Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Welcome! We hope that you enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
Thank you for signing in! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code.
Promotional Rates were found for your code.
Sorry, an error occurred.
do not remove
Partly to mostly cloudy. High 49F. Winds light and variable.
Partly cloudy skies. Low near 30F. Winds light and variable.
Sunshine and clouds mixed. High near 65F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Courtesy photo | Metro Creative Connection
Courtesy photo | Metro Creative Connection
CHEYENNE — Three Wyoming-based companies are taking on the Facebook metaverse with the development of their own innovative smart glasses.
The strategic partnership between Teal, VMAccel and GreenArrays Inc. was made in an effort to keep product creation based in Wyoming, and will compete with technology companies from across the U.S. and internationally.
From the systems programming to the compiler, each step will come together at IMPACT 307, located in the Wyoming Technology Business Center in Laramie.
The team considers this a historic effort in product development, as no other company has complete in-house control, as far as they know.
“Not Apple, Facebook or, frankly, even NASA have this level of integration in their development organizations,” said Teal CEO Mark Poderis. “We are delighted and, indeed, proud of the opportunity to collaborate with these phenomenal engineers on the future of wearable computing and the metaverse.”
Teal, a company focused on consumer electronics, was chosen this past year to take part in the Microsoft-sponsored gener8tor’s gBETA startup accelerator program. The seven-week course teaches founders the skills necessary to create a successful business, as well as connects them with investors.
Once Poderis got his feet on the ground in Laramie, he started to look for ways to build smart glasses that could livestream video and allow for the individual wearing them to talk to others while recording. In the age of influencers and social media, he quickly found a market.
Content creators with an aggregate audience size of over 9 million were enthusiastic, and there is a long list of those waiting to get their first glasses after he reached out.
This was the dream he had when he first envisioned the product. He was traveling across the world after quitting his job, and he realized he couldn’t share memories from his perspective and in real time.
“That’s where the idea for Teal first kind of sprouted,” he said. “What if we could actually livestream our real lives to the internet? Or, like, stream our memories in real time?”
Companies such as Facebook have taken their own shot at creating smart glasses, but Poderis said they can’t provide the extensive services he has pitched. Competing products don’t have interactive audio, can’t be livestreamed and have batteries that last less than 30 minutes.
There also have been discussions regarding adding in virtual reality aspects, but the tech companies haven’t managed to perfect the basics yet. Poderis attributes this to the inefficiency in the semiconductors, or computer chips, these companies purchase from manufacturers abroad.
But he said he found the solution to this issue in his own backyard.
Greg Bailey is the president of GreenArrays Inc., and he is the Cheyenne-based manufacturer of the computer chips going into the smart glasses. He said he has been programming since 1964, and prides himself on the ability to design tools and hardware from scratch.
“Our chips are designed entirely by us,” he said. “The AIP never leaves the U.S., and never will.”
Not only will the team not have to worry about supply chain issues abroad, Bailey said he is confident he can outdo competitors in functionality. With small size, strong computing power and low energy consumption, he said the chips should be able to provide up to three hours of battery life, livestreaming capabilities and more.