Anicet Mbida 06:51, 01 June 2023
Anicet Mbida gives us every morning what is best in innovation. This Thursday, he is interested in a solution to not lose his remote control, since it responds to the voice.
The innovation of the day is the remote control that we will no longer spend hours looking for between the cushions. Since this is a remote control... that responds to the voice.
After the whistling key ring, the remote control beeps!
Just say "Hey the box, where is my remote?" And we will hear "beep beep beep", for example, on the side of the shelf where we had forgotten it. No need to turn the house just to change the channel or turn up the sound.
In fact, it's a new generation of remote controls with a speaker to make noise (and know where it is) and microphones that constantly listen to what is being said like smart speakers. It's all silly. One wonders why no one thought of it before.
But if she listens to us constantly, there is not a risk of being spied on?
No, it really works like smart speakers. So it only triggers with a keyword. But for the more paranoid, there is a switch that cuts the microphone. And you can simply press a button on the box to ring the remote control. Or launch an app that does the same. But it is true that it is quicker to ask her where she is hidden.
For the moment, there is only one box, that of Roku, which offers this type of remote control. But like all good ideas, it will probably end up being copied. Most remotes already have a microphone for voice commands. Just add a speaker to them. So I think it's a function that will soon be everywhere.
And if the remote control runs out of batteries, how do we do it?
We will have no choice. It will be necessary to search everywhere, as before.
This is why manufacturers are starting to replace batteries with batteries. Batteries that they pair with a system that constantly recharges them. Either with solar panels, or by converting into electricity the radio waves that surround us (those of Europe 1 or Wifi and 4G networks). Several remotes charge in this way. Those of the latest Samsung TVs, for example.
So little by little, we are erasing our frustrations with remote controls: simpler with voice control. Easier to find by calling them. And that there is no need to recharge.