$20 AI Smart Glasses You Can Even Build Yourself
PLUS Guide To Build Your Own AI Wearable "Friend"
Hey Creators 👋
You’ve probably heard of the latest AI smart glasses, like Meta’s Ray-Bans, Envision Glasses, and maybe even the AI Pin — want a shocker? This tech can cost from $299, all the way to $3000. Not so budget-friendly, am I right?
Last week, a team of hackers at a San Francisco hackathon created OpenGlass, a $20 pair of open-source smart glasses that connect to AI chatbots — all in 36 hours flat. And now, they’re making a new open-source AI wearable device dubbed “Friend”.
In today’s post, we’ll cover:
- The hackers & how they developed OpenGlass
- Smart glasses’ features worth way more than $20
- Hackers’ newest open-source wearable you can build or buy today
- A guide to build your own wearable AI “Friend"
Let’s get straight into it.
An Eye-Opening 36 Hours
A 5-man team of hackers, including Nik Shevchenko and Scott Fitsimones, were at the Cerebral Valley hackathon in San Francisco. Shevchenko entered the hackathon with a clear goal — build hardware for smart glasses.
See Nik’s cheeky face equipped with the pair of AI smart glasses down the middle?
Korshakov, who had just joined in, tackled the toughest software issues, and they both teamed up with Fitsimones, Ramanan, and Gupta, forming a monstrous team. While the rest were building the software, Nik used a soldering pen, focusing only on the hardware.
And after about 36 hours, Nik, Scott, Stepnan & the team announced a pair of sunglasses with a black box sticking out from the side — cheap in design, but extremely rich hardware-wise: this pair had a built-in camera, microphone & a direct connection to chatbots.
They won the hackathon with this somewhat stylish pair of cyborg-sunglasses, and just 2 days later, they reached over 1300 preorders for the prototype!
So THIS is what can happen when 5 great minds focus on something.
Do you have a minute to participate in our Subscription Giveaway and make our newsletter even better? Take a quick survey and tell us about your experience & participate in the free Giveaway of a Premium Subscription for 6 months.
The Bells & Whistles of These Glasses
This DIY pair of sunglasses made by the team has a camera that takes a picture every 5 seconds, a microphone that constantly transcribes audio and an integration with Meta’s Llama 3 chatbot!
It collects a database of photos and text to mirror what the user sees & hears — it can answer questions like: "What was that person’s name?", "Where did I leave my keys?", "How many calories are in these fruits?", meaning this is especially helpful for people with poor eyesight or bad hearing.
And here’s the best bit — it’s fully customizable. Devs can pick & choose which LLMs the glasses connect to, create their own apps & frameworks for the pair, and even cut out certain features.
Not every pair needs to record audio or take pictures constantly — thats your choice. This is the freedom of open source!
The use cases for a pair of AI smart glasses like these are plentiful — you can automatically capture and document conversations, create a searchable archive of daily interactions, and get real-time info about locations & objects.
And now, their latest wearable that you can build or buy, “Friend”.
Share this with your friends and colleagues, especially if they are AI-savvy!
Friend — The Open Source AI Wearable Device
This is the hackers’ newest device they’ve created, called Friend. It’s completely open-source, features real-time AI audio processing, lasts over 24 hours, and looks stylish for a wearable, just look at this GIF:
Honestly? It looks pretty great and doesn’t stand out much.
With natural language understanding, Friend allows you to get things done just by speaking. You don’t need any custom commands — just talk, and Friend will take care of the rest. You can also customize Friend to handle tasks unique to your routine, like managing your calendar, sending emails, or controlling smart devices.
And it’s private. Unlike other wearables, your data stays with you, and you have full control over privacy settings (it’s open source, too!). If you want to buy it pre-assembled (the price is $59.00), check out their Kickstarter (links provided below).
But if you want to build it yourself, we’ve prepared a simple guide and provided detailed documentation for you, let’s not waste any time and show you how to build your own Friend.
Guide To Build Your Own Wearable AI Friend
Get more from Creators' AI in the Substack app
Available for iOS and Android
If you want to buy a pre-assembled version, you can do so from their Kickstarter.
But if you want to build your own Friend, you need to purchase the disassembled version & the required components from their Buying Guide. Once you’ve purchased all the components, everything set on a table will look like this:
What you have there is the board — Seeed Studio XIAO nRF52840 Sense, the rechargeable battery, a slider switch, and a 3D-print design of the case.
Once you have everything ready, cut and strip a black wire, then solder the battery and board as per the diagram here:
Next, install the switch and fit the battery and board into the printed case, aligning the switch with the USB-C notch. Arrange the wires neatly, making sure they don't get in the way of the assembly. Attach the lid and press firmly to snap the seams together.
Now, let’s get to the software side — to install the firmware on your device, start by setting up nRF Connect using the provided tutorial video in the firmware installation guide. Then, open the firmware folder in your development environment, adjust the build for your specific board, and initiate the build process. Once the build is successful, locate the firmware file.
And this may seem complicated, but the Assembly Documentation that BasedHardware provided makes it super simple, showing each step with images!
And next, double-click the reset button on your device to make it appear as a disk on your computer, then drag and drop the firmware file into it.
Just like that, you have your own hand-made Friend that can translate on the fly, record your conversations, remember names, organize your calendar and plenty more!
Creators’ AI Subscription is the best gift for Creators diving into AI.
Bonus — Get Lost With This Rock
Just as OpenGlass is shaking up the AI scene, let me introduce you to another new & interesting product — TERRA. Designed for adventurous people, it makes your outdoor experience safer with real-time environmental insights and intuitive navigation. It’s like having a personal guide and a mindfulness coach in your hand.
This rock’s features include terrain mapping, weather updates, and personalized nature trails, which can all help you explore the wild with confidence, opening more room for mindful wandering with actual peace of mind.
No need to worry about Bigfoot, serial killers or grizzlies. On second thought, you should still worry about them, but at least you have a cool rock.
Thank you for reading!
Let us know what you think of the DIY AI glasses and that smart rock in the comments.
This article was first published in the Creators AI newsletter. View the original edition.
