Technology integration and partnerships appear to be the dominating the proceedings at the CES 2019 at Las Vegas, USA. If one saw a multitude of brands collaborating with Amazon’s Alexa earlier, it is Google with its AI Assistant that is all over the city.
Observers say this was not unexpected since Google had made sufficient noise last year too. The highlights of what Google has on show mostly relate to the voice-based assistant being deployed on a number of devices and appliances, virtually joining the battle against Amazon. The online retail giant did not hide its ambitions to take its Alexa to every facet of the home. Google wants to do the same.
The large space that Google has occupied in the event is plastered with “Hey Google” the call out used with the Google Assistant to get things done. Google claims that the Assistant will be available on one billion devices soon. This includes smartphones, home speakers and other devices.
- An interesting product showcased was a Google Assistant Interpreter that can instantly translate a conversation between two individuals speaking different languages. Google has put one such device for demo at a hotel in Vegas
- Google has developed what is called the ‘Google Assistant Connect’ which will be the platform that device makers can use to integrate Google Assistant with their respective devices
- Lenovo demonstrated a desk clock which is described as a ‘smart’ alarm clock
- It was announced that Samsung TVs can be controlled through a Google Assistant based remote and voice commands can be used to change channels and make many other changes on the TV
- Many television brands that run on Android environment will now have the Google Assistant integrated in them. Some of these brands include Sony, Hisense, Philips, TCL, Skyworth, Xiaomi, Haier, Changhong, JVC and Toshiba
- The automotive sector will witness, going ahead, the adoption of Google Assistant to cars and other vehiciles
- Not to be left behind, the smartphones from where the AI assistant came into existence, a few new functionalities are being added. These include using it to do online check-in with airlines. The other feature is asking the digital assistant to send a reply to a message, say, while driving your car, by dictating to the phone
These are but a glimpse of what Google has in store in terms of technological offerings that can impact your lifestyles.