ACCESS The future of AI might be on your finger
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Apr 2, 2026 Mina Fahmi, CEO and co-founder of Sandbar and former neural interface researcher, builds Stream, a smart ring that acts as a personal conversational AI. They explore multi-year prototyping, conversation-first design, memory and voice recall, agent-triggered actions, and the challenges of making a wearable feel like an extension of you.
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Conversation Over Voice Unlocks Thinking Partner
- Sandbar's core value is conversation not mere voice capture; the ring remembers and speaks back in your voice to act as a thinking partner.
- They layered memory, latency tuning, personality control, and tool routing so LLMs can both respond and take actions from the ring.
Use A North Star To Guide Design Tradeoffs
- Lean on a clear North Star to make product decisions: Mina prioritized self-extension and control which guided haptics and voice choices.
- That flag made tradeoffs easier, like investing in haptics and a personal-voice default for intimacy.
Haptics And Voice Make AI Feel Like You
- Self-extension implies multi-sensory feedback and autonomy: Sandbar added haptics and a default inner voice but lets users change settings.
- Haptics confirm hearing and prompt clarification; voice default builds intimacy but remains optional.