AI might well be invading every aspect of our lives in ways that many of us are not keen on, but despite initial appearances, Razer’s new AI gaming headset actually seems like one of the more sensible AI hardware solutions we’ve seen in a while. Currently just a prototype called Razer Project Motoko, this “AI-native wireless headset concept” adds cameras and internal processing to a gaming headset, to bring world-interpeting Ai assistance without the awkwardness of badly-fitting glasses like Meta AI Glasses.
While it probably won’t be finding its way onto our best gaming headset guide any time soon, Razer might well be on to something, based on what we’ve seen so far.
Project Motoko takes what appears to be a standard Razer Barracuda gaming headset and adds two front-facing cameras to allow its AI brain to see what you’re seeing. Along with a host of microphones, it then uses a Snapdragon processor to power your typical AI assistant interactions, letting you ask for a synposis of the page of text you’re looking at, for help defeating the boss in the game currently viewing on your gaming monitor, or help in putting together a recipe.
Some of the suggested uses, such as telling you what tools to use to fix a leaky pipe or critiquing your weight-lifting technique, seem less sensible, but the basic idea of a Meta AI Glasses-like experience from a device that many of us already where while out and about is an interesting one. You can see Razer’s vision for the headset in the video below.
Project Motoko joins a host of other Razer AI ‘innovations’ such as its Project AVA desktop assistant – think Alexa speaker but with more RGB and a 5.5-inch screen (see below) – and its new Razer AI Developer Ecosystem. These are all prototypes or early-stage ideas for the time being, but could arrive as fully fledged products in the near future.