July 13, 2021 — In a move to capture the rising opportunities in the wearable technology and electrochromic segments and showcase its skills in the fusion of lens and frame design, EssilorLuxottica has announced the creation of a Smart Eyewear Technologies Center, located within its industrial facility in Dijon, France.

“On the back of a decade of research and development around smart eyewear, we are accelerating our investments and reinforcing our capacity to bring digital technology into eyewear, in the service of good vision,” says Francesco Milleri and Paul du Saillant, CEO and Deputy CEO of EssilorLuxottica, respectively, in a statement. “At EssilorLuxottica, we are convinced that advanced optical functions in lenses will be instrumental to advancing our mission to help people to see more, be more, and live life to its fullest. We now look forward to showcasing our first innovation in the segment of active products as EssilorLuxottica in the coming months.”

The innovation center will coordinate with the company’s R&D and industrialization sites, based in Toulouse and Créteil, France, and collaborate closely with the R&D teams based in Agordo, Italy. The company has shared that the center will host more than 50 leading experts in the field, and it will cover the entire value chain, from upstream research to production. 

Facilities within the innovation center are slated to be operational by the end of the year, with future plans to expand the existing site with the creation of a high-grade clean room.

EssilorLuxottica has shared that it has built partnerships with public organizations, including the French National Centre for Scientific Research and the University of Huddersfield in the United Kingdom, as well as private firms to expand its capabilities in the digital and electronics landscapes. In addition to the innovation center, the company announced at the end of 2020 its plans for the building of a prescription laboratory that will host approximately 300 people by 2024.

For more from the company: essilorluxottica.com.