This Team Is Building VR Glasses For Doctors & First Responders

Nick Cherukuri

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Published: April 14th, 2022

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Nick Cherukuri

Founder, ThirdEye Gen

Founders

Employees

ThirdEye Gen

thirdeyegen.com

from Princeton, NJ

started August 2016

Founders

Employees

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I’m Nick Cherukuri, CEO and founder of ThirdEye Gen. As Founder and CEO of ThirdEye, I have taken part in many panel talks and speeches nationwide at various trade shows and other events. We created our X2 MR Smart Glasses, which are lightweight, ruggedized, and suited for comfortable, extensive wear in all conditions. We’ve also developed custom augmented reality software for various industries, including field services and healthcare.

For example, we developed our RespondEye software platform suite specifically for first responders. It connects to EMS back-end systems and is HIPAA certified, enabling first responders to access data on demand via the X2 MR Glasses. This is something that is allowing ambulances to operate faster and make first responders safer in the field by having access to remote doctors, especially if based in rural areas. Because we offer hardware, software, and accessories, we can provide our customers with a complete AR solution, making us a one-stop shop. We also have developed AR software to aid the visually impaired, with Alzheimer’s and other use cases. So far we have hundreds of users/organizations who utilize our different software.

Cherukuri, N., 2019. "System and Method for Large Data Augmented Reality Applications on Smartglasses.” US Patent (Pub. No.: US 2019/0018505 A1).

Founding member of the Penn AR/VR Club (Received an Award from the Director of DOD Army, CERDEC for my work and presentation):

What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?

As a child, I loved reading science fiction and always had an interest in everything futuristic. I always thought it was so interesting how technology could solve so many issues, so I knew as I grew up I wanted to be part of innovation. While at college at the University of Pennsylvania, I started an augmented reality and virtual reality club which was one of the first in the country as no one was teaching AR/MR yet- this rapidly grew to over a few hundred members showing the new interest in this space. An “aha” moment was when a doctor who treated the vision-impaired talked about how AR smart glasses could change the lives of the over 200 Million people suffering from this ailment.

Getting together with people who had the same interests, I fully realized my passion and turned that into a business out of college. I knew it was riskier than getting a normal job but I felt AR/MR was the future and had applications that would make the world a better place ranging from telehealth to aiding the visually impaired. We had a great product and to bring it to the market we needed an experienced team behind us. We focused on hiring talented individuals with lots of experience, which helped us early on and got us to where we are now.

I also studied extensively in this space and published several patents such as Cherukuri, N., 2019. "System and Method for Large Data Augmented Reality Applications on Smartglasses.” US Patent ( Pub. No.: US 2019/0018505 A1 and also received an Award from the Director of DOD Army,CERDEC for my work and presentation.

With my strong technical background in this area, we were able to bring to market our first smart glasses and AR software within a short time frame of fewer than 2 years, when it takes many larger companies 4 to 5 years to achieve the same. We were able to operate faster due to us being a smaller agile company with quick decision-making. We also closely managed our costs as we obviously did not have the financial budget of a public company- but we found that this made us focus even more on use cases with the largest ROI.

We validated our products with extensive customer feedback- for example, while developing our AR telehealth platform “RespondEye”, we worked in conjunction with a major hospital for over a year to develop this platform with exactly the features first responders wanted. We saw that other companies in our space were developing products in a vacuum but one reason for our success is that we develop our products by listening closely to our customers and their feedback in various industry sectors.

Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.

One of the unique aspects of our business is that we had to develop both the hardware (smart glasses), software (telehealth, vision impaired, remote help), and various accessories that users needed. Setting up the manufacturing of the smart glasses was one of the hardest obstacles that we faced as we had to find a partner that had experience developing cutting edge electronics especially in the AR space. There were only a few manufacturers in this space and almost all of them worked exclusively with public companies. We found an excellent manufacturing partner who picked us because of our extensive experience, our strong customer base, and the unique advantages of our product, like a smaller size, android based, etc. when compared to the competition.

We designed our smart glasses in a scaleable, manufacturable way- meaning that we did not use too many custom components except for our IP. This helped during the COVID pandemic, while many suppliers were shut down, we were able to continue as our components were mass manufacturable. In our efforts to be environmentally sustainable with our packaging we developed a minimalist exterior design to reduce waste during unboxing.

As a startup, when managing our costs, our team is focused on keeping expenses as minimal as possible so we could prioritize what’s necessary to spend money on. We had to get the basic product certifications like FCC, CE, and UL to ensure the smart glasses were safely built and could be sold worldwide. We also filed for patents on our hardware, firmware, and software so that all three components were protected.

Designing our augmented reality software-as-a-service products was challenging, however, it was ultimately easier than hardware manufacturing. The biggest advantage to our AR SAAS products are the minimal setup costs since there’s no need for a manufacturer- we just had to cover our AWS server costs. However, we had more competition as more software companies than hardware companies entered the market due to the low cost of entry. With each of our software, every step of the way we listened to the customer feedback. With RespondEye, we worked directly with first responders, this type of feedback and integration process allowed us to make customer-friendly software that was then bundled up with our smart glasses.

Early days presentation of X2 smart glasses prototype to NYC AR group

Describe the process of launching the business.

It took about 2-3 years of intense research and development to come to market with our smart glasses. We focused on really hitting our product advantages including end-to-end hardware and software, being android based, the lower price, and the smaller size of our product. This allowed us to start getting some major customers, like the U.S. Army, within a pretty short time frame. We focused exclusively on our B2B marketing use cases and tried to easily explain through infographics and other materials about how customers can achieve ROI and digital innovation by using our products.

We wanted to create an easy-to-use website with a futuristic feel that articulated our vision of using AR tech to make the world a better place. We made the website interactive incorporating a mix of digital and reality giving web visitors a visual of what augmented reality does. We financed ThirdEye out of pocket, asking friends and family at first, but then we began winning customer contracts which allowed us to expand operations. Our biggest lesson learned was to value customer feedback foremost in any of our hardware or software development. Initially we had a very set idea on what we felt was best for the user and developed our technology based on that, but after receiving a lot of valuable feedback, we realized we needed to listen and change our development focus to meet the customer’s needs.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?

We spent a lot of time focusing on data analytics i.e. which sales and marketing techniques were giving the highest return on investment (ROI). One thing we noticed was that linking directly to our augmented reality software login pages in our marketing materials, led to more organic user growth.

You don’t have to be the first on the market, but you should be the best.

We also began creating webinars to discuss about how our software is beneficial. For new customers, we held very detailed onboarding sessions that went in-depth about exactly how to use the products. This support helped us retain existing customers as they were happy with the initial onboarding process and the continued customer support. We utilized Amazon, Walmart, Alibaba as channel sales partners and users with those accounts were able to more easily purchase the products. We focused our attention on making our landing pages look attractive for users and stand out against other products.

When it comes to press, we always highlight our customers in press releases or joint interviews. We also highlight our awards, patent wins and new product features as well as team growth. We typically post every week on social media, highlighting any new press coverage, company news, or team growth.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

Our future is focused on impacting and improving the world around us through technology. We are continuing to expand into different verticals, offering new and exciting software for our enterprise clients. We’re currently developing new and exciting versions of our smart glasses and software platforms, as we continue to find new ways to meet our customer’s needs.

We are seeing large growth in our software user base with projected 100% year over year revenue and user growth- highlighting the usefulness of AR in the real world. We have a dedicated sales, support, and marketing team that helps with any customer deployment.

Additionally, as part of our recent initiative to give back, we are focusing on sustainability and what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint as well as our customers. I care deeply about the environment and creating a lasting future for our next generations. We are also working on initiatives to help underprivileged areas gain access to some of our platforms, such as remote tutoring, telehealth, and more. Our long-term goal is to continue accelerating deployments in our different main industries such as healthcare, field services, etc while promoting environmental sustainability.

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

We had received feedback for our first responder telehealth software during the middle of the COVID outbreak, as there was a surge in the need for hands-free telehealth software. This enabled first responders to live stream their point of view to a remote doctor.

However, it was also a lot of work with 10- to 12-hour days, as we had to work closely and listen to the first responder feedback to make revisions daily to the software until it was developed in the way the users wanted. This was work well put-in but was definitely stressful, as we didn’t want any first responder to have a negative experience.

It’s important to remember that technology has a greater potential to impact the world and make it better than worse. It’s important as we develop life-changing technology like RespondEye, we assess the impact and work hard to present a well-thought-out product.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

We utilize many digital tools to help automate our processes, including Salesforce, ShipStation, HubSpot, Google Suite tools and Adobe Photoshop. These programs and tools all play a unique role in our day to day operations.

For example, ShipStation helps automate our shipping process for all of our packages, streamlining our systems. Google Suite tools help us create detailed industry-specific presentations and allows our team to collaborate. We’re always looking for new tools to utilize that streamline our processes even more.

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

Steve Jobs has always been a very influential figure to me growing up. I read his biography by Walter Isaacson at a young age. I thought it was inspiring how as a small startup, he came up with strategies that took on the tech behemoths at the time, like IBM. As his company grew, it eventually became one of the great tech companies of our time. While he may not be with us anymore, his resilience as a leader deeply inspired me, and I would have loved to meet him.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?

Don’t be afraid of feedback, take your time experimenting, and try not to rush before entering the market. You don’t have to be the first on the market, but you should be the best. Having a strong team that values innovation is a must. You and your team need to be prepared to ride through the highs and lows of a startup.

Don’t be stubborn, if something’s not working out, be receptive to feedback and change it. You need to be willing to adapt and change alongside your business. Above all else, be passionate. Starting a business is a lot of hard work, without passion it will be miserable.

Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?

Yes, we are open to hiring anyone with a passion for AR or AI!

Roles are open for sales, marketing and support at our Princeton NJ office both full-time and part-time/interns. We’d love to learn more about why you are interested in this space and ThirdEye. You can email that info to [email protected] and our team will reach out!