The Nimo Smart Glass is ready to take at the likes of Magic Leap, Apple and others with its homegrown smart eyewear geared in the direction of productivity
The Smart Glass isn't always most effective proprietary hardware that’s custom-made for the employer, but also runs a custom Android-primarily based working machine referred to as Planet OS
Founder Rohildev Nattukallingal said the product, that is in beta presently, will recognition on health and leisure in the destiny
Last week, Mukesh Ambani and Reliance brought JioGlass to an awful lot hype and catapulted India into the smart eyewear craze. While the disclosing of JioGlass introduced approximately umpteen discussions and debates on social media around mixed reality and how Reliance Jio is asking to overcome it, the fact is that the product is advanced by a deeptech startup Tesseract, which changed into acquired with the aid of RIL in 2019.
JioGlass, while it launches, will join the club of products inclusive of Google Glass, Magic Leap, Microsoft HoloLens, Oculus lineup of devices and extra within the heads-up displays and clever eyewear phase. But it gained’t be the most effective Indian product within the list if Nimo Planet has its way.
Kochi-based totally Nimo Planet is part of the burgeoning hardware tech startup atmosphere in Kerala and the deeptech startup has launched its smart glasses in beta with a pick set of two hundred beta testers. Founded in 2018 by way of Rohildev Nattukallingal, Nimo Planet launched its first clever glass in 2018 and has further iterated on it to launch the beta version this month.
Nimo Planet’s Smart Glass is not simplest proprietary hardware that’s custom-made for the agency, but also runs a custom Android-primarily based running system referred to as Planet OS, which is said to be geared toward productiveness. It is said to have capabilities consisting of multi-screen multitasking, support for 1,000s of labor and productiveness apps, compatibility with current laptops and cellular gadgets.
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Talking to CFT, Nattukallingal stated that the hardware is absolutely well matched and optimised for Planet OS, which is built on pinnacle of the Linux kernel and Android. This, in flip, facilitates the employer ship with low-powered hardware that could match in the frame of the glasses and optimise the software enjoy greater thoroughly.
Humble Beginnings For Smart Eyewear
Nattukallingal stated the concept in the back of Smart Glass became to create a computing device for multi-display screen productivity. He stated he had been the use of iPads for work, because of their portability and comfort, but struggled whilst he needed multiple monitors. Having a portable multi-screen reveal permits more effective paintings, irrespective of the place. And this is the center recognition for Nimo — allow paintings from anywhere.
The six-member crew such as Suneesh Thuluthiyil – Chief Creative Officer, Jithesh Thayyil – Financial Officer, Fenil
Paul – Chief of OS, Shinil – Chief of Android, Dona Mariam – Business Development has already constructed hardware futuristic solutions. In 2016, the crew had built Fin Robotics, a wearable tech device which may be worn on the thumb making the palm a digital touch interface. The ring called Neyya become released in retail stores like UrbanZen Store, Sky Walk, Bloomingdale’s and so on. However, because of conflicts with advisors and stock loss within the US, the company discontinued the product.
With Just $130K In Funding, India’s Nimo Planet Is Looking To Challenge Tech Giants With Its Smart Glasses
The identical crew moved on to the subsequent imaginative and prescient of making the Smart Glass. “The center awareness became to layout something that’s notable portable and on the same time gives you larger display experience and I notion within the shape of face spectacle in an effort to assist me to remedy that trouble,” Nattukallingal delivered.
In 2018, Nimo built a prototype, which can be used with a USB and a processing unit close by. Just like Google Glass, the user ought to see a digital display pop-up at a three-meter distance to open specific apps and interact with them. However, in contrast to Google Glass, Nimo have binocular HD display and which supply large multi-screen experience.
With remarks from customers and trying out, the team saved iterating at the layout and finalised the current beta version, so as to be geared up for beta manufacturing inside the next six months.
The Tech Behind Nimo Planet Smart Glass
Mimicking a wellknown pair of spectacles, Nimo allows the person to see a virtual display on the lens, which without a doubt appears as massive as a 60-inch display in three-meter distance thanks to waveguide show technology. Essentially, the show fills up the person’s actual-international surroundings, which permits them to see virtual apps without disconnecting from the actual world. With head-tracking sensors, users can function home windows and apps on up to 6 virtual monitors.
In terms of tech specs, Nimo Smart Glass comes with HD-equivalent display for every eye, an unnamed Qualcomm-primarily based processor, up to 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, and help for WiFi, Bluetooth connectivity. It also features the sensors for head monitoring, a custom voice assistant and is said to guide countless numbers of productivity apps.
With Just $130K In Funding, India’s Nimo Planet Is Looking To Challenge Tech Giants With Its Smart Glasses
Nimo Working Beta- 2019
So honestly, Planet OS will be the important thing to achievement and app compatibility may be a first-rate mission. Talking about this, Nattukallingal advised CFT, “That’s [Planet OS] assisting us make hardware smaller— because we did numerous optimization, so the apps that the consumer goes to run on six extraordinary monitors will not use an excessive amount of battery. We have made interactions to open a couple of tabs as monitors in preference to ultimate one and beginning another. All this is already built into the OS now.”
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Smart Glass will assist existing Android packages and app developers don’t want to rewrite any of the existing apps from scratch. But how does the display screen digital display paintings?
This has three help enter structures — Bluetooth enter devices, a accomplice telephone app and the pinnacle-tracking sensor.
At the instant, customers can connect Bluetooth keyboards and mice to operate the OS. “Because we are focusing on productiveness we want to help human beings to keep time and work from anywhere. When people are traveling and might’t use a keyboard and mouse, they could use the phone as a keyboard and mouse with the Nimo app,” he brought.
Finally, the company’s head monitoring sensors can also enable customers to offer cues and perform movements. This might be in addition blended with voice cues for input. “In the primary version, we are not setting any speakers, human beings can pair with any of their current Bluetooth audio system for the sound like AirPods or headphones or audio system due to the fact we need to make things less difficult in the first version,” he explained. The display has 26-degree diagonal FOV (discipline of view) for max immersion.
The battery in the beta version is said to work for four hours in everyday use, and may be then prolonged for as much as 7-eight hours of utilization with a charging case. Overall, the product is priced at $699 at the moment, though this will alternate inside the future.
Nimo Qasar Final Version
Finding The Right Audience For Beta Testing
Nimo is targeting firms in India and the US marketplace initially, as numerous of them have long past full remote thanks to the pandemic and can live on the equal course for a while longer. It is likewise directly focussing on personnel for higher productiveness.
The first manufacturing devices can be to be had to customers by using the quit of the year with pre-reserving already open. The timeline for shipping is Q2 or Q3 2021 in the mean time.
“We have a different pipeline for 2022-23 with extra functions, higher show and extra abilties. The core regions that we are more interested in the destiny are health and entertainment. But proper now, the point of interest is absolutely on productiveness,” he introduced.
The enterprise is attractive with a production corporation in Taiwan for the beta and very last manufacturing. However, Nimo is registered in Singapore and India. “All the worldwide operations could be considered from Singapore. Major certifications will be taken care of earlier than the cargo for every united states of america,” he delivered.
At present, the corporation is working on streamlining the OS. It is likewise finalising the economic layout for the tool and the mechanical layout.
Indian Startup Vs Tech Giants
While the idea of clever glasses has been around for half a decade and greater, it’s picked up tempo this 12 months with each main tech business enterprise now said to be running on its version of smart glasses. For example, Apple and Facebook are rumoured to be running on AR glasses. Microsoft already sells an AR headset referred to as HoloLens, however that is restrained to developers. Facebook additionally revealed an early version of its “holographic optics for thin and light-weight digital reality” in a research report.
Google launched Glass in May 2014 and keeps an organisation model of the product. It additionally lately offered North, a Canadian manufacturer of mild, herbal-looking smart glasses that are much like Nimo’s concept. Even Amazon is after the smart glasses marketplace and introduced a couple of Alexa-enabled glasses called Echo Frames.
While the likes of Oculus, Magic Leap, Microsoft HoloLens and other HUDs or head-united states of americapresentations are fully immersive, they need to be connected to PCs or different gadgets. NImo, Google Glass and Apple’s upcoming wearables are standalone structures that don’t offer such an immersive enjoy and are built for productiveness or notification checking, in place of experiential usage. Nattukallingal claims that such stories need multiple cameras, high processing energy, bigger batteries and this is why they are high priced. Microsoft HoloLens expenses above $2,000. “These glasses have were given too many additives interior and they want top notch excessive computing to try this,” he added.
He claimed that even standalone clever glasses are not on top of things in relation to immersion without the bulky hardware, that is Nimo’s sturdy point. “When you put these glasses on, you spot a quite small display screen and that’s full of information like single text and small snap shots. The Google Glass failed due to that as person enjoy changed into very horrific as wearing those appears like additional robot matters with out fixing any issues just turning in some animations on the small display screen,” he provides.
The differentiating issue for Nimo is that it isn't always focusing on VR-like immersion. “Due to our middle recognition on productiveness, we're optimising the operating device and all our software to match that course, including the layout hardware, and that’s our IP too. And we’re going to innovate increasingly more into that path in coming months,” he delivered.
Against such capital-prepared era giants who have poured in millions of dollars into developing those glasses with the excellent era expertise within the world, Nimo Planet cuts a diminutive figure. It has evolved its proprietary prototype with simply $130K in funding until date.
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“Even at the layout degree, we take into consideration the cost and the way we are able to optimise the complexity of making the hardware. We also hold a test on how we execute without the use of too many components inside the glass and make it easy— that also help to store a number of fees and on the same time, the focal point on the target use case is the focal point,” Nimo Planet founder Nattukallingal.
The company has raised finances from angels like Innov8 founder Dr Ritesh Malik, Ravi Linganuri together with a few US-primarily based angel buyers. The board additionally consists of Advisors along with Aneet Chopra, Stephane Kasriel, Malik and Linganuri. The corporation has also filed a couple of patents— including on the running gadget, design and enter interface. The business enterprise is likewise inside the method of elevating $four Mn as its seed investment round.
Talking approximately the use of this capital wisely, Nattukallingal stated that the organization has built the entirety in-house and the group is taking a totally low salary. He also emphasized that having been within the hardware industry within the beyond, Nimo had the proper contacts for companies and the focal point regions for manufacturing.
“That’s the center thing, you must be superb centered on what you need to build and to whom, then loads of undesirable charges could be reduced. And then you definately want to have the proper connections with the vendors, manufacturing businesses, etc. To make it occur,” he introduced.
