On August 14th just passed Vuzix, in tandem with Cyber Timez, announced a purchase authorisation from the Wounded Warrior Program to assist veterans with low vision and blindness.
It sounded great, and on the surface it looked great. Who doesn't want to see wounded veterans getting the help they need, be it due to reduced vision or for any other reason. And being a well known orginization like Wounded Warriors, it certainly seemed like a big deal.
For those unfamiliar the Wounded Warrior Project is very well known, with over a dozen programs to help veterans in need. You can check out their website here:
Back in May of 2017 the Wounded Warrior Project announced a partnership with OrCam to provide smart glasses to a blind veteran, here's that article:
That's pretty damn awesome. Vuzix should be proud to be part of this program. But wait....uhm, this isn't the Wounded Warrior organisation referenced in Vuzix's news. It seems there's more than one. In fact there's quite a list:
Looking through those programs I can't seem to find the one Vuzix and Cyber Timez are involved with.
Okay here we go. It seems the U.S. Army has its own official program, the "Army Wounded Warrior Program" or AW2 for short. There are over 20,000 severely wounded, ill, and injured soldiers enrolled in the Army's official program. You can read about it on Wiki:
That's still pretty damn awesome, and great news that Vuzix and Cyber Timez would be involved with this orginization. Uhm....wait again. This isn't the Wounded Warrior Program Vuzix is involved with either. Turns out there's at least one more.
Okay...here we go, found it at last. Wounded Warrior Program, here's the link....this is the one, it has to be because its linked in the PR Vuzix put out:
Alrightee, I finally found the right charity they're teamed up with. Some readers might want to make a charitable contribution. Oh wait....my bad, its not a charity.
Well, its all good....if they can outfit some wounded veterans with glasses that improve their quality of life, its all to the good. Whether this is a mega deal or just mega hype, time will only tell. Do note that Vuzix in their PR put out a "target" for the number of veterans that might be furnished with their smart glasses. However as any long time Vuzix investor or watcher knows, targets are frequently not met.
Best of luck.
