APRIL 25, 2023 - 1966’s Star Trek was groundbreaking in a lot of ways, including introducing communicators, palm-sized devices that activated when flipped open, allowing the characters to talk to each other at a distance. That technology inspired real-world innovation and in 1996 the StarTAC became available, the first phone people could flip open.

When Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered in 1987, the communicators had evolved. The technology had shrunk into wearable pins that activated with a simple finger tap. It may have taken a century for communicator technology to go from handheld to wearable, but in real life, it’s taken less than 30 years.

Meet the Humane, a technology developed by a group of ex-Apple employees. The wearable tech was introduced as part of a TED Talk presented by Humane’s co-founder Imran Chaudhri. The new tech is operated by an AI operating system akin to ChatGPT, but will ultimately be capable of much more.

According to Chaudhri,

It's a new kind of wearable device, that and platform that's built entirely from the ground up for artificial intelligence. And it's completely standalone. You don't need a smartphone or any other device to pair with it. It interacts with the world the way you interact with the world, hearing what you hear, seeing what you see, while being privacy first, and safe, and completely fading into the background of your life.

The technology features a projector systerm which Chaudhri demonstrated, showing how it instantly responded to his raising his hand by projecting an incoming call interface. But the little device, which you would not need to pair with a phone, can do more than just take calls. It includes a Universal Translator, as well, translating the words you speak into another language.

It can also scan food and tell you whether you can or can’t eat it based on your personal preferences and dietary restrictions. In other words, it will help you avoid sugar if you’re diabetic or peanuts if you have an allergy, One imagines that other uses will come to light as time goes on. No word on when you’ll be able to beam one of these incredible devices into your own home, but you can read the full article and see more photos and videos at Inverse.