Google was recently granted a patent for a multi-device audio capturing solution that’s designed for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, presumably including the company’s Google Assistant-enabled gadgets. The patent was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that detailed the creation in a set of documents published earlier this month. Google’s solution is likely meant to serve as an alternative to existing voice-recognition systems, including the ones that are currently utilized by various variants of the Google Assistant. While voice recognition technology advanced in a significant manner in recent years, it still requires users to be relatively close to the microphones that are capturing their commands, which is why not even shouting at one’s smart speaker across the room is always a reliable method of controlling smart devices and even if it was, its efficiency is less than ideal.
Google’s idea is to take advantage of the fact that numerous microphone-equipped smart devices in people’s households are already connected to the Internet and simultaneously use their audio-capturing capabilities to do a better job of identifying particular commands. Once developed, such a system would not only be better at hearing voice commands than its presently existing alternatives but would also be able to differentiate between similar words in a more efficient manner, industry watchers speculate. The Google Assistant has been one of the main focus points of this year’s Google I/O developer conference that was officially concluded last week, with the Alphabet-owned company stating that it’s currently in the process of significantly expanding the product and service ecosystem centered around its artificial intelligence (AI) helper. The company’s efforts are evident by a large number of consumer electronics manufacturers that have recently announced new Google Assistant-enabled products or introduced support for the smart companion to their existing product portfolio.
The Mountain View-based tech giant currently faces firm competition in the AI segment from Amazon whose Alexa-infused connected devices have been gaining a lot of traction in the United States in recent times. While it remains to be seen which company ends up seizing the largest share of the smart assistant market, more details on this emerging technology should become available as the market continues maturing.