Erick Miller

Last updated
Erick Miller
Erick Miller.png
Erick Miller wearing Epiphany Eyewear
NationalityAmerican
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forFounder & CEO Vergence Labs

Erick Miller is a CEO, technology entrepreneur and investor who began his career building startups during the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s in San Francisco, California. [1] Miller is the Founder and CEO of CoinCircle, [2] and founding managing director of Hyperspeed Ventures [3] and the former CEO and Founder of Vergence Labs, [4] a company known for designing and developing wearable computer enabled [5] video streaming glasses [6] [7] [8] under the brand name Epiphany Eyewear [9] as well as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) eyewear. [10]

Contents

Biography

Miller began his career with a dot-com startup that he helped build and that was acquired in 2001. He transitioned into the 3D computer animation industry as he completed an undergraduate degree in the field. Miller later received an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management and another Master's in Business from the National University of Singapore in 2011. [10]

In 2010, Miller began working on prototypes [10] and patents [4] for what would become in 2011 the company Vergence Labs with a founding team largely from Stanford University. [11] Although Vergence Labs' first major release was the Epiphany Eyewear smart glasses, early in the company's history prototypes for both virtual reality and augmented reality products were developed as the vision and mission of the company. [8] [10] The Epiphany Eyewear POV social video smart glasses were designed with an embedded camera and computer system within frames similar in style to the wayfarer design. The design and development of Epiphany Eyewear pre-dated the start of Google Glass by about two years. [12] In late 2013 Epiphany Eyewear began shipping to customers.

On November 24, 2014, a hacker group identified itself by the name "Guardians of Peace" (GOP) leaked and released confidential information from the film studio Sony Pictures Entertainment. Aside from major exposure of Sony Pictures business and employee data, information about the confidential acquisition of Miller's Company Vergence Labs' Epiphany Eyewear by Snapchat was revealed. [13] The acquisition of Vergence Labs became public solely as the result of 2014's hack of Sony, including the inbox of Sony Pictures chairman Michael Lynton, a Snapchat board member. [14]

Following the acquisition, Miller created the venture-capital and investment firm Hyperspeed Ventures in 2014. Miller announced the new venture at Wearable World Congress where he spoke about the future of wearables with augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence. During the Wearable World Congress fireside chat, Miller spoke about his vision for the future of the wearable technology industry; although he refused to discuss reports of Vergence Labs being acquired by Snapchat. [3] At Hyperspeed Ventures, Miller has invested in early-stage technology startups including investments in genetic editing and quantum computing technology companies. [3]

Miller is also a published author, speaker and artist who has worked on feature films and spoken at SIGGRAPH and SXSW. [15] His former employers include Digital Domain of Venice, California, Sony Pictures Imageworks of Culver City, California and Walt Disney Animation Studios of Burbank, California. While at these firms Miller developed technologies for motion picture visuals and digital film making. [16]

Published works

Patents

Filmography

While working in the film industry as a technical director and/or director of technology, Miller worked on the feature films 300 , Spider-Man 3 , X-Men: The Last Stand , Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer , I, Robot , The Day After Tomorrow , Surfs Up , and Bolt.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wearable computer</span> Small computing device worn on the body

A wearable computer, also known as a body-borne computer, is a computing device worn on the body. The definition of 'wearable computer' may be narrow or broad, extending to smartphones or even ordinary wristwatches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augmented reality</span> View of the real world with computer-generated supplementary features

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The overlaid sensory information can be constructive, or destructive. This experience is seamlessly interwoven with the physical world such that it is perceived as an immersive aspect of the real environment. In this way, augmented reality alters one's ongoing perception of a real-world environment, whereas virtual reality completely replaces the user's real-world environment with a simulated one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer-mediated reality</span> Ability to manipulate ones perception of reality through the use of a computer

Computer-mediated reality refers to the ability to add to, subtract information from, or otherwise manipulate one's perception of reality through the use of a wearable computer or hand-held device such as a smartphone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virtual retinal display</span> Display technology

A virtual retinal display (VRD), also known as a retinal scan display (RSD) or retinal projector (RP), is a display technology that draws a raster display directly onto the retina of the eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyewear</span> Items and accessories worn on or over the eyes

Eyewear is a term used to refer to all devices worn over both of a person's eyes, or occasionally a single eye, for one or more of a variety of purposes. Though historically used for vision improvement and correction, eyewear has also evolved into eye protection, for fashion and aesthetic purposes, and starting in the late 20th century, computers and virtual reality.

Vuzix is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Rochester, New York and founded by Paul Travers in 1997. Vuzix is a supplier of wearable virtual reality and augmented reality display technology. Vuzix manufactures and sells computer display devices and software. Vuzix head-mounted displays are marketed towards mobile and immersive augmented reality applications, such as 3D gaming, manufacturing training, and military tactical equipment. On January 5, 2015, Intel acquired 30% of Vuzix's stock for $24.8 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recon Instruments</span>

Recon Instruments was a Canadian technology company that produced smartglasses and wearable displays marketed by the company as "heads-up displays" for sports. Recon's products delivered live activity metrics, GPS maps, and notifications directly to the user's eye. Recon's first heads-up display offering was released commercially in October 2010, roughly a year and a half before Google introduced Google Glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X Development</span> American research and development company

X Development LLC, doing business as X, is an American semi-secret research and development facility and organization founded by Google in January 2010. X has its headquarters about a mile and a half from Alphabet's corporate headquarters, the Googleplex, in Mountain View, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Glass</span> Optical head-mounted computer glasses

Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a brand of smart glasses developed and sold by Google. It was developed by X, with the mission of producing a ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using a head-up display. Wearers communicate with the Internet via natural language voice commands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epiphany Eyewear</span>

Epiphany Eyewear are smartglasses developed by Vergence Labs. The glasses record video stored within the glasses' hardware for live-stream upload to a computer or social media. The glasses use smartphone technology. The head mounted display is a mobile computer and a high-definition camera. The glasses take photographic images, record or stream video to a smartphone or computer tablet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optical head-mounted display</span> Type of wearable device

An optical head-mounted display (OHMD) is a wearable device that has the capability of reflecting projected images as well as allowing the user to see through it. In some cases, this may qualify as augmented reality (AR) technology. OHMD technology has existed since 1997 in various forms, but despite a number of attempts from industry, has yet to have had major commercial success.

CrowdOptic, Inc. is a privately held San Francisco-based medical technology company founded in 2011. CrowdOptic, led by CEO Jon Fisher, is best known for its augmented reality technology and triangulation algorithms used in medicine, sports, and government that gathers and analyzes data from smart devices based on where they are pointed to identify areas of interest. As of 2016, CrowdOptic remains the only patented solution for wearables like Google Glass and Sony SmartEyeGlass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smartglasses</span> Wearable computers glasses

Smartglasses or smart glasses are eye or head-worn wearable computers that offer useful capabilities to the user. Many smartglasses include displays that add information alongside or to what the wearer sees. Alternatively, smartglasses are sometimes defined as glasses that are able to change their optical properties, such as smart sunglasses that are programmed to change tint by electronic means. Alternatively, smartglasses are sometimes defined as glasses that include headphone functionality.

castAR American technology company

castAR was a Palo Alto–based technology startup company founded in March 2013 by Jeri Ellsworth and Rick Johnson. Its first product was to be the castAR, a pair of augmented reality and virtual reality glasses. castAR was a founding member of the nonprofit Immersive Technology Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelle Olsson (designer)</span>

Isabelle Olsson is a senior industrial designer for Google. Olsson joined the X Lab at Google in 2011 and became the lead designer of the Google Glass product.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumus</span>

Lumus is an Israeli-based augmented reality company headquartered in Ness Ziona, Israel. Founded in 2000, Lumus has developed technology for see-through wearable displays, via its patented Light-guide Optical Element (LOE) platform to market producers of smart glasses and augmented reality eyewear.

Snap Inc. is an American camera and social media company, founded on September 16, 2011, by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown based in Santa Monica, California. The company developed and maintains technological products and services, namely Snapchat, Spectacles, and Bitmoji. The company was named Snapchat Inc. at its inception, but it was rebranded Snap Inc. on September 24, 2016, in order to include the Spectacles product under the company name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectacles (product)</span> Smartglasses for recording Snapchat video

Spectacles are smartglasses dedicated to recording video for the Snapchat service. This term is often used to address sunglasses and eyeglasses. They feature a camera lens and are capable of recording short video segments and syncing with a smartphone to upload to the user's online account. They were developed and manufactured by Snap Inc., and announced on September 23, 2016. The smartglasses were released on November 10, 2016. They are made for Snap's image messaging and multimedia platform, Snapchat, and were initially distributed exclusively through Snap's pop-up vending machine, Snapbot. On February 20, 2017, Snap Spectacles became available for purchase online.

Ray-Ban Stories are smartglasses created as a collaboration between Meta Platforms and EssilorLuxottica. The product includes two cameras, open-ear speakers, a microphone, and touchpad, all built into the frame. The glasses, announced in August 2020 and released on September 9, 2021, had a controversial reception stemming from mistrust over Facebook’s privacy controls. The small size of the recording indicator light has also led to controversy post-release. Ray-Ban Stories are the latest in a line of smartglasses released by major companies including Snap Inc and Google and are designed as one component of Facebook’s plans for a metaverse. Unlike smart glasses previously created by other companies, the Ray-Ban Stories do not include any HUD or AR head-mounted display.

References

  1. ↑ Miller, Erick (2003). Inside Maya 5. Indianapolis IN 46290: New Riders Publishing is a division of Peachpit Publishing Group. p. xiv. ISBN   0-7357-1253-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. ↑ Warden, Stacy. "Milken Institute Global Conference 2018". Milken Institute. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Rubin, Brian P. "Erick Miller Vergence Labs Hyperspeed Ventures Talks Virtual Reality". Read Write. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 Takahashi, Dean (5 April 2013). "Why wait for Google Glass? Epiphany Eyewear is here now (exclusive)". Venture Beat. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Gates, Sarah (22 May 2012). "Computer-Enabled Eyewear: Vergence Labs Prototype Allows Wearers To Record Reality". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Wadhwa, Vivek (23 April 2013). "Wearable tech and the futurists' conundrum". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Parrack, Dave (20 May 2012). "Electric sunglasses record life through your eyes". Giz Mag. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  8. 1 2 Hachman, Mark (21 February 2012). "Augmented-Reality Goggles Can ID Forgotten Friends". PC Magazine. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Alyson, Shontell. "There's A Much Cooler, Cheaper Alternative To Google Glass That's Backed By Quora's Founder". Business Insider. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Saenz, Aaron (9 April 2012). "Talking With the Founders of Vergence Labs: First Steps Towards Merging Man and Machine". Singularity Hub. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  11. ↑ Hui, Kiana. "Stanford Daily: Alum turns honors thesis into Google Glass competitor". Stanford Daily. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  12. ↑ Gayomali, Chris. "Snapchat Secretly Bought a Cooler Cheaper Google Glass Competitor". Fast Company. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Shontell, Alyson. "Snapchat Acquires Vergence Labs". Business Insider. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Alba, Davey. "Leaked Emails From Sony Hack Reveal Snapchat's Big Ambitions". Wired. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  15. ↑ Blin, Julien (11 March 2014). "Smart Glasses: The Future of Wearables & Content". SXSW. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  16. ↑ Miller, Erick (25 March 2013). "Association for Computing Machinery Digital Library". ACM Digital Library. Retrieved 8 August 2004.
  17. ↑ US 8358310 "Musculo-skeletal shape skinning"
  18. ↑ US 8345044 "Indirect Binding With Segmented Thin Layers to Provide Shape-Preserving Deformations in Computer Animation"
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