Google isn’t backing down in the fight for the smart home. On Thursday, the tech company said it’s releasing the first of several home assistant devices with screens slated for the summer.
The Smart Display, built by Lenovo and running Google’s Android Things software for Internet-connected devices, hits stores this weekend. Like Google’s Home, Home Mini and Home Max, the Smart Display lets you control it with your voice and focuses on playing music. But it also has either an eight-inch or 10-inch screen, on which you can watch YouTube videos, have a video chat or get better answers to some questions.
The Smart Display starts at $200.
The Lenovo Smart Display is the first of several similar devices that Google revealed in January, at the CES technology trade show. JBL, Sony and LG were also set to release Google Assistant devices with screens in the summer.
I am nearly 100% certain that we will be included in Google "Smart Screens" and nearly 100% certain that this is NOT the "black Box project."
This is laying it out. AT CES, Google had smart speakers. In fact, Google and Amazon were very heavily promoting their smart speakers to the conference. (If you were IN the conference, you thought Amazon was everywhere, if you were around Las Vegas at the time, you thought Google was everywhere.) I put up all the puzzle pieces, (here) but I received more than a few inquiries "What did that all mean?" So, here it is a bit more directly.
Developer's Blog (From the same day as the release.)
"New voice-activated speakers powered by Android Things are being announced at CES, including the LG ThinQ WK7 and iHome iGV1. Turnkey hardware solutions based on the Qualcomm SD212 Home Hub Platform, MediaTek MT8516 and Rockchip RK3229 SoM are certified for the Assistant and Cast, and NXP i.MX 8M is coming soon. Three of our Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) partners, Tymphany, Goertek,and Tonly, have created full speaker reference designs based on these SoMs to further reduce development cost and time-to-market." Rockchip 3229
>>> This mentions Goertek, who is the manufacturing partner for MVIS Engines.
>>> Rockchip is also interesting, but for a different reason....
>>> Rockchip is here, at WPG holdings (If you don't remember, WPG holdings is the Asian Distributor Microvision announced the connection with during the Fall of 2017)
The below, cart is distributed by WPG (Still #8 in the hottest of 612 items in the IOT area as of April 9, 2018) It shows a RockChip 3036 processor.
What is the Rockchip 3036? look for the frame below in the video...
Now, if you want to know why I don't think it's the "Black Box" Project, is because the PSE-0403-101 is the Interactive display engine. -- Which was ALREADY demonstrated and Announced by MicroVision. Link to PR... (too lazy to search outside blog)
"PSE-0403sti-101 Short Throw Interactive Display Engine
MicroVision will also be featuring an interactive display prototype that combines display functionality with 3D sensing that enables a natural gesture recognition feature for consumer products. The interactive display engine enables user experiences where touching a projected image is processed by the system in the same way as interacting with a touchscreen on a smartphone or tablet. Samples of interactive display engines the company is developing, model PSE-0403sti-101, are expected to be available in the second quarter of this year with production units targeted for the third quarter.
The interactive display engine is built on the common LBS platform shared with the PSE-0403 display engines and will include the same display features combined with an integrated time-of-flight (ToF) sensing function. MicroVision’s ability to combine ToF sensing and pico projection into a single compact engine offers OEMs new possibilities for products by mimicking a Windows 10 or Android touch screen display or providing access to intermediate point cloud data all from an engine so small it can be embedded in mobile and smart IOT products."
"Fast followers" is an important concept when watching consumer electronics.
New products happen usually this way: Someone sticks their neck out and takes a chance...
...the herd watches to see if the pioneer thrives... or is eaten by predators... or falls off a cliff... ... if the pioneer thrives, the rest of the herd follows in a stampede. This happened with cell phones, personal computers, smart phones & tablet computers. (The first smart screens) and with Smart speakers Check out "Smart Speakers." Wikipedia
Release date
November 6, 2014
Amazon had been developing Echo devices inside its Lab126 offices in Silicon Valley and Cambridge, Massachusetts since at least 2010 in confirmed reports. The device was part of Amazon’s first attempts to expand its device portfolio beyond the Kindlee-reader.[3] The Echo was prominently featured in Amazon's first-ever Super Bowl ad in 2016.[4] Wikipedia Google Home is a brand of smart speakers developed by Google. The first device was announced in May 2016 and released in the United States in November 2016, with subsequent releases globally throughout 2017. Now, there are 107 Smart Speakers in Consumer Reports List A quick trip down memory land for "tablet computers." Do you remember the "Grid Pad?" Palm Pilot? Apple Newton? Pocket PC? All these runs at it since the late 1980's and early 1990's before the concept finally got traction -- when the technology was good enough to inspire mass adoption. Early Tablet Computers With the iPad it passed the "anyone can use it" threshold. *********** We have had the first SMART Screens. They are tablet computers. We have had the first smart speakers (voice activated personal assistants.) Combining the technology -- the adoption rate of this is going to be very rapid. It takes something we're used to, (Tablet computers) and combines it with something most of us are getting used to (Smart speakers) to increase the utility dramatically. Google has telegraphed that "smart screens" are coming. With the smart speaker combined with a screen and voice activation. Some of their partners in this are also partners with MicroVision. (Goertek and particularly RockChip -- here) Yes, on the WPG Holdings list of "hottest" items is a MicroVision projector engine combined with the RockChip processor dedicated to voice recognition. (Unfortunately, they close their site for Chinese New year. ) ********* Over the weekend I met someone who carries a Motorola phone with the projector mod. She loves it, uses it at work(for work) and at home and while out and about. However it's use case is a lot like an early tablet computer. It's not convenient technology. It's power hungry, not very bright, and requires playing with a particularly finicky (technical term!) focus wheel. It's not convenient and easy for just anyone to use. Projection in smartphones has now reached that all-important threshold. Ragentek has the "anyone can use it" projector smartphone.
...and a lot of interest in lasers... by some companies playing with near-eye displays.
