that we showcased in previous updates) to their own dedicated line—it's a busy place! If you look closely in the image below, you can see many pairs of Vue sitting in the fixtures.
An army of clamping fixtures on the production line
Ongoing improvements to the line have also continued, particularly in regards to new fixtures that can improve the overall assembly process. Below you'll see that we greatly expanded the charging fixtures where legs are given a brief charge before moving on to final assembly.
Charging station on the assembly line
Even as we work on ramping up production volume, we continue to play an active role with our manufacturing partner. We're at the factory each and every week working in conjunction with the staff there to get all the units across the finish line.
Jason at the packaging line inspecting units before they are boxed up
For now, it's back to work on the ramp-up process. As always, we'll keep everyone posted on progress in our monthly updates.
Batch Order
As we started to ramp up production, there were some changes we needed to make to our workflow. Initially, we were hoping to manufacture our glasses based on backer number. However, this is simply not feasible. We have 12 different versions (also called "stock keeping units" or SKUs) of Vue: 6 colors for the frames, across 2 styles of frames, meaning 12 different SKUs. Using the backer numbers as a production order meant the SKUs were essentially randomized. Trying to stick to this order would mean constantly starting and stopping the production line to swap in the necessary pieces for each SKU. It became apparent pretty quickly that this is profoundly inefficient, prone to errors, and extremely costly.
For example, if an operator is assembling a Trendy/Brown unit, the next pair might be Classic/Black. But since different colors are being assembled, it's possible that the operator grabs the wrong color leg and assembles them. Or they may grab a Trendy front frame instead of a Classic. When you are operating at scale with thousands of units, mistakes like this are pretty easy to make.
The best way to mitigate this is by focusing on a single SKU at a time. Moving forward, we're manufacturing our batches by SKU so that the production line can operate as smoothly as possible. Inevitably, this means some people who have higher backer numbers may get their units earlier than people with lower backer numbers. However, within each batch, we will still prioritize the order based on backer numbers. We know this may bum people out, and for that we apologize!
For now, we're focused on Classic - Carbon Fiber units. After that, it will likely be Classic - Ink Black. We will send backers emails when their unit is being prepared for production.
If you need to update your pledge details in light of the above changes, please email us at [email protected] so we can update whatever information you'd like to update.
Mobile Apps
Both mobile apps are now live in the iOS and Android stores. You'll be able to download the app but it requires an actual pair of Vue to fully access. You'll be able to sign up and make an account, but until you get your pair of glasses you will remain on the initial pairing page.
To download the apps, just search for "Vue Smart Glasses" in their respective app stores. Below is the iOS app store page:
We welcome any bug reports, comments, concerns, or general feedback in regards to the apps! We've already gotten some great feedback from the first users who have unboxed their glasses, and we're currently working on bug fixes and UI tweaks, which will be released via subsequent app updates.
A good example of crucial backer feedback emerged in the initial signup process. When you upload your profile picture, the color of the photo may blend in with the text that prompts you to "tap name to edit". The intention is for backers to tap that location and enter their name, but many backers missed this because it was obscured, resulting in some backers getting stuck on this page.
An area of feedback from backers
Needless to say, we're glad folks brought this to our attention! We're working on this and other updates to help streamline the app experience.
Help Center
We've set up a help center that includes tutorials and answers to questions at help.enjoyvue.com. This is a work in progress, so it might not have all the answers to your questions yet. The most relevant place for backers right now will be the "Getting Started" tab, which includes various tutorials for using the product, as well as the "Troubleshooting" tab, which has some pointers should anything go wrong.
Vue's help center—a work in progress!
Timelines
We're hoping to get all the units shipped out within a few months. Each time production volume increases, there are new challenges that need to be remedied. Production processes that are manageable in small batches sometimes become inefficient and unwieldy at larger scales, which makes higher-volume batches difficult to achieve. The next goal is to hit 1000 units per week. We'll then tackle the issues that arise from that ramp-up, and increase the volume again once the process is stable.
Support
Reach us at [email protected] with any questions, and remember the following before emailing:
Do not message us on Kickstarter for support. The built-in messaging system is not suitable for our needs given the high volume of inquiries and we cannot guarantee a timely response there. You must email us.
We are no longer accepting changes to frame styles, colors, or lens types.
You absolutely must send the email using the email that you originally used to make the pledge. For example, we cannot provide account access if you originally used “@gmail.com” but now you email us from “@yahoo.com”. If you don’t do this, we’ll just ask you to email us using the other email and it will extend the time it takes to assist you!
We receive hundreds more emails than normal immediately after posting updates, so we apologize if it takes longer than expected for us to get back to you!
