A startup called Brilliant Labs has unveiled an intriguing new pair of smart glasses that aim to give users “AI superpowers” right before their eyes. The glasses, called Frame, utilize voice commands and augmented reality to display contextual information onto the lens as you go about your day.

Priced at $349, Frame comes in three colors — black, gray, and clear — with prescription lenses available for an extra $100. Pre-orders opened this week, with shipping expected by mid-April.

So what exactly can these glasses do? Using Brilliant Labs’ Noa assistant app, Frame promises real-time identifications, translations, web searches, and visual analyses. Simply look at a landmark, food item, or product, and verbally ask Frame for more details. The response appears directly overlayed onto the lens for a true heads-up experience.

Noa’s AI capabilities are powered by leading services like OpenAI, Whisper, and Perplexity to enable robust on-device processing. And unlike some smart glasses, Frame’s hardware and software are completely open source.

With a 640×400 pixel OLED display, 1280×720 camera, and 222mAh battery, Frame packs some decent specs under a 40-gram frame. The glasses can be charged via a silly-looking but playful “Mister Power” charger that gives them a comical nose. Brilliant Labs boasts all-day battery life.

Of course, the biggest question is whether Frame can succeed where devices like Google Glass have failed. With no subscription fees or paywalls, Frame’s affordability and open ecosystem could attract hackers and innovators. However, mainstream consumer adoption remains uncertain.

With translations, identifications, and web search available via voice command, Frame smart glasses aim to succeed where Google Glass failed.

Still, for $349, Frame aims to bring an affordable and intriguing new option to the fledgling smart glasses space. With AI capabilities that continue learning and adapting over time, they could evolve into a handy hands-free assistant or development platform.

Images: Brilliant Labs