At this year’s Design Intelligence Award (DIA) ceremony in China, a representative from Lingban Technology was particularly busy. Not only was he a participant, but he also served as a forum guest. “I had to prepare two presentations over the course of two days, using these glasses to help me with cues; otherwise, I really wouldn’t have had the time,” he admitted. The glasses that helped him efficiently complete his tasks are the core product of his team, which won the gold award in the industrial category at the 10th Design Intelligence Award Outstanding Works Defence and Evaluation— the Rokid Glasses. Weighing just 49 grams, this ultra-light design integrates AR display, high-definition imaging, immersive acoustics, and AI assistance, allowing for comfortable all-day wear as intelligent AR glasses. It has evolved from a cutting-edge technological concept into a smart companion deeply embedded in various livelihood scenarios.
When Designers Take Off Their Glasses: The “First-Person Perspective” on Insights and Needs
The Lingban Technology team positions itself as “translators of user needs.” Their core logic is not to create demand but to deeply engage with the real lives and work scenarios of various groups, transforming unmet pain points into practical solutions through design. Their design perspective spans a wide social spectrum, from professional media personnel to ordinary white-collar workers, and from dialect speakers to visually impaired communities.
Between “Baihua” and “Cantonese”: Listening to Voices from All Quarters
The evolution of a product is hidden in every conversation with users. The team notes that the “friends” providing suggestions are true representations of high-frequency users in various contexts.
Jiajia, a host from Zhejiang Voice, represents a professional group with extreme demands for the teleprompter function. She needs the device to scroll intelligently, fully freeing her hands. This voice from the front line directly drives the precise optimisation of the product’s teleprompter feature.
“Chaping Jun,” a content creator from a leading MCN agency, depicts the fast-paced daily life of contemporary white-collar workers: constant meetings and frequent recording needs. The core pain point lies in “how to efficiently convert recordings into meeting minutes.” This widespread efficiency issue becomes a key motivator for upgrading the product’s voice processing capabilities.
The “Cantonese wake-up” request casually mentioned by a Guangdong user, “Shengli Wenzhouwu,” reflects the shared expectations of approximately 100 million Cantonese speakers. This seemingly niche demand was keenly captured and quickly realised by the Lingban Technology team, allowing the product to gain widespread recognition in Cantonese-speaking regions like Hong Kong and Macau.
The Art of Balance: Making Choices Between Portability and Battery Life, Landscape and Portrait Modes
Transforming a massive, scattered set of demands into a simple, user-friendly hardware product is one of the most challenging aspects of the design process. The team faces multiple balancing dilemmas of “having to have both.”
In the core imaging system, they made an unconventional decision: to place the CMOS sensor vertically. Traditional imaging devices orient the CMOS horizontally to accommodate landscape shooting. However, the team realised that the core scenario for AI glasses involves hands-free first-person perspective recording, where vertical composition aligns better with social sharing habits and more completely captures hand movements during close-ups. This hardware reconfiguration based on genuine usage patterns is a typical manifestation of design thinking.
The eternal contradiction between battery life and lightweight design is cleverly resolved through an innovative “charging capsule.” Instead of simply increasing the battery size, the team designed a detachable portable charging accessory. This ensures the glasses remain extremely lightweight while allowing users to eliminate battery anxiety when on the go.
From the Studio to the Streets: When Technology Becomes a Reliable Partner and Gentle Eyes
The value of design is ultimately defined by the users. Feedback from early users includes both rational data validation and emotional stories filled with warmth.
For professional user Jiajia, the product’s value lies in its “reliability.” The optimised smart teleprompter function allows her to be more composed and confident in front of the camera, focusing all her attention on the expression itself.
The product’s caring aspect extends to a broader audience. For instance, the team continuously pays attention to the needs of visually impaired users, striving to make the product “a pair of gentle eyes” in their lives. Through image analysis and voice reporting, the product can alert users to obstacles ahead and describe environmental details, just as the designers state: “We hope to enable visually impaired individuals to independently identify objects,” helping them perceive the world more richly.
Design with Warmth: When Technology Illuminates Neglected Corners
The design of the Rokid Glasses showcases a sustainable vision that transcends commercial profit. Its social value is first reflected in the implementation of the “inclusive design” philosophy. By developing exclusive features like “Huiyan,” the product incorporates visually impaired individuals into the regular user experience optimisation process. This approach not only addresses the challenges faced by a specific group but also demonstrates how technology companies can use their innovations to eliminate barriers and promote social equity.
Secondly, the product’s response to dialect needs embodies a sense of “cultural sustainability.” Supporting Cantonese wake-up functionality is not just a feature toggle; it is a respect for regional culture and usage habits, allowing technology products to integrate seamlessly into local daily life.
Evolution Continues: Making the Imagination of “Smart Companions” a Reality
Looking to the future, the Lingban Technology team’s attitude is clear and resolute: to keep technology closely aligned with the authenticity of daily life. This means that iteration will not cease, and the two-way engagement with users will continue.
In terms of technological iteration, the deep integration of scenarios is a core direction. As users envision experiences like “navigating while taking photos” or “listening to music while navigating,” this multitasking capability places higher demands on the underlying systems. The team will continue to leverage its self-research capabilities to break down functionality barriers, allowing AI glasses to truly become intelligent companions for all-day, all-scenario use.
More importantly, the team will continue to expand the boundaries of “livelihood design.” In the future, there may be more specialised features developed for the elderly, hearing-impaired individuals, or other needy groups, ensuring that the brand’s commitment to “design with warmth” reaches every corner of society.
From satisfying a host’s teleprompter needs to illuminating the life of a visually impaired person, the wisdom and warmth of design reside in these seemingly small yet crucial changes.
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