IRIS 01 / DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 001
A CAMERA BUILT TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN CONCEPT AND REALITY.
IRIS 01
AI-ASSISTED IMAGING SYSTEM
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 001
IRIS 01
IN DEVELOPMENT
IRIS 01 explores the concept of a new way of interacting with the camera. If a photographer or artist were to communicate creative intent, the device would translate that intent into photographic behavior and settings.
Conventional cameras typically ask a photographer to convert their concepts into menus and manual settings. This program is currently investigating what follows the manual, menu-driven camera: a tool that can interpret direction without taking the authority away from the person holding it.
- ALOOP LIGHTArchitectural ring around the lens
- BEDGE LIGHTVertical RGBW bar
- CCONTROL FIELDDial, button, and voice mic
Key Characteristics
- Architectural loop light around lens.
- Vertical RGBW edge light bar.
- Texture grip for secure hold.
- Minimal, clean lines and refined surfaces.
- Dial and button for quick creative control.
- Built-in mic for voice prompts.
- Monolithic premium appearance.
Interface Highlights
- Built-in mic (voice input)
- Control dial (refine / adjust)
- Touchscreen UI
- Wi-Fi / BLE connectivity
- USB-C charging / data
Preliminary Component Packaging
- Camera module + lens
- RGBW flash / light system (loop + edge)
- Main PCB (MCU, Wi-Fi, drivers)
- Display module (3" – 3.5")
- Battery (LiPo 7.4V / 1200–1500mAh)
- USB-C port board
- Haptic motor
- Mic (top)
- Controls / dial assembly
- Antenna area (Wi-Fi / BLE)
Preliminary Inclusions
- Sufficient depth for lens and AF travel.
- Front loop light optics path.
- Top mic and dial clearance.
- Antenna + RF keep-out zone.
- Airflow / thermal path.
- Battery center for balance.
- Room for future component changes.
Available Light Modes
WHITE / DIRECT / FILL
Features
- AI-Assisted Creative Direction
- Natural Language Prompting
- Voice + Text Input
- AI Camera Setting Translation
- Intelligent Exposure Control
- AI Shooting Guidance
- Programmable Flash Control
- Computational Image Processing
- Saved Creative Looks
- Reference Image Direction
- On-Camera Display + UI
- Tactile Physical Controls
- Companion App Integration
- NVIDIA-Based AI Processing
- Cloud + On-Device AI Architecture
- Custom Creative Profiles
- Image Transfer + Look Management
- Human-Led, AI-Assisted Photography
Dimension Range (Target)
Parameter / Target Range
| Width | 105 – 115 mm |
|---|---|
| Height | 60 – 70 mm |
| Depth (excl. lens) | 25 – 35 mm |
| Weight | 250 – 350 g |
MILESTONE 1
CONCEPTUAL / IN DEVELOPMENT
ELECTRONICS
ARCHITECTURE.
HALO / IRIS 01 — Milestone 1 is an electronics architecture report. It describes how the instrument could think, see, light, charge, and stay cool enough to hold. The parts named here are candidates, not a frozen production list.
01
The flow
This is still a conceptual map, not a locked schematic. The imaging path under study moves from a Sony IMX-series sensor over MIPI CSI-2 (4-lane) into the SoC’s image signal processor.
The processing core being evaluated is a Rockchip RV1126 — a quad-core AI-SoC with a 2.0 TOPS NPU for on-device creative interpretation. Memory candidates are 2GB LPDDR4x, 16GB eMMC for the operating system and buffer, and a microSD slot for storage.
A 3.5" LCD or OLED would sit on MIPI DSI, with the touch layer on I2C. The rotary dial and buttons come in through GPIO and ADC. Haptics would run through an ERM/LRA driver on PWM. Connectivity is Wi-Fi 5/6 and BLE 5.0 over SDIO or UART. Power enters over USB-C, through a USB-PD controller, into a PMIC, then into the battery management system.
02
Candidate parts
The preliminary bill of materials is aimed at high performance with a low thermal footprint. These are recommended or similar parts, not a frozen production BOM.
Component Recommended part Why Main SoC Rockchip RV1126 Built-in NPU for on-device AI, low power, and a camera-oriented architecture. Image sensor Sony IMX415 (4K) Strong low-light performance (Starvis) in a compact package. PMIC Rockchip RK809 Highly integrated and designed to sit next to the SoC. Wi-Fi / BT Ampak AP6255 Reliable, ultra-small form factor, dual-band. LED driver AW9523B 16-channel I2C control for smooth RGBW lighting. USB-C controller FUSB302 Power Delivery support for faster charging. 03
Mechanical and PCB strategy
To hold a roughly 114 × 64 mm footprint, the current recommendation is a stacked-C layout: a main board for the SoC and memory, and a secondary ring board for the lens LEDs. That lets the lens assembly pass through the center without adding thickness.
The SoC should sit on the rear of the PCB, with a thermal gap pad dumping heat into the rear casing or internal frame. The antenna keep-out — position 10 in the industrial design — needs to be plastic or glass-filled polycarbonate. If the frame is metal, a small plastic window will be required for RF.
At about 32 mm total depth, there is roughly 5 to 8 mm for the PCB stack-up, including components. That is tight, but feasible with 0.4 mm pitch parts.
04
Power and battery
A 1500 mAh pack at 3.7V is about 5.5 Wh. Idle and UI draw is estimated around 0.8 W. 4K recording with AI filters is estimated around 2.5 to 3.2 W. That suggests about 1.5 to 2 hours of active creative use.
USB-C Power Delivery is intended to take the pack from empty to 80% in about 45 minutes.
THE INTERACTION
DIRECTION AS CONTROL SURFACE
“ARTICULATE THE DIRECTION,
LET THE SYSTEM TRANSLATE IT.”
POTENTIAL INPUTS
- VOICE
- TEXT
- PHYSICAL CONTROL
- REFERENCE IMAGE
POTENTIAL OUTPUTS
- CAMERA PARAMETERS
- EXPOSURE BEHAVIOR
- FLASH / LIGHTING BEHAVIOR
- IMAGE PROCESSING
- SHOOTING GUIDANCE
IMAGINE SAYING:
CREATIVE INTENT → CAMERA BEHAVIOR
“Late-night downtown editorial. Warm streetlight, deep shadows, soft motion blur, glossy skin, muted reds, cinematic contrast, slightly imperfect focus.”
AND THE IRIS 01 TRANSLATES IT TO:
- Slower shutter speed
- Warmer white balance
- Lower ambient exposure
- Controlled motion blur
- Softer focus behavior
- Rich shadow contrast
- Muted, warm color processing
THE OUTPUT IN TURN BEING:
A cinematic night image with glowing streetlight, soft movement, deep contrast, and an intimate fashion-editorial feel.
CLOSING THE EXPRESSION GAP
WHAT IS THE EXPRESSION GAP?
The expression gap is the difference between what a photographer or creative person conceptualizes and the result that they produce.
While traditional cameras give you technical, manual controls, IRIS 01 is designed to understand creative intent. The camera would then translate that into settings, lighting, processing, and photographic guidance.
Why should creativity be limited by what you haven’t learned yet?
SYSTEM
RESEARCH ARCHITECTURE
INTENT BECOMES
TECHNICAL REALITY.
The architecture that is currently being researched operates on a closed loop: a person directs, HALO translates, the camera executes, and an output image is returned. None of this is intended to replace the photographer or take the skill away from photography.
- 01HUMAN INTENT
- 02HALO INTERPRETATION LAYER
- 03CAMERA SYSTEM
- 04OPTICAL / LIGHT / PROCESSING RESPONSE
- 05IMAGE
DEVELOPMENT MODEL
DESIGN-LED HARDWARE
HALO begins with action and creative intent, then it works backward toward the hardware and intelligence needed to support it.
- 01CULTURAL QUESTION
- 02INTERACTION MODEL
- 03INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
- 04HARDWARE
- 05INTELLIGENCE
- 06PROTOTYPE
- 07REAL-WORLD USE
- 08PRODUCT
COMPANION SYSTEM
IN DEVELOPMENT / PARALLEL TRACK
AN APP BUILT FOR
SEAMLESS COMPATIBILITY.
IRIS 01 and HALO don’t want to stop at the technical hardware. Our intent is to simultaneously build an integrated app that allows for the seamless transfer of photographs.
The HALO app is the creative control center for the IRIS 01 and other devices to come. Transfer looks, upload reference images, write longer creative directions, sync those directions to the camera, review the photos, manage shoots, and control deeper camera settings. The app develops the visual idea while the hardware executes it in-camera.
APP SURFACE
- Transfer looks
- Upload reference images
- Write longer creative directions
- Sync directions to the camera
- Review photographs
- Manage shoots
- Control deeper camera settings