The EssilorLuxottica Smart Eyewear Lab will be located within Politecnico di Milano’s innovation district, Parco dei Gasometri

EssilorLuxottica and the Polytechnic University of Milan have partnered to design smart glasses for the future. 

The EssilorLuxottica Smart Eyewear Lab will host research and development for the next generation of connected glasses, combining digital technologies with bioengineering, physics and artificial intelligence. With an investment of over €50m (NZ$81m), it will eventually employ over 100 researchers. 

Announcing the partnership, EssilorLuxottica’s chairman and CEO Francesco Milleri said innovation is at the heart of the group’s business model. “The lines between physical and virtual worlds are becoming increasingly blurred. These new models are keys for unlocking an enormous potential of development for the job market and the entire economic system.” 

The Smart Eyewear Lab, initially set up for five years, will be among the group’s 30-plus worldwide centres dedicated to vision care, eyewear design, sustainability and digital transformation.