Announced in February 2024, Brilliant Labs’ new “Frame AI Glasses” introduce a brand-new approach to smart specs.
Following the success of the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses and the ever-evolving portfolio of spatial computing devices hitting the market, these “multimodal” glasses combine augmented reality with artificial intelligence.
What makes the Frame AI Glasses unique (aside from their slightly quirky design) is the open-source software, which allows users to customize the functionality of their specs.
Users can tap into a range of pre-built AR and AI tools, add their own applications into the mix, and more, all while enjoying a lightweight, ergonomic, immersive experience. Here’s everything you need to know about the Frame AI Glasses from Brilliant Labs.
What are the Frame AI Glasses?
The Frame AI glasses are a set of smart glasses designed by Brilliant Labs, the same company responsible for the “Monocle”, a pocket-sized AR device that looks exactly as you’d expect. They combine a small display with a 20-degree field of view for the right eye with AI technology.
Out of the box, the glasses come with access to a range of AI models, like Whisper, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity, and more. According to the company, these glasses are intended to offer users “multimodal AI superpowers” and visual analysis experiences in real time.
You can use your voice to ask the glasses to complete tasks, like identifying a landmark, searching the web for information on whatever you’re looking at, and more. Any information you look up appears on an overlay directly on the lens, enabling the “AR” experience.
Here’s a quick video showing the Frame AI glasses in action.
While smart glasses and AI-powered specs aren’t a new concept, the Frame specs are very different from what you might have encountered in this market so far. Unlike most intelligent specs, the Frame glasses are entirely open-source, just like the Monocle device that came before them.
All the design files, code, documentation, and tools you need to modify your device’s performance are available on GitHub. This means Brilliant Labs allows all kinds of developers and innovators to influence the future of their products without limitations.
The Frame AI Glasses: Specs
Brilliant Labs’ product page for the Frame glasses only offers some basic insights into what the specs can do. For instance, we know the glasses weigh a tiny 40g (making them ideal for ergonomics) and have a 20-degree field of view.
However, Brilliant Lab’s Discord channel features a little more insight. For instance, the company has revealed that the Frame glasses feature:
- 1 640 x 400-pixel micro OLED display
- Integrated 1280 x 720 camera
- Built-in microphone
- 222mAh battery (via a connector)
- A “Mister Power” charger
Notably, the Mister Power charger, which gives the glasses a plastic nose, also enables all-day battery life. Hopefully, though, the company will offer a slightly more professional-looking alternative for those who don’t want to look like they’re wearing an old-fashioned disguise.
Design, Comfort, and Ergonomics
Part of what makes the Frame AR glasses so compelling is their unique design. Like most leaders in the smart glasses industry, Brilliant Labs has chosen a design similar to a pair of standard specs. However, the round lenses are reminiscent of the glasses worn by well-known figures like John Lennon and Gandhi than
Currently, the glasses are available to order in three colors: Smokey Black, H2O, and Matte Cool Gray. Each option costs the same ($349). However, you can also choose to add a pair of prescription lenses to the mix, which bumps the price up to $448.
Of course, it’s the comfort of ergonomics of these glasses, more than the appearance, that will really appeal to most users. Most smart specs will weigh around 75 grams or more, particularly with an included screen. The Frames, on the other hand, only weigh about 40 grams.
This means you shouldn’t have any problem wearing the glasses all day. However, there aren’t any adjustable elements if the glasses don’t fit your face perfectly. Plus, the lightweight comfort of the specs does mean they compromise on a few additional features, like a 1080p resolution.
The Lightweight Design Trade-Offs
A pair of ultra-lightweight specs is great for comfort, but all technology weighs something. Ultimately, Brilliant Labs has had to compromise on some features to make their specs so easy to wear. For instance, there’s only one display (on the right eye) rather than two.
That might sound like a recipe for AR headaches, but Brilliant Labs says its testers have adapted to the display pretty quickly. Your brain actually tricks you into thinking you’re seeing AR content with both eyes. The screen resolution is a little limited, too.
You’ll get about the same experience from the 640 x 400-pixel screen as you would looking at a smartphone. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You still get a fantastic level of brightness and a full-color display that’s ideal for browsing the web and interacting with basic content.
While the Frame specs lack built-in speakers, they do feature a microphone, so you can interact with your AI assistant on the move.
Frame AI Glasses: Functionality and Performance
The biggest selling point of the Frame AR specs is their customizable design. Although the specs might not seem like they can do much out of the box, they instantly pair with Brilliant Labs’ Noa app. This app includes an AI assistant which uses different models for various tasks.
For instance, Whisper is included for translation, OpenAI for visual content analysis, and Perplexity for web search. Plus, the solution includes machine learning, which means it can learn and adapt to the user and the given tasks.
Noa is free to use and allows you to process visual information, generate images, and interact with content on your smart specs. However, there is a daily cap that limits how much you can use the assistant. Brilliant Labs says there’s no paywall or subscription yet, but a paid tier will likely be introduced in the future.
Noa, combined with Frame’s integrated sensors and camera, enables users to accomplish a range of tasks, from checking product prices in-store to looking up information on the web. Plus, unlike Meta’s smart glasses or the Spectacles from Snap, no information is stored on the device. Unfortunately, you also can’t share content straight to the web as standard.
Developing with the Frame AI Glasses
As mentioned above, the great thing about the Frame AR Glasses is that you can build AR and intelligent experiences. Brilliant Labs offers access to a comprehensive suite of tools and plugins you can use to develop experiences for the specs.
For instance, there’s the AR Studio extension for VSCode, where you can quickly test, develop, and share Frame Lua apps for other users. The frameutils for Python offering enables users to create desktop apps users can access through their smart specs. Plus, for Android and iOS, Brilliant Labs is working on a Flutter package for developers.
You can find all the technical documents and details you need directly on the Brilliant Labs website or via their Discord channel. This indicates an interesting step forward in the smart glasses landscape, empowering users from all backgrounds to build unique immersive experiences with minimal effort.
Frame even regularly introduces new out-of-the-box capabilities for the smart glasses. For instance, they’ve offered access to a range of language options since the release of the specs in April.
Hackable AR and AI Glasses
Compared to some of the top AR glasses available today, such as the XReal Air 2 Ultra specs, the Frame AI glasses might seem slightly simplistic. They definitely don’t have the most powerful display around, nor do they include integrated speakers for spatial audio.
However, these glasses aren’t really designed to compete with most standard smart glasses. Instead, they’re designed specifically for developers who want to create their own unique experiences with augmented reality and AI-powered wearables.
If you’ve ever wanted to build unique AR experiences without spending a fortune on developer toolkits, Brilliant Labs’ latest creation could be the perfect solution. By taking an open-source approach, Brilliant Labs has a great shot at differentiating itself from other smart glasses vendors.
Even if industry leaders like Google make their way back into the AR glasses market, Brilliant Labs will continue to appeal to a specific niche within the industry. They could even inspire other market leaders to make their own specs more customizable and flexible going forward.
This could pave the way to a new era of innovation and creativity in the smart glasses arena, opening the door to endless immersive experiences enhanced by AI.
