All you need to become a time management master is this pair of glasses

Yuyang Jia Haonan sent from Aofei Temple
Quantum Bit Report | Public Account QbitAI

All you need to become a time management master is this pair of high-tech glasses.

Only $249 - 1,702 RMB.

Recently, this pair of smart glasses called Specs appeared on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo and was "sought after" by foreign technology media.

The main function is a bit special: improving productivity and improving procrastination .

How to improve?

These glasses can use the built-in camera and machine learning technology to identify what you are currently viewing.

In addition, it can combine the recognized content with the monitoring of pulse and blood oxygen saturation to accurately judge your attention status throughout the day.

What? Are you going to use glasses as a supervisor? An anti-slacking artifact?

What kind of magical product is this?

Distracted? Glasses will detect

The reason you are not successful is not because you are not good enough, but because there are too many external interferences...

The product was launched by a Canadian startup called Auctify, and its Asian CEO made this clear in the promotional video.

(I love to hear this. It’s not my fault that I haven’t achieved financial freedom!)

What he meant was that the only thing standing between you and becoming a time management master is this pair of glasses.

According to the preliminary information released by Auctify on the crowdfunding website, Specs glasses use built-in machine learning algorithms to determine whether the wearer is currently "fully focused" on the work being done.

Once you look away, the glasses will send you a prompt tone through the built-in bone conduction headphones:

With a long sigh, I could only put down my phone and continue working.

Specs glasses are more advanced than other apps designed to prevent distraction. Instead of simply locking the phone screen, they determine whether you are focused on your current behavior.

In a product testing video, Specs glasses can not only identify whether someone is playing with their phone, but also other distracting activities, such as chatting with others.

It can be clearly seen from the test video that the basis for these glasses to judge attention is whether the line of sight is on the book (or screen) .

When all the books appear inside the camera lens of the glasses, the algorithm determines that the "productivity" at this time is "high";

When only a portion of a book or other detected object appears in the camera, it is "disturbed" and the productivity statistics become gray.

And when you completely look away, the productivity indicator will immediately turn red and the system will remind you immediately.

Any slight movement of the line of sight will directly affect the system's judgment.

But the amazing thing is that even on the statistical graph of "high productivity", there are many ups and downs. Could it be that these glasses can also detect brain waves???

According to the official information and product structure diagram, Specs glasses work mainly based on visual solutions , supplemented by pulse and blood oxygen concentration . There is no brain-computer interaction component.

So whether one's concentration is focused is related to one's pulse and blood oxygen concentration???

The official explanation of the principle has not been given.

Bracelet for face

Moreover, it is questionable to what extent these glasses can improve work efficiency.

The Verge, an American technology media, raised possible problems with Specs.

First, users must set the usage scenario in the associated app so that the glasses know in what scenarios to remind you.

According to Auctify, their model can now classify data into 50 common activities, such as watching TV, eating, reading, etc.

But after setting it up, the question arises: are the judgments of Specs glasses really reliable?

For example, if you need to search for information on Twitter for work, the glasses will not be able to tell whether you are working or just scrolling through Twitter.

Moreover, Specs glasses cannot truly prevent distraction. Staring at the target object or simply closing your eyes and taking a nap can completely fool the algorithm.

When human laziness strikes, even high technology cannot save it.

Judging from the test video, the algorithm currently loaded on Specs glasses may only be a simple target recognition , that is, it can only know that the book appears in your field of vision, but it has no idea whether you are reading a professional book or "The Strongest Son-in-law".

This can be said to have greatly reduced its practicality.

After all, staring at the computer and daydreaming about what to eat for lunch is a traditional skill of senior office workers.

However, not being able to effectively improve work efficiency does not hinder people from selling goods.

Specs glasses cannot integrate brain-computer interaction, but they integrate Bluetooth headphones and sports bracelets. Isn't it amazing?

It helps you detect your heart rate, blood oxygen and other data when exercising, and recommends exercise plans for you on the app;

When a call comes, it will be connected for you directly, and you can talk directly through the bone conduction headphones built into the glasses.

Important schedule reminders are even easier to use.

How much power does this pair of glasses consume? Is the battery life good?

The official didn't explain the most direct questions...

However, the set introduction includes a removable charging glasses case and 4 spare batteries .

Except for not answering the fundamental question, the rest of the packaging is quite presentable.

It can be said to be a bracelet worn on the face . The reminder of this bracelet may not be strong enough. It is recommended to use it with the "electric shock bracelet" crowdfunded a few years ago to really help you get rid of procrastination, otherwise it will keep shocking you.

And to be honest, for $249 , you can get glasses + a bracelet + headphones. Isn’t that cost-effective?

Specs glasses have indeed attracted a lot of attention, and raised more than $10,000 on the crowdfunding platform in less than an hour.

If you support the project now, you can also get the official sports expansion pack when it is officially released in December this year. How about it? Would you like to consider it? (Manual dog head)

Looking at the market, there is no one who can compete

Although the description is fantastic, this is just a crowdfunding product after all.

According to a 2015 survey by the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform, about one in ten projects that reached their funding goals on the platform failed to deliver reliable products.

However, similar lightweight smart glasses have appeared on the market, such as Focals , launched by North, a Canadian smart glasses manufacturer that has been acquired by Google , with an official price starting at US$599 (approximately RMB 4,096) .

Focals allows users to see information such as date, time, weather, messages, etc. through the lens. The battery life is 18 hours.

But in fact, this is not very "smart". Its function is realized by a small projector on the temple, which projects the mobile phone screen onto the reflective area on the lens, and then forms a holographic image that can be integrated into reality in front of the user's eyes.

△ The temples are still very thick

In terms of functionality, it is more like an external display screen for a mobile phone than smart glasses.

However, even such a pair of smart glasses without a camera weighs 68.3g - the weight of normal glasses is usually between 10-30g.

Like Specs, Focals also supports customized lenses with prescription. However, to fit such a pair of glasses, consumers need to go to the store in person and undergo 3D scanning and modeling.

After being acquired by Google, North has announced the termination of the Focals project. The Focals 2.0 originally planned to be launched this year has been cancelled, and all related services have been stopped after July 31 this year.

In comparison, judging from the demonstration video released by Auctify, Specs looks much lighter, but the functions it needs to implement are much more complicated than Focals.

As Auctify advertises, there is indeed no lightweight smart glasses in the world that can achieve such "smart" functions as supervised learning and improved productivity.

Given that Focals only last for 18 hours due to their intermittent, short-duration projection, I kind of understand why Specs comes with four backup batteries.

Although Auctify said they have built a fully functional Specs prototype, technology media The Verge still pointed out that the process from prototype to mass-produced consumer electronics is very challenging.

It is even more difficult to cram hardware that can support such rich functions into such a small shell, and to combine machine learning to realize its key functions.

After all, the target detection glasses that can be mass-produced now basically look like this:

△ Microsoft HoloLens

and this:

△ Rokid AR glasses

They are basically aimed at enterprise-level sales and applications...and the price is not cheap as low as a thousand yuan.

Netizen: Black Mirror?

However, Auctify founder EI-Halabi is very confident about the "commercial potential" of such a product.

He said that in their market research, many students with serious procrastination problems were very interested in Specs.

In addition, entrepreneurs have also "shown great interest" because they "attach great importance to productivity."

Some netizens pointed out, is this thing a version of "Black Mirror"?

This is just downright creepy.

Some netizens even directly expressed their rejection.

From a purely technical perspective, as The Verge reporter James Vincent said: When I’m pushing posts, can it really tell whether I’m just selecting topics or slacking off?

In short, since Specs is still in crowdfunding and has not yet been officially mass-produced, it is better to wait and see where the product will go in the end.

However, I would like to remind you that the above introduction does not constitute investment and decision-making advice. Don’t take impulsive risks in pursuit of becoming a time management master...

Of course, if you know of other similar magical products, you are welcome to share them with more people in the comment area.

Reference links:
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/1/21404004/anti-procrastination-smart-glasses-productivity-boosting-auctify-specs-indiegogo
https://cn.engadget.com/cn-2018-10-23-north-focals-smart-glasses-hands-on.html
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-first-productivity-boosting-smart-glasses#/