Swarovski Optik is not the type of company one would expect to see at the Consumer Electronics Show, and yet this year they introduced one of the event’s most peculiar gadgets. The 75-year-old Austrian launched the Ax Visio, a new pair of birdwatching 10x32 binoculars with a twist: thanks to a built-in artificial intelligence model, the device can identify about 9000 species of birds and other animals at the touch of a button.

Users can point the binoculars and locate a bird or another creature, then push the AI function button to start the identification process, which takes about five seconds. There’s no need to connect the binoculars to the internet, as the AI magic happens entirely on-device thanks to an integrated Neural Processing Unit (Npl). Nonetheless, the AX Visio can connect to the user’s smartphone and automatically download photos and videos with the embedded 13MP camera. All the smart and multimedia features command a steep premium on the average cost of binoculars – the Ax Visio will retail for about 4600 Euros.

“In the seven decades of our existence, we have developed a deep understanding of our consumers’ requirements in the hunting, birdwatching, and outdoor target groups,” explained Stefan Schwarz, Ceo of Swarovski Optik, at the product presentation in Las Vegas. “Integrating digital components and functions in our products brings significant added value.”

Swarkovski enrolled start designer Mark Newson to design the binoculars. According to the company, the goals was to ensure a modern appearance and pair it with intuitive handling and an ergonomic design. The Ax Visio are the second product designed by Australian-born Newson for the Austrian company after the CL Curio binoculars in 2021.