Humane startup finally demos a Star Trek communicator with projector

AppleInsider · April 21, 2023 12:34PM

The mysterious Humane firm, founded by ex-Apple executives in 2018, has shown off its first-ever product, a wearable phone that projects call details into the user's hand.

Humane founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno

This was even more secretive than Apple. The only thing Humane, founded by former Apple director of software engineering Bethany Bongiorno and former Apple designer Imran Chaudhri, announced in five years was more funding investment.

However, Humane has reportedly today delivered a TED Talk in which it unveiled the company's first product.

I obtained a video of @Humane 's AI-powered wearable projector in action (clipped from a video @zarifali9 sent me of the #TED2023 by @imranchaudhri)

This looks insaneee! pic.twitter.com/DDOfTMCxH5
-- Ray Wong (@raywongy)
April 21, 2023

That video excerpt -- there's no sound -- from the presentation, shows what a wearer sees when they have Humane's device, and they get a call.

The actual device looks remarkably like a narrow but chunky "Star Trek" communicator badge. It's even a wearable that appears to be worn roughly over the heart.

The communicator, presumably, has a microphone and speaker at the top, but it definitely has a laser projector in the bottom.

Toronto journalist Zarif Ali, was also at the presentation and tweeted that the full TED Talk would be released on April 22, 2023.

"Been following Humane since 2018, and even with the patents and speculation, this demo genuinely felt like the ones Steve Jobs would do back in the 2000s," Zarif went on to say. "Truly a special moment in tech and AI."

Humane's Chaudhri worked with Steve Jobs at Apple, and has recounted teasing him over continually saying NeXT computers were better than the Mac.

Read on AppleInsider

twolf2919 · April 21, 2023 1:36PM

I guess we won't fully know whether this really is a "special moment in tech and AI" until we see a full demo, but the snippet shown doesn't seem all that special - I mean other than the feat of miniaturization. And I can't, for the life of me, see why someone would want to read a notification from their hand vs., say, a smartwatch. The latter would be much more readable and just as little work, if not less so, than trying to position your hand into the spot the laser projector is pointing to. Again, this is just a little video with no sound - maybe the final product will project a holographic assistant with whom you can have a conversation? That, I'd agree would qualify as the "special moment in tech and AI" being bandied about.

omasou · April 21, 2023 2:31PM

Coolness factor 100%+

Practicality <0%

Will reserve judgement till I see how it really works but right now, I don't want to be talking on speaker in public, how would this work while driving, what's the battery life and I don't want anything attached to my shirt.

I can see those who wear BT headsets all day, every day adopting it. For me, I'd rather leave my phone in my pocket and mange calls using my headphones.

9secondkox2 · April 21, 2023 8:03PM

Meh. Better on phone screen or inyour shades/reading glasses.

Looks kind of dorky.

Might have some niche star trek convention sales though

entropys · April 21, 2023 9:06PM

Looks really cool, buuut, an apple watch is more practical fir taking calls. Even for translations.

Maybe if it had a LiDAR built in and some sort of recognition for apps built in it might be handy for DIY? while I don’t think it probably does that, such an approach might be a better path to AR than putting a big heavy ski mask over your eyes.

On the other hand, maybe it will bring brooches back into fashion?

9secondkox2 · April 21, 2023 9:25PM

Soooo… if you are in the shopping line and you forget to bring your hand up when this thing alters you, it will project directly into some little old lady’s head? Or someone’s face? Or shirt? Or on the bread aisle?

The more I think about it, the more a mini projector worn on your chest just doesn’t make sense. Watch is probably the best option for this currently. The only way it gets better than that is integration into glasses.

red oak · April 21, 2023 11:22PM

Sorry. Five years of focus and VC funding and this is where you landed?

chasm · April 22, 2023 2:10AM

I think some of the commenters are missing the point here a little bit.

The point is how tiny that phone is, not the projection (which could just as easily be related to a Watch, for example). Phones are used mostly for core interpersonal communication, which at present is mostly text and voice.

That small wearable and earpiece seen there certainly can’t do everything an iPhone *could* do, but it does the core things that are important for many people, and will probably cost a lot less than an iPhone to make and sell. That could do very well indeed in countries where incomes aren’t at western standards, or in environments worldwide where staring at your screen like a zombie is frowned upon.

PS. Specifically to Red Oak’s comment: if you think ANY of the Apple products you enjoy took less than five years of development and billions of R&D money to come to market, you have another think coming.

mikethemartian · April 22, 2023 4:24AM

Let me know when they figure out the phaser.

MaxLe0p0ld · April 22, 2023 10:35PM

Sorry,

but I still prefer the VOCERA Communication Badge to this whatever this is...

And this could also be done with Heads-up Display in your Glasses, I wonder how helpful this is.

I think, we should rather look at GLOBAL Devices from Gene Roddenberry's Earth Final Conflict.

A Rollable + Touchable Display, with Camera, 5G + Satellite Communication.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/14/18088620/samsung-foldable-phone-science-fiction-movies-television-westworld-star-trek ;

Fever905 · April 24, 2023 7:31PM

Don't you mean:

... only way it gets better is an implant in my brain....

Fever905 · April 24, 2023 7:41PM

chasm said:

I think some of the commenters are missing the point here a little bit.

The point is how tiny that phone is, not the projection (which could just as easily be related to a Watch, for example). Phones are used mostly for core interpersonal communication, which at present is mostly text and voice.

<snip>

Ahh... didn't Apple already make a tiny phone and call it a watch? So like here's something that already exists with Star Trek styling and Star Wars laser projecting. Mic drop.

omasou · April 26, 2023 1:50PM

chasm said:

I think some of the commenters are missing the point here a little bit.

The point is how tiny that phone is, not the projection (which could just as easily be related to a Watch, for example). Phones are used mostly for core interpersonal communication, which at present is mostly text and voice.

That small wearable and earpiece seen there certainly can’t do everything an iPhone *could* do, but it does the core things that are important for many people, and will probably cost a lot less than an iPhone to make and sell. That could do very well indeed in countries where incomes aren’t at western standards, or in environments worldwide where staring at your screen like a zombie is frowned upon.

PS. Specifically to Red Oak’s comment: if you think ANY of the Apple products you enjoy took less than five years of development and billions of R&D money to come to market, you have another think coming.

1. You're assuming it is a phone and not just a chest mounted projector connected via LEBT to an app on an iPhone and/or Android phone.

2. If a phone, small and lite enough to wear on a shirt then there is the question of battery life. Motorola had a crazy small flip phone. It was around the time of the Motorola Razr, I forget the name and thought it was called the Motorola Vulcan? I found something called the Motorola Pebl but it was smaller. Sort of cool but highly impractical b/c it was so small.

Humane startup finally demos a Star Trek communicator with projector

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