Bobak Tavangar, CEO Brilliant Labs: How to build open-source AI-enabled smart glasses with AR

Links

- CodeCrafters (sponsor): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- Frame: https://brilliant.xyz/products/frame

- Bobak on X: https://x.com/btavangar

Summary

In this episode, Bobak Tavangar, founder of Brilliant Labs, discusses the creation of the AR device Frame and the open-source assistant Noah. He shares his journey from working at Microsoft and Apple to founding his own AR company, emphasizing innovation, simplicity, and user transformation in AR. He highlights the limitations of relying on large companies and big budgets, and the unique focus of Frame on AI, user experience, security, and privacy. Frame aims to create open, hackable smart glasses, offering distinctive, lightweight designs and future style variations. The glasses integrate with smartphones, and the assistant Noah extends developer capabilities. Tavangar reflects on the lessons from Google Glass, the challenges of hardware creation, and the importance of design and purpose.

Takeaways

- Innovation in AR comes from taking unique paths.

- Noah, an open-source assistant, enables a broader developer ecosystem.

- Frame smart glasses focus on user experience, security, and privacy.

- Combining openness with quality and curation is key.

- Learn from Google Glass's successes and failures.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Background

10:02 - The Genesis of Brilliant Labs and AR

14:52 - The Missing Ingredient in AR

28:18 - Noah: An Open-Source Assistant for Frame

31:20 - Differentiating Frame from Other AR Devices

35:09 - Creating Open and Hackable Smart Glasses

38:51 - The Third Path: Combining Openness with Quality and Curation

41:41 - Networking Human Experience

45:42 - The Dangers of Subsidizing Product Sales at a Loss

57:31 - The Future of Glasses: Smart and Indispensable

01:01:01 - Designing for Thinness, Weight, and Distinctive Style

01:04:49 - Local Models: Balancing Functionality and Hardware Constraints

01:08:03 - Lessons from Google Glass and the Importance of Purpose and Design

01:12:20 - Advice for Aspiring Hardware Founders

01:21:44 - Specifications of Frame: Battery Life and Charging

01:27:08 - The Only Rules That Matter: God and Physics

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