Geely-owned DreamSmart to push mobile payments via AI glasses, eyes overseas expansion
DreamSmart is working with Chinese
fintech giant
Ant Group to allow AI smart glass users to make payments, a feature that will be made available on its StarV Air2 eyewear in the third quarter this year, according to Guo Peng, general manager of the company's XR
(extended reality) business unit. Ant Group is an affiliate of
Alibaba Group Holding , owner of the South China Morning Post.
Payment is an important use case as it is 'closely tied to consumers' daily behaviour and frequently used', Guo said in an interview with the Post on Monday.
'I personally don't believe that a single 'killer app' on AI glasses would make them popular overnight,' Guo said. 'As a long-term goal, they should become a daily wearable device for most people … and have many practical application scenarios.'
The mobile payments functionality reflects how proponents of AI glasses are expanding the use cases to help broaden the adoption of smart eyewear.
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StarV Air2 users will be able to complete a payment by simply tapping a button on one of the temples – the arms connected to the frame of the eyeglasses that extend behind a user's ears – and confirm the transaction via voice command, as shown to the Post by DreamSmart in a product demonstration on Monday.
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