When the scenes in science fiction films really come to life, they are often not vigorous, such as computers, smartphones, and even AI and AR in the future, which will be integrated into life very naturally after the freshness.
From the PC to the mobile phone, the vicissitudes of habit changed from the iPhone 1 to the iPhone 4 in just a few years, and quickly swept the world. The next generation of consumer electronics, almost no longer controversial space computing direction, Apple demonstrated the price of 30,000 "helmet" Vision Pro, from the current feedback, it seems that it is still a little far from ordinary consumers. On April 20th, China's AR representative Rokid came up with another plan, AR Lite spatial computing kit: split design, with glasses Rokid Max 2 as the display terminal, weighing only 75g, Station 2 host integrated sensing, computing, battery module, and the latest upgrade of Rokid's self-developed YodaOS-Master spatial operating system.
There are two biggest highlights of this new product, one is the use of the same interaction method as the laptop "trackpad", which is seamless with the past user habits, one-finger, two-finger, and three-finger operations have different responses in three-dimensional space, and the silent interaction represented by touch is minimal and quiet, without social pressure. In contrast, the eye tracking promoted by Vision Pro is also silent and non-intrusive, but frequent eye movements may make the optic nerve and brain quickly fatigue at the physiological level. Another highlight of the new product is the multi-screen mode, the direct drag-and-drop method, multiple windows are "parallel" at the same time, and the space display has no physical screen and physical space requirements, and the exclusive value of "space computing" can be released in multiple scenarios in productivity, entertainment, and life.
After Apple released the Vision Pro, the next-generation computing platform that has been shouting for many years finally has an eyebrow. Generally speaking, Apple's entry into the market brings exponential growth to an industry. However, the technology and industrial capacity of human beings today are obviously not enough to meet the impossible triangle of visual effects, price and comfort, and the price of the Vision Pro is close to 30,000 yuan, which determines that it will take several years for the industry to grow exponentially.
Rokid has chosen a different path from Apple, Rokid AR Lite is a lightweight glasses product, the product principle of OST is partially optical light transmission, not stuffy, not heavy, and there is no problem of image distortion and light and shadow restoration in Apple's VST video reproduction, higher wearing comfort and almost one-tenth of the price, giving consumers and developers a choice other than Vision Pro.
It remains to be seen which path will become the way of interaction in the future era of spatial computing. But what is certain is that with the successive release of new products by manufacturers in the track, spatial computing hardware and content are ushering in a new era of blooming, the development of the industry is accelerating, and AR glasses in science fiction movies are about to truly become people's lives and daily life.
As Zhu Mingming, the founder of Rokid, said at the press conference, "We can wonder when it will come, and we can also wonder if Rokid will lead this revolution, but we must not doubt the arrival of the era of spatial computing. 」
In the era of spatial computing, what kind of smart glasses do we need?
Some people say that "simplicity is the primary productive force", and a more natural way of interacting is the ultimate goal of wearable devices - allowing people to have more capabilities, but "naked" as if they were not using anything.
The interactive design of Rokid AR Lite is very simple, users only need to touch the trackpad with one hand to complete all operations, just like the touchpad of a laptop, with zero learning cost at all, and at the same time support ray interaction, you can switch with a flick of your hand.
In terms of comfort, intelligent interpupillary distance adjustment allows people with different interpupillary distances to get a ghost-free picture. The lossless diopter adjustment of 0~600 degrees allows users to put aside their myopia glasses and see both real and virtual images with a pair of AR smart glasses. Ultra-light air nose pads and comfortable soft temples make the product a softer fit and less pressure.
As a wearable device that wants to integrate into life, the appearance aesthetic is very important online, and the Rokid AR Lite is available in two colors in terms of appearance: Polar Night Black and Dawn Silver, with a simple diamond pattern and a ring design around the lens, which is not obtrusive and has a sense of design.
Rocks AR Lite |图片来源:Rocks
Smart glasses are no longer limited by wearing requirements, and the use scenarios have become more imaginative. Rokid AR Lite is more functional and practical in terms of software features.
Thanks to its lightness and quietness, mobile work has become more feasible, allowing you to work lightly in your space anytime, anywhere, and increase your productivity. The most suitable scenario is a business tripDuring the journey of the plane and high-speed rail, Rokid will cooperate with Loong Air to create a "new entertainment travel plan", from April 23rd to June 23rd, passengers can experience Rokid cloud travel AR entertainment.
New Entertainment Mobility Plan | Image source: Rokid
In addition, short-distance travel also needs this small glasses, when you are bored in the subway or car, you can immediately withdraw from fatigue, enjoy games, watch movies on the super giant screen, and immerse yourself anytime and anywhere. Rokid AR Lite can adjust the size and distance of the virtual screen arbitrarily, and can achieve a maximum of 300-inch super screen equivalent to 6 meters away. In giant screen mode, you can also turn on the sports mode, which can achieve better picture stabilization effect in bumpy scenes and reduce the dizziness caused by external environment shaking.
In the home scene, the most commonly used movie-watching experience has been completely upgraded, and the giant screen mode provided by Rokid AR Lite allows people to watch big-screen movies on the sofa, bed, and toilet. Zhu Mingming also revealed in the interview that the "watch movies together" feature will be released soon, so that people who have Rokid AR glasses but are not in the same space can watch the same movie.
Huge screen mode | Image source: Rokid
In the life scene, Rokid AR Lite's newly designed spatial screen projection function allows the new "Memories" function to store the captured spatial videos as "spatial albums" and project them in the space, so that life can be truly recorded and recalled as it happens in the space.
Whether it's an Android phone, an iOS phone, or a Mac computer, as long as you connect to the same network as Station 2, you can quickly and wirelessly cast the screen, turning the small screen into a 32:9 ultra-wide screen in an instant. Rokid AR Lite also supports multi-terminal content sharing, and the content on your phone can be quickly synced to Station2 through "remote transfer".
In outdoor scenes, carrying the Rokid AR Lite with you allows you to "load" it in a small way, lie down in the camping tent, and project the "memories" of the space you just shot on the real starry sky.
露营时佩戴 Rokid 眼镜 | 图片来源:Rokid
Returning to the question of "what kind of smart glasses do we need in the era of spatial computing", the answer we see from Rokid AR Lite is that there is an attractive spatial experience, and the lower the threshold for use, the better.
What are the difficulties in popularizing spatial computing?
In fact, the concept of "spatial computing" given by Apple has a threshold for ordinary consumers, not so "foolish", as long as you get started, it is enough to feel the charm of this device. Focusing on "spatial computing" is much more important and complex than focusing on definitions.
When Rokid founder Zhu Mingming released his new product last year, he gave three standards for "space computer": first, the virtual space and the real world are integrated, and the user's intention, action, and interaction in this new space are real-time response, natural, barrier-free and even non-sensitive; second, behind the spatial computing is the virtualization and reconstruction of the three-dimensional space itself, which is based on showing processing power and supporting the title of "computer"; third, the application and software in spatial computing, good compatibility, Ecological richness will lead to large-scale applications and become mainstream computing platforms in the consumer market.
Rokid Open Day 2024 |图片来源：Rokid
This includes the technical difficulties involved in spatial computing. "Responsive, natural, barrier-free and even non-sensitive" requires extreme lightness. In an interview with Geek Park, Zhu Mingming talked about making OST glasses, and the biggest difficulty is called "making a dojo in a screw shell".
In fact, the same problem is the biggest problem for all XR products, including Apple. There's a story about Steve Jobs in Silicon Valley: When an engineer handed the first iPod to Steve Jobs, Jobs walked up to a fish tank, threw it in, and said, "Do you see those bubbles? That means it could be smaller." 」
I don't know if Cook threw the first Vision Pro into the fish tank when he saw it, but the Vision Pro, which has been honed for seven years, is still widely criticized for its weight and wearing comfort.
But the route of this machine from the beginning is destined to be difficult to compress with "bubbles", and the VST (video perspective) route requires more sensors, and Vision Pro has optimized this path to the extreme at this stage of technical conditions.
Rokid is not in line with Vision Pro's thinking, and has always adhered to the OST route and kept making it "light". Rokid AR Lite is the latest "dojo in a screw shell", which gives users a new interaction and system while achieving a more extreme lightness - only 75g glasses, the presence of weight almost disappears.
Another challenge is to be truly "computer". Rokid has built a complete set of full-stack capabilities from the ground up from the ground up, and has become one of the few companies in the global AR field with full-stack capabilities.
Rokid has developed its own XR operating system and platform, YodaOS-Master spatial operating system, which makes consumer-grade AR glasses have an independent operating system for the first time. With this upgrade, YodaOS-Master brings native support for file management NAS and cloud disks, and you can use unlimited 100G storage for free. It also cooperated with Alibaba Cloud to configure the application for Rokid AR and embed cloud storage capabilities into YodaOS-Master.
For example, in the newly released Rokid AR Lite, WeChat can be split into three screens in the space from a single screen - contacts, chat history, Moments, and video accounts appear at the same time, each without delay. This feature allows developers to do not need to make any code changes, and the underlying operating system solves all the problems.
Rokid 多联屏|图片来源:Rocks
Rokid is also actively advocating and participating in the establishment of open standards in the XR field, and trying to promote the unification of cross-platform content ecology in terms of developer ecosystem. Rokid is compatible with the AR development architecture of MRTK1-3 led by native engine applications, OpenAI, and Hololens.
How will the next-generation computing platform be implemented?
XR will be the next generation of personal computing platforms after mobile phones, which is a foregone conclusion, but new products from industry manufacturers have raised eyebrows on this cliché. Apple's entry into the market has also brought exponential growth to the industry, and consumers in the market have been whetted by Apple, but the price of the Vision Pro has put most consumers off.
The Vision Pro is priced at a minimum of $3,499, or about RMB 25,000, and the highest price is nearly 10w RMB.
There is a huge gap under the high price and imperfect wearing experience of the Vision Pro, and many manufacturers are accelerating to fill it to provide consumers with more options at different prices. Zhu Mingming also believes that "after Apple has done a round of market education, it is an opportunity for the industry. 」
Rokid said at the press conference that they have "knocked down" the price - as long as the "X499" yuan, the final price has not been officially announced, but "everyone is guaranteed to be able to afford it".
In addition to pricing, the ecology is also a stalemate for many manufacturers, and who can build the ecosystem well can provide users with more experience and services. An empty AR glasses with no content is unattractive.
The Vision Pro ecosystem has been criticized for being too barren, with only 300 native apps, but in fact, Apple is emphasizing the natural compatibility and migration of 2D content, first putting the iPad into visionOS, providing system support, and allowing various developers to enter the field lightly. More than a month after it was released, and the latest data in March, visionOS has more than 1,300 applications.
Rokid has the same idea, providing developers with entry support first, and at the same time cooperating with more well-known partners to build a content ecosystem. Rokid's AR open platform, which was launched three years ago, now has more than 3,000 registered developers and more than 2,000 entrepreneur developers.
Rokid Space 3D App | Image credit: Rokid
This time, Rokid announced that it has reached an in-depth cooperation with iQIYI, and iQIYI will develop iQIYI AR customized version of the application. The partnership with Evernote will enable users to view and edit notes anytime and anywhere on the Rokid AR device, bringing users a smarter, more three-dimensional and free way to present content and process notes.
Star Film Festival | Image credit: Rokid
Rokid also officially announced the new brand outdoor IP activity Star Film Festival, it plans to launch a number of outdoor star film festival activities to call on every friend to participate, so that everyone can relax under the starry sky, between the mountains and wilderness, enjoy a different open-air movie, and find a sense of relaxation in life.
In cooperation with Qualcomm, it mainly releases high-frequency applications with key performance matching most scenarios. The Rokid R&D team has collaborated with Qualcomm Technologies to achieve a number of performance optimizations to bring surging power to GPU graphics rendering and AI computing on the YodaOS-Master operating system, unleashing stronger performance, allowing users to enjoy longer battery life, better thermal management, and a smoother gaming experience.
Zhu Mingming said, "Rokid is the strongest AI company in China, and most of the capabilities you experience are supported by AI, but we rarely tell you that this is AI. AR is new enough, and it has to be given to everyone step by step. In fact, as I said at the beginning of the article, the real application of technology will be imperceptible.
For a long time, the XR industry has been using the money earned by To B to feed the dream of To C, and Rokid's cash cow business also comes from the To B business. However, in the To C business, Rokid already accounts for half of its revenue, and continues to innovate to a wider range of people.
Rokid doesn't sell products at a loss, and has good user data in the current situation of XR devices. At the press conference, it was revealed that Rokid's weekly activity has exceeded 40%, and Zhu Mingming and Geek Park also shared that their users' average daily usage time is more than 1 hour, which is not a second example in the data industry.
Of course, the release of the Rokid AR Lite this time has left the suspense of the price x499, and it is ready to make big waves in the consumer market first. The Rokid is on the same path as the Vision Pro but driving side-by-side, and is currently more acceptable to consumers. It will take time for the next generation of computing platforms to be implemented, and after Rokid OpenDAY, the ambitions are not over.