Last Friday, AI startup OpenAI filed a new application to trademark products associated with its brand — “OpenAI” — with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Normally, this wouldn’t be newsworthy. Companies file for trademarks all the time. But in the application, OpenAI hints at new product lines both nearer-term and of a more speculative nature. For example, the filing lists hardware including headphones, goggles, glasses, remotes, laptop and phone cases, smartwatches, smart jewelry, and virtual and augmented reality headsets “for AI-assisted interaction, simulation, and training.” OpenAI last year confirmed that it was working with former Apple designer Jony Ive on a hardware project, and the startup’s CEO, Sam Altman, on Sunday told Korean outlet The Elec that OpenAI hopes to develop AI-powered consumer hardware “through partnerships with multiple companies.” But in that same interview, Altman cautioned that it’d take “several years” to complete even a prototype AI device. OpenAI’s trademark application also mentions robots — specifically “user-programmable humanoid robots” and “humanoid robots having communication and learning functions for assisting and entertaining people.”

Full report : OpenAI files a trademark application for humanoid robots and other smart devices.