Tag Archives: Station

Rokid debuts its first handheld controller + console that’s specifically designed to work with its AR Glasses

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It alternates between being a gaming controller and a remote, thanks to its unique orientation-agnostic design.

Designed to be perhaps the first-ever controller targeted specifically at augmented reality, the Rokid Station fulfills multiple roles, working with multimedia, gaming, as well as productivity tools. The controller plugs right into the Rokid Air AR glasses, offering a tactile way to navigate the virtual interface, while also being a computing device in its own right, with its own AR app store, support for streaming, browsing, and productivity tools, as well as built-in storage for your own data.

Designer: Rokid

The Station works when tethered to the Rokid Air glasses, which aren’t standalone AR goggles like the Hololens or Magic Leap. The slim, lightweight glasses function as the display unit, while the Station is your own handheld computer and controller too. It houses its own 5,000 mAh battery which Rokid says lasts enough to watch 3 full movies (or work/play for 6 hours), and even comes with in-built 32Gb of storage that can be used for movies, files, apps, etc.

The Rokid Station’s design feels a little confusing at first glance because your mind can’t seem to grasp the ‘right way’ to hold the device. The trick, however, is that the controller doesn’t come with any right way of holding it. It can be used in portrait or even landscape mode, and by left and right-handed people alike. In portrait mode, the Station serves as a remote control, while in handheld mode, it transforms into a gaming-style controller that can be gripped and operated with two hands.

The handheld device is quite intuitive to use, with simple controls that mimic the format of a gaming controller combined with a smart-TV remote. The Rokid Station needs to perpetually be plugged into the glasses, which feels like a bit of a hindrance, but its compact form factor definitely makes it more convenient than having to tether a laptop or desktop to your AR glasses.

The jogdial and action buttons help you navigate apps, browse/play/pause movies, and even play games.

Rokid announced the Station this year with built-in Alibaba Cloud’s cloud computing service and support for other 3D office applications as well. The device works both online and offline, letting you stream movies in your personal AR-style IMAX theater as well as access local files and videos. Users can even play games like Genshin Impact or browse social media on the device too. The Rokid Station is currently priced at ¥799 RMB ($114 USD), although you have to buy the Rokid Air AR glasses separately.

The post Rokid debuts its first handheld controller + console that’s specifically designed to work with its AR Glasses first appeared on Yanko Design.

Kensington’s iPad dock turns your tablet into an iMac (and wirelessly charges your iPhone too!)

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The iPad was practically designed to be the spiritual successor to the computer and Kensington’s StudioDock, unveiled at the virtual CES 2021, fulfills that prophecy.

Designed to easily snap your iPad Pro onto it (thanks to the magnets built into the tablet), the StudioDock gives you a miniature desktop experience, complete with a whole variety of ports as well as charging stations for your iPhone and AirPods. The slick-looking StudioDock comes with a machined aluminum body, allowing your tablet to righteously look like an iMac. Aside from the StudioDock’s USB-C power input, extra ports on the back let you connect an ethernet cable, accessories like mice and keyboards, as well as an external monitor to your iPad, while a neat 3.5mm port on the side lets you hook up headphones (that’s unless you choose to use AirPods), and an SD Card Reader to pull photo and video dumps from your DSLR or drone. In addition to rapid charging your iPad (USB-C at 37.5W – that’s 108% faster than Apple’s own charger), the StudioDock even sports Qi wireless charging surfaces on its base for your iPhone and AirPods and a dedicated dock on the side for your Apple Watch. It also keeps the iPad’s upper edge exposed, so you can snap your Pencil on too.

The StudioDock is designed to let you independently use your iPad as a desktop, or even as a secondary monitor for your current desktop. The even dock comes with a swiveling base so you can shift your iPad from landscape to portrait whenever you like, something Apple’s own levitating stand cannot do. Moreover, it really gives you the freedom to use your iPad however you see fit – as a monitor, a charging station, a makeshift desktop with ports, or even as a tablet PC that you can use independently. The dock is compatible with all iPad Pro models and even the 2020 iPad Air and comes with a 3-year warranty.

Designer: Kensington

Two Las Vegas casinos want to join the Boring Company’s tube system

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The Las Vegas Convention Center’s underground loop transit system is slated for completion in January 2021, and two resorts want to get in on the new Boring Company transit system. Wynn Las Vegas and the under-construction Resorts World Las Vegas are...

The Yandex Smart Speaker feels friendly and human-like, because it sort of looks like one

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There’s a slight sense of dissonance when you’re talking to a cylinder with LEDs around it, and it talks back. The Echo, the Nest Home, the Apple Homepod, all have a slightly homogenous shape that looks like a gadget, but behaves like a human. The Yandex Station hopes to make a slight alteration to that dissonance. Shaped to look like a Matryoshka doll (you know those Russian nesting dolls), the Yandex Station looks like a speaker, but bridges the gap by anthropomorphized it and ‘feeling’ almost like a human.

Designed by Belarus-based Kiryl Miahkou, the smart speaker for Yandex has an instantly friendly demeanor to it, with not so much as a sharp edge to be seen anywhere. The rounded forms, almost human proportions, and the presence of a touchscreen interface exactly where you’d expect the face to be, everything contributes to the Yandex Station’s ability to appear affable. The speaker comes with a wraparound fabric clad, like most speakers, sporting classic decor-friendly hues, while a touchscreen interface on the top lets you navigate through the speaker’s features… or you could just talk to Yandex’s voice AI, knowing that you ARE speaking to an artificial human, but at least the speaker’s design is trying to bridge that gap and humanize the speaker instead of blindly opting for a sleek tech-y exterior.

Designer: Kiryl Miahkou

Penske debuts fast charging stations for electric delivery trucks

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Today, Penske Truck Leasing opened 14 DC fast charging stations at four facilities in Southern California. According to the company, they're the first high-speed charging stations specifically designed for heavy duty, commercial electric vehicles in...