"Remind me to water the ficus" and it is the plant that sounds the reminder for more efficiency. Technology sends inaudible sound to the plant, and you hear it as soon as it touches it. The connected speakers will become ventriloquists. It sends a "compressed" sound wave towards the device or the object to be sounded. It "decompresses" when it comes into contact. And we have the impression that the sound comes from the object.
An innovation that will still make us pass for crazy. We already don't seem clever to ask questions to our connected speaker. But soon, all the objects in the house can answer us.
It can be scary. But you will see, it is very practical. Imagine: you say to your connected speaker "Tell me, in an hour, to empty the washing machine". And at the appointed time, it is not the enclosure that sounds the reminder, but the washing machine itself! Listen: we don't hear very well, it's in English… and it's a washing machine that answers: “I finished and need to be unloaded”… “I'm finished, I have to empty myself” No need change the washing machine or add speakers to it. It is the connected speaker that plays the ventriloquists and that can make any device, any object you have at home speak.
But how is it possible?
In fact, the enclosure is covered with directional speakers that point in all directions. It will send a beam of inaudible waves towards the machine. And when they come into contact with it, they will demodulate and become audible. So even your plant may remind you to water it, the tiles will ask you to clean them ... It is much more effective to listen to notifications in context than to focus them on the phone or on the connected speaker. It is a technology developed by the Smash Lab of Carnegie Mellon University. They are in contact with Amazon to integrate it into their speakers. I already told you about household appliances that you can control by voice. Now he can answer us.