alexa Archives - Tech Podcast Network

Sugr voice enhancement system Anyone who has ever owned a virtual assistant has had the experience of calling them without them ever responding. Or, even weirder, is when you don’t summon them and they respond. After they are paying attention, it’s not guaranteed that things will go as planned. Commands can be misinterpreted or completely ignored. A lot of this has to do with the sound happening around you. Fortunately, Sugr has a solution for the future.

The company provides embedded voice technology to improve experiences. The technology can be built into many devices, making the voice of the user clearer to the listener. That listener could be a virtual assistant, or it could be someone on a headset or speakerphone. This can be a big win for many people in many scenarios.

One example where Sugr’s technology can make a great impact is in the car. Obviously, when in the car, there is a lot of external noise. The car itself makes noise, there’s road noise while in motion, other cars can honk their horn, etc. Trying to use a voice assistant in the car, therefore, can be a really hit or miss experience. Amazon tried to address the issue by including extra hardware to create a better version of regular noise cancelation – a third microphone.

Sugr’s voice technology is able to produce a better noise cancelation, and therefore a better Alexa experience, without the extra microphone. Less physical hardware means less to break and less inherent cost. Plus, the voice isolation can be used while on the phone, reducing the background noise, which is something the person you talk to on the phone will appreciate.

If you are a device manufacturer looking for voice technology to improve their product, you can learn more at the Sugr website.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.

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WooBloo SMASH smart projector The last 12 months has created an interesting new reliance on entertainment. Being locked in our homes has forced us to look for new ways to spend our free time. A lot of it has driven us onto services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video because there are large libraries of content to help us survive downtime. But, for many people, this has forced them to watch a lot of content on small screens, like phones, tablets, or laptop screens. WooBloo has a new product, called SMASH, which will help with that limitation.

The WooBloo SMASH is a small, portable high definition smart projector. Because of the wireless capabilities, you can take it into any room of the house and watch your content. Take it into the living room and watch a high-profile movie together, or take it into your bedroom and watch a TV show by yourself. You can even take it into the kitchen and use it to cook with your kids, using tutorial videos on the wall.

Unlike other smart projectors we’ve seen, SMASH has removed the biggest limitation on those platforms – software availability. This is because SMASH allows you to use Airplay and Chromecast to push content from your phone, tablet, or computer directly to the screen. In addition, the projector has an HDMI port to allow you to bring other devices, like gaming consoles and streaming sticks, onto the screen. But, you can also get in-built applications to reduce the strain on your other devices.

When WooBloo SMASH is not in use as a projector, it can also be used as a smart speaker, both plugged in and on battery. This is powered by Alexa, giving you access to all of the features of the Alexa digital assistant.

WooBloo SMASH is available now for pre-order on Indiegogo. For more information, check out the company’s website.

Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.