This article is an installment of Future Explored, a weekly guide to world-changing technology. You can get stories like this one straight to your inbox every Thursday morning by subscribing here.
An Indian startup’s new smart glasses are designed to make it easier for people to work on the go by creating a hybrid-reality workspace — but will it deliver on its promises?
The challenge: Using multiple monitors not only looks cool, it can make your digital workspace feel less cluttered and boost productivity, cutting down on time wasted opening and closing windows.
Once you’re used to working on multiple monitors, though, it can feel downright stifling to switch to a single laptop screen while working away from your desk.
Nimo smart glasses have a built-in processor and battery — no need to connect to a smartphone or laptop.
In the past, that was a problem most people only had to deal with while traveling for work or during the occasional working vacation. But during the pandemic, millions of people started working remotely, and experts predict many will never go back to the office full time.
While some of these new work-from-homers have the luxury of a dedicated office space where they can set up multiple monitors, many have found themselves permanently working on a single laptop screen at the kitchen table.
The Nimo smart glasses: India-based startup Nimo Planet wants to make it so remote workers never have to feel cramped by their real-world setup again.
The company is now accepting reservations for its Nimo smart glasses, which it recently demonstrated for Wired over Zoom. These glasses let you see up to six virtual screens at once without having to lug around any extra monitors. You can look straight ahead to see your browser, for example, and then turn your head to the left to check your email.
You won’t even need to bring your laptop with you, if you don’t want to — the glasses have a built-in processor and battery, which makes them like a standalone computer on your face.
Nimo Planet expects to begin shipping its smart glasses to customers in parts of India and the U.S. in the first half of 2023. Reservations cost $19, and the total price of the Nimo smart glasses is $799.
The specs’ specs: According to Nimo Planet’s website, the glasses can connect to WiFi, and you can pair them with a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard. You can also use your smartphone as a trackpad or click on things by looking at them and then tapping the arm of the glasses.
The specs run on their own operating system (Nimo OS), which is a forked version of Android, and can support “1000s of productivity apps designed for Android and Web,” according to Nimo.
“The OS manages the native Android apps to run on multiple screens and splits the apps into multiple windows,” Nimo Planet CEO Rohildev Nattukallingal told Wired. “Developers don’t need to make any changes to support Nimo OS.”
“In the future, we will have [a software development kit] for developers to create enhanced apps for Nimo,” he added.
“We want to make the hardware as simple as possible and make sure the multiscreen productivity works great.”
Rohildev Nattukallingal
The current version of …….
Source: https://www.freethink.com/technology/nimo-smart-glasses