This article is about the INMO Air smartglasses, a product under development by Inmolens Technology Co., Limited(Shenzhen, China). As is the case in augmented reality smartglasses, computerized information is superimposed over a direct view of the real world.
Inmolens Technology was formerly known as the Augmented Reality Department of Coolpad Group Limited. Incorporated quite recently, just this past July, company literature states that Inmolens specializes in consumer smartglasses that are lightweight and fashionable. The stated starting point for the design of the INMO Air smartglasses product was the observation by the company that many such products rely on connection to a smartphone and are physically bulky.
The INMO Air addressed the inconvenience of any form of physical connection by utilizing an entirely wireless approach. The smartglasses operate totally independently of other devices.
Inmolens addressed the lens aspect of the bulkiness issue by utilizing an optical see-through waveguide technology. By this means, the thickness of the lenses are only 3 mm. This is about the same thickness as the lenses in regular eye glasses. In addition, the INMO Air smartglasses are compatible with prescription lenses.
Four means can be used to operate the smartglasses. These are as follows:
- Touch pad. Finger inputs include swipe, double press and long press.
- Head motion tracker
- Voice control based on a voice recognition capability (currently available only in English).
- Hand gestures
Some of the features and specifications of the smartglasses are as follows:
- 100% sRGB full color OLED display
- Contrast ratio is 200,000:1
- Light transmittance is 83%, achieves zero occlusion
- Length: 180 mm, width 152 mm, height 56 mm
- Weight: 76 g
- Adjustable nose pads
- Batteries: integrated rechargeable Li-ion polymer
- Charging by way of a type-C connector behind the ear on the right temple. The other end of the charging cable is a standard USB. The company recommends the use of a 5V / 1A adapter.
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- Camera: 5 megapixel, supports 720p, 30 fps, HD video
- Processor: quad-core
- RAM: up to 2GB
- Internal storage: up to 32GB
- Spatial positioning (6 DoF motion sensor)
- Audio: full Bluetooth functionality
- Noise canceling microphone
- Integrated stereo speakers
- Two colors are available. More color options are planned for the near future.
All of these capabilities and features are built into the smartglasses illustrated in the figure below.
The INMO Air AR smartglasses.
A video appended to the end of this article illustrates the smartglasses and discusses their capabilities.
Judging by the specifications and appearance of the glasses, with the INMO Air, Inmolens has made real progress towards the company’s stated goal of producing smartglasses that are lightweight and fashionable.
At this time, the app is only available with the Android Operating system based on Android 10.0. An iOS version is planned for the near future. Similar to a smartphone, INMO Air’s functionalities can be extended with apps.
Also at this time, the company reports that a developer SDK version and documentation are not yet available. These are expected to become available during the fourth quarter of 2021. When available, developers will be able to link the smartglasses to a Windows computer using a Type-C cable and then be able install and test their own apps. The company is planning to create a developer incentive program to encourage developers to continue to use this version.
Despite the considerable progress in product development that the company has accomplished to date, the current status of the INMO Air smartglasses is described as a working demo rather than a final product. As might be expected, the ability of the company to actually begin production may be affected by both unexpected technical issues and/or financial constraints. Regarding the financing, part of the plan to fund further product development is an Indiegogo campaign. The campaign can be found here. At the time that this article is written, $271,363 has been raised from 558 backers. This is 2110% of the very modest, flexible goal of $12,841. The campaign is scheduled to close and should fund on September 24.
The INMO AIR is planned to ship to customers this December. -Arthur Berman
