MWC offered a chance to get some time with the Humane AI Pin – which has grabbed attention with its unique blend of wearable tech and AI power.
The clip-on camera is designed to free you from your smartphone, by providing smart, discreet information when you need it, and take the drudgery of digital tasks away from your phone.
It works via voice control and has a projector that beams visual information onto your hand. Using AI, it can generate text responses to questions and reorder and process information from the web in a succinct way.
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It doesn’t connect to your smartphone and has its own SIM and data plan. The idea is that it keeps you in the moment, and your phone screen isn’t a barrier to the loved ones in your life. It’s a noble mission, and one most people would agree they need – in theory at least.
We got an extensive demo of Humane AI from company reps – and they showed off a range of applications. Using the camera, it can scan the world around and offer context on what it sees.
Likewise, a German person at the demo I attended spoke German to the American demonstrator, and the Pin translated – both ways.
The demonstrator had the AI pin connected to a wearable Bluetooth speaker, so we could hear the interactions. However, generally, this would be done via headphones. That would make it more personal, but we also wonder whether unpairing from our screens means permanently wearing an earpiece.
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We also got a good feel for how slow those interactions were. There were long pauses while information was processed. Of course, there is the laser projection – and this was pretty clear. And there was a host of pretty cool gestures for switching menus and using what was a surprisingly deep UI.
I even saw my face projected onto the hand, after the demonstrator took a picture of me. However, that image is then sent to the cloud, and you’ll have to log into a service to find it. It’s hardly the immediacy of showing a selfie to your friends on your phone.
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Then there’s the social aspect. It’s straight back to the dark days of the lifelogging cameras – and wearing a lens is going to attract attention. In many ways, Humane is trying to solve the same problem as AI glasses. Is it doing it better? That’s hard to say.
The Humane AI Pin’s mission is noble, and there’s some cool tech here. It’s a good showcase for how AI and wearables can bring game-changing insights and fulfill the potential of wearables. But would I advocate for the $699 for the Humane AI Pin with its chunky subscription? There’s a great product here, but right now, this isn’t it.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.