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The increase in AI-enabled software and hardware services has seen an exponential increase in the past few years, with multiple brands and manufacturers jumping on the AI action. With that being said, Rabbit Inc, a startup company based in Santa Monica recently launched the r1, a custom-designed AI device. One of the biggest standout features of the device is that it runs on a natural-language operating system, giving users access to a platform that rabbit inc. defines as an “app-free” online experience.
Dubbed “rabbit OS,” the r1’s operating system is built on a large action model (LAM), that’s capable of infering human actions via computer interfaces, learning user intentions and behaviour when using specific apps. The software can then mimic and perform such actions quickly. rabbit Founder and CEO Jesse Lyu comments:
“Today is the beginning of a new era in human-machine interaction… We’ve come to a point where we have hundreds of apps on our smartphones with complicated UX designs that don’t talk to each other. As a result, end users are frustrated with their devices and are often getting lost. rabbit is now building towards an intuitive app-free experience with the power of AI. Large Language Models, like ChatGPT, showed the possibility of understanding natural language with AI; our Large Action Model takes it one step further: it doesn’t just generate text in response to human input – it generates actions on behalf of users to help us get things done.”
As for the r1 device itself, the company describes the hardware as an “intuitive companion device”, developed as a standalone hardware portal that reduces distractions and focuses on getting things done for users in a more efficient manner, in contrast to smartphones which serve as all-in-one entertainment and communication devices.
The r1 was designed with the folks from Teenage Engineering, and incorporates visual elements from recognizable retro gadgets such as the Tamagotchi. It’s portable as well, weighing at only 115 grams. The r1 packs several features including a 2.88 inch touchscreen display, a push-to-talk button, a scroll wheel for navigating through “cards” to interact with different activities assisted by LAM, and “rabbit eye,” an AI enhanced, motorized vision system that also works as a rotating camera.
In terms of software, rabbit OS comes with a software feature referred to as “rabbits”, which are essentially personal AI agents that carry out various tasks. Described as a more capable alternative to existing AI voice assistants, rabbit OS can double-down on actions as needed, such as researching and booking options for upcoming travel, or filling a virtual grocery store cart and completing transactions at check-out.
Users can enable different features and functionalities for their r1 device via on oline hub referred to as the “rabbit hole.” With this, rabbit OS can perform tasks for users with their permission, without preemptively storing sensitive personal info or passwords, for example. Rabbit inc. assures users that the OS does not create any proxy accounts, or require users to purchase additional subscriptions for their existing services.
The device also comes with support for both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity options – beating inside the r1 is a 2.3 GHz MediaTek Helio P35 processor, 4 GB of memory and 128 GB of storage, in addition to a USB-C port and a SIM card slot, with a battery that can last for up to a day’s worth of use.
Pre-sales for r1 start today on rabbit’s official website, and orders for buyers in the USA start shipping in late March. Global orders on the other hand will start shipping later this year.
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