AI Industry Updates, August 2024: Intelligent Hardware Upgrades

Published 20 August 2024

Author
Adam Speight
2 min read

Across Australia, India, the UK and the US, 45% of consumers say they’d use generative artificial intelligence (AI) more frequently if integrated into tech devices they already use (Salesforce, 2024). Meeting this interest, Google is introducing new AI-powered features for existing product ranges in August 2024.

  • Google Wallet Gets AI Boost: Google Wallet can now generate digital versions of user passes (library cards, employee access cards), passports, vehicle registrations and loyalty cards from photos. The ‘Everything Else’ feature uses AI to acquire and organise relevant details (membership numbers, barcodes, expiry dates) from a user-taken image, storing a digitised version in the Google Wallet app.

  • Nest Becomes More Conversational with Google Gemini: Google has added the Gemini large language model (LLM) to its Nest camera and Google Home ranges, aiming for more natural and helpful interactions. Users can ask questions like ‘Did the kids leave their bikes in the driveway?’ or ‘Did the FedEx truck drive by today?’, with Gemini then searching the camera history. Multi-stage automations can be set with simple requests like ‘Lock the doors and turn off all the lights at bedtime’, with Gemini creating a routine to lock smart locks and turn off lights, using its knowledge of daily routines accordingly.

  • Pixel Watch Adds AI-Powered Safety Feature: As part of its annual release of flagship Pixel devices, Google revealed a ‘Loss of Pulse Detection’ feature for the Pixel Watch 3, which activates if the optical heart rate sensor no longer detects a pulse. Infrared, red lights and the motion sensor then look for additional signs of movement, while an AI algorithm analyses them to confirm a loss-of-pulse event before triggering a user check-in. If the user does not respond, an alarm sounds, followed by a countdown before placing a call to emergency services through a connected phone or LTE watch add link if the user doesn’t intervene.

    For more, see Consumer Electronics Trends: 24/25.