GO Ultra: AI Voice Assistant

GO Ultra: AI Voice Assistant

Applicable Models: GO Ultra

The new AI Voice Assistant supports Voice Q&A, Face-to-Face Translation, Snap & Ask, and other features, freeing your hands while shooting. It provides an all-in-one solution for travel recording, translation, image recognition, and more. This article describes its features and provides instructions on how to use them.

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Requirements for using the AI Voice Assistant

Please follow the steps below to ensure the AI Voice Assistant works properly and to enjoy a more stable experience.

1. Update camera firmware/app/phone system

Update your camera firmware, Insta360 app, and phone system to the required versions below.

• GO Ultra firmware: v1.8.91 or later.
• Insta360 app: v2.30.0 or later.
• Android versions below 12 and iOS versions below 16 have limited compatibility with the AI Voice Assistant. We recommend updating your phone system for a more complete and fluid voice interaction experience.

2. Complete Bluetooth pairing

Enable Bluetooth on your phone, connect the camera via the Insta360 app, and keep the phone connected to the Internet. We also recommend keeping the distance between the phone and camera within 33ft (10m) to maintain a stable connection.

Please refer to: GO Series: How to Connect Camera to the Insta360 App

3. Enable permissions and accept agreements

In the Insta360 app, enable Notification Access, "Always" Location Access, and other permissions, and accept the related agreements for using the AI Voice Assistant terms to unlock all voice features.

Please note: 

• iOS devices：Please enable the Notifications permission for the Insta360 app and set the Location permission to "Always" to prevent activation failures.
• Android devices: Please set the Location permission to "While Using the App" to balance user experience and privacy. Then go to the "Me" page in Insta360 app > tap "Settings" (Gear icon ⚙) > tap "Allow applications to run in the background" > Complete the "Battery Optimization" and "Allow app to run in the background" authorization to ensure the AI Voice Assistant can be activated normally.

How to enable/disable the AI Voice Assistant on the camera

The AI Voice Assistant is enabled by default. You can swipe down from the top of the camera screen to access the "Shortcut" menu > tap "Settings" (Gear icon ⚙) > "AI Voice Assistant", then turn it off or back on.

How to use the AI Voice Assistant

Hey Kira Voice Assistant

You can wake up the Voice Assistant by saying "Hey Kira" for face-to-face translation and voice Q&A. This feature is ideal for first-person travel shooting, eliminating the need to switch between phone and translation devices.

• Wake up the AI Voice Assistant

Method 1: When using the Standalone Camera, press and hold the Shutter button until the white light turns on, then release the button. When you hear a prompt sound, the AI Voice Assistant is successfully woken up.

Method 2: When the Standalone Camera is placed in the Action Pod, press and hold the Q Button on the side of the Action Pod until the white light turns on, then release the button to quickly wake up the AI Voice Assistant.

Method 3: Wake up the AI Voice Assistant by voice. With the camera powered on, simply say "Hey Kira" to wake up the Assistant.

• Enable Voiceprint Recognition

If you are concerned about accidental activation by surrounding voices, we recommend recording your personal voiceprint in the camera. Swipe down from the top of the camera screen to access the "Shortcut" menu > tap "Settings" (Gear icon ⚙) > "AI Voice Assistant" > "Voiceprint Recognition", then follow the on-screen instructions to record your voiceprint. Once Voiceprint Recognition is enabled, only your voice can use the AI Voice Q&A, Face-to-Face Translation, and other features; the AI Voice Assistant will effectively distinguish environmental noise and other people's voices based on the recorded voiceprint.

• Exit the AI Voice Assistant

Method 1: The AI Voice Assistant automatically exits after 30 seconds of no voice input.

Method 2: When using the Standalone Camera, press the Shutter button once to exit.

Method 3: When the Standalone Camera is in the Action Pod, tap the Action Pod screen to exit quickly.

Method 4: Say the voice command "Exit voice assistant" directly to the camera to exit.

Face-to-Face Translation

When traveling and communicating with foreign friends in real time, you can use the Face-to-Face Translation feature without carrying extra translation devices. Powered by a large AI model, it enables real-time bilingual conversations for more efficient communication.

• Enter the Face-to-Face Translation feature

  a. In the AI Voice Assistant mode, say the voice command "Enter translation mode".In the AI Voice Assistant mode, say the voice command "Enter translation mode".

  b. After recognition, the AI Voice Assistant will respond: "Which two languages would you like to translate between?"

  c. State your translation request, e.g., "Chinese to Italian", "Chinese to French", "Chinese-Japanese translation", etc.

  d. After the camera responds "Entered translation mode", you can start bilingual conversation translation.

Exit the Face-to-Face Translation feature

In the AI Voice Assistant mode, say the voice command "Exit translation". The camera will vibrate once to confirm that you have successfully exited the Face-to-Face Translation feature.

Snap & Ask

When you encounter an unknown object or scene, you can use the Snap & Ask feature. The camera will automatically capture the current frame, analyses it, and quickly generates an answer, helping you easily identify various real-world subjects. Swipe down from the top of the camera screen to access the "Shortcut" menu > tap "Settings" (Gear icon ⚙) >"AI Voice Assistant" > "Snap & Ask" to enable and use the feature.

Enter the Snap & Ask feature

In the AI Voice Assistant mode, point the camera at the object and ask a question directly, such as "What is this?" To view the Q&A records, tap the "AI Voice Assistant" icon in the top-right corner of the shooting page in the Insta360 app.

Please note:

• On the "Q&A Records"page in the Insta360 app, press and hold a chat record to delete it.
• If you are in the Translation mode, say "Exit translation" first before using the Snap & Ask feature.
• If the camera cannot use the Snap & Ask feature, make sure you have enabled the feature in the camera and accept the privacy agreement.

Voice Q&A

When you have questions not related to the current scene, you can engage in natural conversations with the AI Voice Assistant to ensure it clearly understands your question and provides a verbal response.

Start Voice Q&A

In the AI Voice Assistant mode, you can start a conversation or ask questions directly, such as "Will it rain this afternoon?", "Is tonight good for photographing the stars?", or "Does this city have a subway?"

Please note: If you are in the Translation mode, say "Exit translation" first before using Voice Q&A.

For a more intuitive operational demonstration, please refer to GO Ultra AI Voice Assistant Tutorial.

FAQ

1. Does Insta360 have any plans to support the AI Voice Assistant on other product series?

Currently, only the GO Ultra camera supports the AI Voice Assistant feature. We will continuously optimize our products to provide you with a better user experience. Thank you for your understanding and support!

2. What questions can the AI Voice Assistant "Voice Q&A" feature answer? Can it answer camera parameter questions such as the camera's current battery level or the currently used Shooting Parameters?

Currently, the AI Voice Assistant does not support sensing or answering camera status questions, such as real-time battery level or SD card capacity. We will continuously optimize our products to provide you with a better user experience. Thank you for your understanding and support!

3. Which model does the AI Voice Assistant use?

The system will automatically match the corresponding large model based on the region where your Insta360 app account is registered / selected region. If you log in with an account registered in the Chinese mainland, it uses the Qwen large model. If you log in with an account registered outside the Chinese mainland, including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, it uses the Gemini large model.

How to switch large models: Log out of your current account, then log in with an account registered in the corresponding region to switch model services.

Using locally without logging in to an Insta360 app account: When using the AI Voice Assistant, the Insta360 app will prompt you to select a region. After you make a selection, it will automatically match the large model for that region.

4. Why do you need to connect to the Insta360 app before using the AI Voice Assistant?

The AI Voice Assistant needs to use the Insta360 app to access the AI large model online. You only need to connect to the Insta360 app and complete the relevant pairing and agreement steps the first time you use it. After that, you can use it normally without manually connecting to the Insta360 app again.

5. Why does the AI Voice Assistant need location, notification, and other permissions enabled?

Location and notification permissions are mainly used to maintain real-time communication between the camera and the phone, ensuring that voice commands sent by the camera can still be transmitted normally when the phone is locked or after the Insta360 app is cleared from the background. All permissions are used only for device interconnection and strictly comply with privacy protection regulations. They will not be used to collect or abuse your personal information, so please feel free to use it.

6. What should I do if the camera cannot recognize the "Hey Kira" voice wake-up command?

If the camera cannot recognize the "Hey Kira" voice wake-up command, try the following:

• Avoid noisy environments such as shopping malls, stations, and restaurants. Wake up the assistant in a quiet setting to reduce interference from background noise.
• When speaking the command, pause slightly between "Hey" and "Kira", keep a normal speaking pace, and do not speak too quickly. This helps the camera recognize it accurately.
• The current system only recognizes the wake word "Hey". It does not yet support "Hi" as a wake-up command.

7. Which languages does the AI Voice Assistant support?

The languages supported by the AI Voice Assistant depend on the large language model in use, so the supported language range may vary. Please refer to the device region and the support status of the corresponding large model for actual availability. As of the current version, the AI Voice Assistant supports the following languages for reference only:

• Qwen large model (only available in the Chinese mainland): Chinese, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, French, Russian, Thai, Indonesian, Arabic, Vietnamese, Turkish, Finnish, Polish, Hindi, Dutch, Czech, Urdu, Tagalog, Swedish, Danish, Hebrew, Icelandic, Malay, Norwegian, and Persian.
• Gemini (available in other countries and regions): Arabic, Bengali, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Marathi, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

Tips:

• The AI Voice Assistant feature does not currently support Cantonese, Taiwan Mandarin, or Minnan recognition.
• The Face-to-Face Translation feature currently supports 8 languages, including Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish, French, and Italian. More languages will be added in future updates. Please refer to what is shown in the camera UI.

8. Why can't I wake up the AI Voice Assistant after video recording starts?

To ensure stable video recording and image quality, the device does not currently support waking up the AI Voice Assistant while recording. We will continuously optimize our products to provide you with a better user experience. Thank you for your understanding and support!

9. How do I adjust the volume of the AI Voice Assistant replies?

The AI Voice Assistant is set to maximum volume by default. After waking up the AI Voice Assistant feature, you can say the voice command "Turn down the volume" to make the adjustment. The system will automatically save the last volume level you set. This adjustment only affects the AI Voice Assistant and will not change other camera prompts or shooting sounds.

10. In the Insta360 app, under which functions are AI Voice Assistant conversations generated, and can they be cleared?

Chat records generated by AI Voice Q&A, Snap & Ask, and Face-to-Face Translation will be synced with your Insta360 app account. Currently, this feature does not support clearing chat records. Historical records are fetched directly from the server and displayed, and they do not take up storage on your phone or in the Insta360 app.

11. When the phone is connected to headphones and using features such as AI Voice Q&A, why can't I hear the AI Voice Assistant's replies?

When using the AI Voice Assistant with headphones connected to the phone, general prompts such as "Please wait" and "Thinking..." will be played through the camera speaker, while complete replies will be played through the headphones. We will continuously optimize our products to provide you with a better user experience. Thank you for your understanding and support!

12. Why are AI Voice Assistant answers to address/location-related questions inaccurate?

If you are using an Android device, and the Insta360 app is closed or not running in the background while the AI Voice Assistant is active, or if you are in an environment with weak GPS signals such as indoors, the AI Voice Assistant will read the last cached location information, which may cause deviations in location-related answers.

13. Does the Insta360 app in the pure HarmonyOS / ZhuoyiTong version support the AI Voice Assistant?

The pure HarmonyOS / ZhuoyiTong version of the Insta360 app has not yet been adapted to support the AI Voice Assistant feature. We will continuously optimize our products to provide you with a better user experience. Thank you for your understanding and support!

14. Why does the voice of people nearby still trigger the AI Voice Assistant after a specific voiceprint is enrolled?

If voice from nearby people triggers the assistant by mistake, you can manually exit the AI Voice Assistant by pressing a button. We will continuously optimize our products to provide you with a better user experience. Thank you for your understanding and support!

15. Why is it difficult to interrupt the AI Voice Assistant while it is speaking?

Currently, if you ask a new question while the AI Voice Assistant is speaking, it may not be able to stop the current response in time and answer the new question. If this happens, please manually exit the AI Voice Assistant by pressing a button, then wake it up again and start a new round of voice conversation. We will continuously optimize our products to provide you with a better user experience. Thank you for your understanding and support!

16. Why does the new user guide prompt for the AI Voice Assistant appear on the screen of Action Pod, but the AI Voice Assistant feature is actually unavailable?

This is usually caused by a mismatch between the firmware versions of the Action Pod and the standalone camera. If the Action Pod has been updated to v1.8.91 or later, but the standalone camera has not been updated to a version that supports the AI Voice Assistant, the Action Pod may show the AI Voice Assistant tutorial, but the feature will not actually work. We recommend connecting your device to the Insta360 app and updating both the Action Pod and the standalone camera to the latest Firmware Version before trying the AI Voice Assistant feature again.

17. Why can't I wake the voice assistant with "Hey Kira" when the camera is powered off?

Current hardware does not support voice wake-up while powered off. However, when the camera is powered off, you can press and hold the shooting button on the front of the single camera until the white light turns on, then release it (about 1 second). When you hear the prompt sound, the AI Voice Assistant will wake up.

18. Why are AI Voice Assistant responses delayed or lagging instead of being real-time?

The AI Voice Assistant needs a brief thinking process before answering. It is based on an AI large language model, so after receiving your question, it needs to understand the meaning, retrieve information, organize the response, and then answer. This is consistent with how mainstream AI products work. Response time is needed to make answers more accurate and complete. We will continuously optimize our products to provide you with a better user experience. Thank you for your understanding and support!

19. Does the AI Voice Assistant consume a lot of data after being enabled?

If the phone is connected to an available Wi-Fi network, it will not consume mobile data. If you are using a cellular network, according to official Insta360 test data, a full round of AI Voice Assistant conversation consumes around a few hundred KB of data, with some variation depending on whether images are involved and on the duration. This is basically consistent with the data usage of mature AI large model products on the market.

20. How does using the AI Voice Assistant affect the camera's battery life?

Based on testing with a fully charged GO Ultra at room temperature (approx. 25°C), simulating a typical mix of voice chat and Snap & Ask interactions, the estimated battery life is as follows:

• Standalone Camera: Approx. 56 minutes
• With the Action Pod: Approx. 158 minutes

Note: A variance of within ±10 minutes is considered normal depending on specific usage conditions.

21. What camera functions can the AI Voice Assistant control?

Currently, the AI Voice Assistant supports controlling the following features: adjusting camera prompt volume, taking photos / recording videos, exiting the AI Voice Assistant, turning off the camera, and more.

22. When will the AI Voice Assistant feature for GO Ultra be launched?

The AI Voice Assistant feature for GO Ultra will be supported in firmware version V1.8.91. Gradual rollout for this version starts on August 7, with full rollout expected by August 9. Please be patient while waiting for the update. If you need further assistance, feel free to let us know. Thank you for your support!