Oakley owns 600 tech patents related to smart glasses (like Google’s Project Glass)

Oakley, maker of high-end designer sunglasses, is creating new technology that displays images and information directly on the lenses of a special set of eye-wear.

Sound familiar? Well, it should. Technology giant Google recently confirmed months of speculation that it was working on its own set of sci-fi movie-looking glasses, dubbed Project Glass. Google’s glasses should allow you to do many of the same things you do with your smartphone without the need of a separate device. And even though they aren’t even available to consumers, it seems that others are already looking to compete.

Oakley’s glasses technology aim to do many of the same things described by Project Glass, but it’s something the company has been working on for years, according to a Bloomberg report. And believe it or not, Oakley has about 600 patents related to smart glasses tech — some of which the search giant may need.

“As an organization, we’ve been chasing this beast since 1997,” Oakley CEO Colin Baden told Bloomberg. “Ultimately, everything happens through your eyes, and the closer we can bring it to your eyes, the quicker the consumer is going to adopt the platform.”

Baden didn’t reveal whether Oakley was working on its own set of smart glasses, but he did say the company would be willing to license some of its patents to others, such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

The technology would initially seek to integrate smart glasses with devices frequently used by athletes, but it could also be used to create military-grade equipment, Baden said.

TRON glasses image via Oakley