We’re big fans of innovative technology, but even bigger fans of technology that helps detach us from screen-based culture.
Terra is a new handheld product that feels like the antithesis of holding a phone and being tied to the screen.
With haptic feedback, this pocket-sized device can easily be held in the hand, and gives you a unique, hand-drawn arrow interface to guide you in the direction you want to go.
Using AI, it responds to user prompts, allowing for you to wander on foot without getting lost.
A few of the prompts include:
“Two-hour Marais stroll with patisserie visit” and “Kyoto architecture tour, back by 4pm”.
Terra is following the path of screen-less gadgets we’ve seen recently, like the Humane Pin and Brilliant’s AI glasses.
We appreciate the distinctly non-techie appearance, which strives to feel more at home in an outdoorsy aesthetic. Designed by Modem Works and Panter & Tourron, Terra is also open-sourced and the shell 3D printable, giving users control over how to customize the look of the device.
The hieroglyphics-like symbols on the device indicate that a user is on the right path. They change to arrows and haptics when a course correction is needed.
The device’s aesthetic feels vaguely futuristic in its organic form and imperfect graphics, which eschew the rigid perfection of most consumer devices.
-Modem Works co-founder Astin le Clercq.
Utilizing the API of Google Places and the AI capability of ChatGPT, Terra delivers an experience that is high-tech, but in a screen-free, low stress manner.
The open-source manner of the device is fascinating, lowering the barriers of who could build or own one.
Future iterations of the Terra may be available for purchase, but this current version is available by open-source files on Github.
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