Rokid’s AR Headset with AI Integration is A Glimpse into Future

After unveiling Rokid Pebble, to compete with Amazon Echo which had its own AI called Melody at last CES, this year Rokid plans on showing off its chops in voice assistant for visuals. Rokid has stepped into crowded waters of the Smartglass market, which also includes Israeli start up’s Vuzix AR smartglasses that integrates Amazon’s Alexa for its voice assistant. This move is clearly suggestive of the development where Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augemented Reality (AR) end up as deeply integrated with each other.

Rokid has given no official statement as to which voice assistant it plans to go with, whether it will be Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or its own proprietary Melody. Rokid has its roots as a developer of AI based software assistants for robotics; therefore it naturally understands that the evolution of AR is in direct alignment with AI integration. It is for the very same reason that its working hard towards building in a voice based interface that will enable users to interact with the incorporated software assistant.

According to Rokid, you won’t need sort of tethering with smartphone or PC to use its headset, it will be a completely standalone product. The design isn’t too radical and appears as monocular glass extension, similar to Google Glass. It is capable of displaying images with an estimated 40 degrees of view using its 1080p OLED display. There will be no external power supply as it will run on batteries and will come with an internal processor to handle the computing. Moreover, Rokid added that for more processing horsepower the headset can also use a Smartphone via Bluetooth or WiFi. It can even connect to the internet in areas with low network coverage.

The only shortcoming for Rokid’s Smartglass comes in the limited field of view it offers. Currently at 40 degrees, Rokid plans to upgrade it to 50 degrees in the future. . Also the AR display will be limited to one lens in the glasses. For Rokid, its smartglass will do what Google glass failed to. Displaying content on only one lens to keep the other lens free for interaction with real world is a move to prove that.