Daniel J SaitIntelligent Glass, a Pro Display brand, has made it easier to operate its solutions with new voice activated functionality via voice assistants including Amazon Alexa.
If more evidence was needed that voice control is on the rise, Intelligent Glass points to Amazon’s announcement that it had shifted a whopping seven times more Alexa Dots this year than in 2016. Now even putting a lot of that down to just increased market awareness, and beginning from a relatively low sales base, those are decent numbers.
Recent years of course have also seen a multitude of virtual assistants emerge, from Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri, to Google’s Assistant, as well as Alexa, all trying to shout the loudest in the race to be the dominant voice activation partner.
After the disappointing performance of Google Glass a few years back, Intelligent Glass says it realised that consumer taste for new technology is as brittle as it is fickle. Drawing the conclusion that a poorly handled product release of new technology can be disastrous for its field, bio-tech interfacing is moving away from deeper integration with the human body, to focusing on superficial haptic technology, seeing such technology relegated to a safe distance perched on the wrist.
Intelligent Glass argues that voice activation has been a victim of this effect, being available on mobile devices for almost two decades, but until now it’s generally been unreliable, but is now exciting consumers as it works more consistently as virtual assistants become the norm. Intelligent Glass says this growing trend of virtual assistants has an inevitable correlation with the demand for smart home and smart office voice activation and automation products.
As homes and offices begin to adopt the technology, this begins to open up the opportunities to operate other products and concepts with the voice and this is where the maker is hoping its product will win through.
Switch To The Future
Currently the company can provide instant privacy or room altering tech at the touch of a button as the glass changes from see-through to opaque, but now this can be done with voice too as it can be partnered with voice controlled speaker devices. The functionality works by connecting a smart plug to the glass’s transformer.
The company says its solutions work as excellent additions to top end hi-tech environments for homes and offices.
Suggested applications include switchable glass stairs, partitions and projection screens. As part of an automation system, users can watch as their office, living room, bedroom or bathroom changes form and function.
Chris, a recent customer, says: “We were looking for a product to provide some extra privacy in our dining room, as we have large windows which face other properties. We had investigated other films (mirror and tinted) but none were suitable as they blocked too much light. I then found Switchable Smart Film from Intelligent Glass.
“Now we have the films installed, they are a great success. Installation was quite straight forward with easy to follow instructions. Being able to switch between clear and frosted in an instant means that we can have the view when we want it, but also the privacy when required, without reducing the light in the room.”