Vuzix's Award-Winning AR Glasses Aim for Invisibility and Impact

LAS VEGAS, NV – January 08, 2026 – Vuzix Corporation has been named a CES® 2026 Innovation Awards Honoree for its new Ultralite Pro Enterprise Platform, a recognition that signals a pivotal shift in the augmented reality landscape. Amid a record-breaking 3,600 submissions to the prestigious awards program, the AI-powered smart glasses stood out for their ambitious attempt to solve AR's most persistent challenge: making powerful technology that people will actually wear.

For years, the promise of AR has been constrained by bulky, socially awkward hardware. Vuzix, a veteran in the AR space with over 450 patents, is tackling this head-on. The Ultralite Pro is not just another head-mounted display; it's a meticulously engineered platform designed to be as discreet as it is capable, aiming to seamlessly integrate augmented reality into the professional world without the stigma of conspicuous tech.

The Invisible Revolution: Designing for Social Acceptance

The primary barrier to widespread AR adoption has often been aesthetic. The Vuzix Ultralite Pro directly confronts this with a design philosophy centered on social acceptability. Weighing less than 80 grams and built on a lightweight magnesium frame, the device sports a classic unisex silhouette that is nearly indistinguishable from standard prescription eyewear. This focus on a familiar, fashion-forward form factor is a deliberate strategy to enable all-day wear across both work and social environments.

A key technological innovation enabling this discreetness is Vuzix Incognito™ technology. This proprietary optical advancement manages internal light reflections within the device's advanced waveguides, virtually eliminating the forward-facing "eye glow" that makes other smart glasses instantly recognizable. This not only enhances user privacy by concealing the display from onlookers but also improves the contrast and clarity of the virtual image for the wearer. The result is a pair of glasses that appear ordinary while delivering a full-color, binocular 3D display with a 30-degree field of view.

Further enhancing its practicality, the platform is prescription-ready, ensuring that the significant portion of the workforce requiring corrective lenses is not excluded. This inclusive design choice is critical for enterprise deployment, where accessibility and comfort are paramount for user adoption and long-term use.

Behind the Award: A Strategic Alliance for Scalable AR

An innovative design is only as valuable as its ability to be manufactured reliably and at scale. The realization of the Ultralite Pro is the result of a deep strategic collaboration between Vuzix and Quanta Computer, a Taiwan-based Fortune Global 500 company and one of the world's largest original design manufacturers (ODMs). This partnership, which includes a significant financial investment from Quanta into Vuzix, goes far beyond a simple supplier relationship.

Quanta brings world-class precision manufacturing and hardware integration capabilities, bridging the gap between Vuzix's advanced AR research and the production of a high-quality, market-ready product. This collaboration establishes the Ultralite Pro not merely as a standalone device, but as a flexible reference platform for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). This strategy allows other companies to leverage Vuzix and Quanta's foundation to accelerate the development of their own specialized smart glasses solutions, fostering a broader ecosystem and potentially speeding up market-wide innovation.

"This recognition underscores the importance of engineering discipline in bringing new wearable platforms to life," said C.C. Leung, Vice Chairman and President of Quanta Computer Inc. "Together with Vuzix and Avegant, we exceled in providing manufacturability, performance, and reliability to deliver a reference platform for OEMs to accelerate their own smart glasses solutions."

This OEM-centric model positions Vuzix as a core technology provider, supplying its advanced waveguides and display engines to a wider market and solidifying its role as a key enabler of the next generation of wearable computing.

Practical Power for the Modern Workforce

Beneath the Ultralite Pro's subtle exterior lies a suite of technologies purpose-built for enterprise utility. At its core is Qualcomm's AR1 processor, a chip specifically designed for lightweight, low-power smart glasses. This efficient processor drives the platform's on-device AI capabilities, enabling seamless, hands-free voice interaction for a variety of tasks without constant reliance on a connected smartphone.

The visual experience is powered by Avegant light engines, which project an ultra-bright, full-color image onto the Vuzix waveguides. Using Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) technology, these compact engines deliver a crisp, high-resolution display that remains clear even in varied lighting conditions. This combination of processing power and advanced optics translates into tangible, real-world applications for the modern workforce.

Users can receive hands-free assistance, access real-time language translation, view mapping and directional overlays, and collaborate with remote colleagues through "see-what-I-see" video sharing. Integrated cameras, microphones, and speakers support these functions, turning the glasses into a powerful productivity tool for field service technicians, logistics workers, healthcare professionals, and more. By delivering critical information directly into the user's line of sight, the platform promises to enhance efficiency, reduce errors, and improve safety in a multitude of professional settings.

"The Ultralite Pro as a CES Innovation Awards honoree underscores Vuzix' leadership in advancing wearable augmented reality and AI," said Paul Travers, President and CEO of Vuzix. "It reflects our team's focus on delivering advanced waveguides, AI-driven interaction, and a socially acceptable design in a flexible platform that OEM clients can build on."

By winning this prestigious award, the Vuzix Ultralite Pro Enterprise Platform is recognized not just for its individual features, but for its holistic approach. It represents a mature vision for augmented reality—one that prioritizes subtlety, scalability, and practical utility, marking an important step toward expanding the role of smart glasses in the workplace and beyond.