Import substitution Russian style by 146%. AR glasses
My name is Ilya Zelensky. Remember Krylov's fable “the monkey and the glasses”? The meaning of the fable was how important it is to have knowledge and apply it correctly. So I want to share my experience of launching a really complex product.
Today I want to use my own example to show the stages of production of a constructor for school augmented reality glasses in Russia.
Why did I even take on this project? For two reasons:
Schools and universities need an inexpensive tool for teaching augmented reality programming and neural networks.
When you see the result clearly, it inspires you. It doesn't matter if it's your first app for the deaf or a translator on ChatGPT.
I wanted to give others the opportunity to bring their ideas to life.
The constructor is an opportunity to quickly assemble your MVP project and test the idea.
November 2022
Purchasing and production
We received a grant of 1 million rubles from the Moscow cluster for a pilot of a school AR glasses designer at the Moscow State Pedagogical University. At that time, I had assembled a rough version of the optics and used old prototypes as a basis.
Students had to learn AR programming and master engineering programs (to modify the body of the glasses).
The grant money ran out after just 2 weeks. It was spent on making molds for casting optics and purchasing several displays.
December – January 2022/2023
Chinese
January-February 2023
Optical module
It took another 2 months to design the optics module. Since it was necessary to come up with a mechanism for adjusting for different vision, calibrating the optics, etc.
March. Design of the hull.
December-September. 2022/2023.
Electronics.
We started making electronics in December 2022. We had to redo it several times before the board could be mass-produced. The first time, the mistake was on our part, the second time, on the Chinese (they flipped the chip). The fully working version was in September 2023.
But there were pauses between stages because of my finances. I could allocate 100-200 thousand rubles per month from my pocket for the project, sometimes 300 (the grant ended in 2 weeks). So in reality, it took 3-4 months to get the electronics: from the idea to receiving the industrial board.
April-July 2023
Manufacturing of cases
It's time to make the housings. The production of a mold for casting from aluminum costs about $5-10 thousand. At the beginning of the project, you will often change the shape of the housing, so making an industrial mold for casting is 100% a waste of money
Since I was counting every penny, I decided to cast the body myself.
Several months of experiments were spent. Casting is not a problem, but the parts have defects (the chamber and pressure do not always save from air bubbles in small complex parts) or slag (excess plastic at the joints of two forms, which must be removed manually). As a result, it was possible to work out the casting method. The body material cost 200 rubles. But the salary of the hired worker who will cast the body increases the price of one set of the body to 1.8-2 thousand rubles.
Outsourcing of silicone casting for one set of the case: China 8-9 thousand rubles, Russia 14-24 thousand rubles. Therefore, the option of self-production remained. Otherwise, the price for glasses flew into space.
As a result, I decided to print the first cases on a photopolymer printer. I will say right away that this is suitable for beautiful photos, but not for a real product. The resin is too fragile, flexible and heavier than plastic. The glasses break easily and weigh more.
July-August 2023
Cables
We did not use cables so that students could change the arrangement of modules to suit their glasses. This will not work with cables. A student or schoolchild will not be able to solder or make their own cable.
The Chinese did not want to make cables because of their small quantity. I sat down to make cables myself. I had to see all the problems. Calculate the time of making each cable.
Not every wire fit, and it had to be done compactly. As a result, the cables had to be crimped manually (even special tools were of little help). This led to a lot of defective products. Now I have found the Chinese who made cables of the required length, but it took half a year.
August 2023
Package
Do you think that's all? No, packaging is also a big headache. You need your own for glasses, and its production is expensive. Cutting foam rubber, gluing, boxes, small stuff. Outsourcing their production would greatly increase the final cost. Therefore, we had to produce it ourselves. Laser cutting, special gluing, etc.
I also made a logo cliche for hot stamping. Unfortunately, I couldn't put it on the boxes. I tried temperatures from 80 to 250 degrees and different hot stamping foils. It sticks to paper, but not to cardboard boxes.
In reality, there were more tasks. For example, an adjustment wheel for different vision. I tried many materials. In the end, the best solution was cutting ABS plates. Custom manufacturing increased the cost of the product.
First sales
In August, we made the first 5 sets. We gave one as part of the pilot, one to the developers, one to the methodologist, and sold 2 at a price of 40 thousand per set. The goal was to get feedback.
Software
First reviews
Communication with the first users allowed us to improve the glasses. The changes concerned the frame. The resin could not withstand and the glasses quickly fell apart. They also asked to change the nosepiece and improve the appearance.
Improvements
So I sat down again to work on improvements. First, we improved the case. We made a movable camera to track hands or objects in front. We improved the ergonomics of the glasses. We returned to plastic casting.
September-November 2023
New optics
In September, I sat down at the new optics module, which increased the viewing angle. As a result, we made 3 improved optics models for different displays. We replaced the adjustment for vision with a wheel with electronics via buttons.
The technique of independent casting of the necessary optics was fully developed. This allowed to reduce the initial costs by 1.5-2 million rubles. (Manufacturing of molds for casting aspherical lenses in China)
Now I am preparing an assembly of 3 variants of the glasses constructor. With different optical modules.
Based on the work done, I came to the conclusion that the cases should be cast in press molds under pressure in an industrial way. And this is another 500-800 thousand rubles. Since hand casting is too expensive (many small parts and the walls in different places have a thickness of 0.5 mm to reduce weight and compactness). Therefore, I will give this part to industrial production. All for the sake of reducing the cost price, and therefore the final price. After all, we need to compete with China. And I do not want to overprice for crap. The goal is an affordable construction set for education.
Also, we still have to pay for certification so that the product can be officially purchased by universities and schools.
2024 year
Our days
We have developed a housing for new optics
We are working on new electronics for eye and spatial position tracking
we make a version of glasses for two eyes
What is this constructor for?
First of all, it is training. For those who want to learn programming (especially neural networks) and design. Where you can see the results of your training live
This is a quick start to immersion in the topic of augmented reality. Today, Apple, Google and other giants make their AR glasses. Therefore, this development experience will be in demand. And the low cost of the kit for 40 thousand rubles makes it easier to enter this area.
this is use in your projects. Someone dreamed of making their AR glasses for doctors, someone for industry, someone for a smart home. This designer is an opportunity to quickly develop and try your prototype. Without spending years and a lot of money on development.
What are the characteristics?
resolution 800×600, OLED (up to 1920×1200)
viewing angle 30 degrees (up to 52 degrees)
connection to a computer, laptop, Rassbery pi and other single-board computers. Can be connected to a phone via a type-c adapter.
microphone
audio through headphones
High-quality camera with high resolution and 72-degree viewing angle
modularity. You can connect another camera, replace the microphone or audio
800mAh battery. Although some prefer to remove it and power the board via USB.
weight 80 grams
case sources
Python examples
P.S
These are far from all the problems I encountered during production. If anyone is interested in seeing the entire progress of the work, you can go to Telegram and rewind the story to November 2022 (or even earlier) to the present day. There I posted every step of this work.
Hidden text
https://t.me/greenruff?ref=habr.com
Now I am preparing an assembly of several glasses. In order to:
create marketing materials and launch pre-sales (with a 3-month wait for the product, which is how long it takes to produce the molds for casting and cast the housings).
replace the first models of the glasses designer with those who bought the first sets and thus supported their development.
introduce them to the Chinese market, as the Chinese are interested in manufacturing in China for their schools and universities.
transfer them from Sony displays to BOE displays. Since the latter were also interested in the product and offered good prices for a batch of 1000 units. BOE is a Chinese manufacturer, so it will be easier to work with them if Sony cuts off supplies.
