VSP Global has been making news in the wearable tech category in the past year or so with its partnership with the much-maligned and much-beloved Google Glass. VSP partnered with Google to design Rx-able frames and lenses for the device, created a coverage program that would provide a discount for members on the frame and lens package, and created a new lab facility and training program for the processing of Rx-able lenses for Glass.
Now that Glass is on the back burner for the moment, having paused its sale to consumers (though its occupational program is ongoing), VSP is making its own wearable tech news with Project Genesis—an eyewear-centered program with health and wellness applications. Project Genesis is the first project to originate from VSP’s tech-centric think-tank, called The SHOP.
Though still in the testing phase, Project Genesis embed sensor technology within the temple of Dragon Alliance frames that tracks the wearer’s steps, calories burned, activity time, and distance traveled. It syncs via Bluetooth to a custom app so the user can visualize the data and get personalized feedback.
At International Vision Expo East last month, Eyecare Business caught up with VSP’s Leslie Muller and Jay Sales, who lead the SHOP, to discuss what may soon be a reality. The two were excited to watch VSP staffers working and walking with the device, and showing it off to attendees.

LESLIE MULLER: “This is our first chance to bring it out, to show it to people outside of our campus.”

EYECARE BUSINESS: What do you envision this device doing? Is it a fitness tracker?
JAY SALES: “Right now, it’s tracking movement and calories and the like. But this is just the tip of the spear for health and fitness applications. It’s just the beginning.”
The two explain that Project Genesis is about obtaining and using “contextualized health data.” Contextualized health data is the concept of tracking one’s health metrics (steps, calories, heart rate, posture, gait, and much more) over a period of time. Through that data, the individual then has the potential to start identifying trends and behaviors that could create a more proactive healthcare model.
And, unlike fitness bracelets and other wearable fitness devices, VSP’s device is in the eyewear that members wear all day long means the type of data that can be collected and used is increased.
LM: “Imagine wearing something all day long, for days and weeks and years. Imagine the amount of data about yourself and your body you can amass. And that information is yours, not VSP’s.”
The two went on to explain that all data collected by the device would be stored in the wearer’s cloud or on the device. Neither VSP nor any other entity would have access.
What excites the pair, as Project Genesis begins to take shape, is the role it may play in VSP members lives—whether it’s that it helps them take control of their health, or that it helps identify areas of wellness that need to be addressed.
JS: “If we can help a VSP member add five years to their life, that’s an amazing goal.”
LM: “Because that’s the reason The SHOP is here, is to disrupt ourselves and the industry.”

According to VSP, The SHOP is currently working with major academic institutions and is open to partnerships with other companies and startups—inside and outside the industry—to carry the project forward even further.