The fashion world has never been shy about incorporating technology on the runway, from Google Glass at Diane von Furstenberg and drones at Fendi to Gucci in the metaverse. In 2023, all eyes are on AI, and Coperni is experimenting with it courtesy of a screenless projector built into a pin.
The Ai Pin is from Humane, a startup founded by a former Apple designer and software engineer. It first appeared during a TED Talk in May, and it made its way to Paris this week for Coperni's 2024 Spring Summer show, where it was spotted on models' lapels.
(Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)The pin "uses a range of sensors that enable natural and intuitive compute interactions and is designed to weave seamlessly into users’ day-to-day lives," Humane says. As you can see in the video below, the device projects onto surfaces in front of you; get a call notification on the palm of your hand, for example. Or press to ask questions as you would with Alexa or Siri.
It's powered by an "advanced Snapdragon platform" and, interestingly, it doesn't need to be paired with a smartphone in order to function. Humane's founders, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, call the technology "ambient, AI-driven computing." Details about specs are otherwise thin; the company plans to unveil the Ai Pin "in full" on Nov. 9.
Unlike the upcoming Apple Vision Pro, Humane's Ai Pin is designed to blend into your attire like any other accessory. Coperni's Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant called it "a beacon of the future, aligning with our vision of forward-thinking fashion."
