Amazon’s Echo speakers become smart, now they can recognize people in a room

New Delhi: Amazon Echo and Echo Dot are smarter than ever, as smart speakers can now use ultrasound technology to detect people in a room.

Speakers will now be able to turn off other connected smart devices such as lights or Fire TV when a human presence in a room is not detected. Amazon first announced the upcoming Echo speaker feature during its September Fall hardware event.

According to a report in The Verge, the Echo and Echo Dot fourth-gen speakers are now capable of emitting “inaudible ultrasound waves” that can detect whether people are present in a room.

Echo and Echo Dot buyers can enable or disable this feature using the Alexa app. The feature is listed under Motion Detection in the Alexa app settings for each compatible Echo device. You can go to Settings to turn the capability on or off.

Users can also set occupancy routines to use the new feature, turning the lights on when they enter the room and off again when you leave the room empty. Customers can also use the motion sensor to have Alexa play music or radio stations.

Amazon’s new Echo Show devices have a similar feature that uses motion-sensing technology to detect whether people are in a room. However, the instruments rely on their cameras rather than ultrasound waves to detect the presence of humans. Echo speakers, on the other hand, completely rely on ultrasound to detect human presence, as they are not equipped with any cameras. Read also: Children’s Day 2021: Check out 5 insurance plans by LIC, SBI Life, PNB to secure your child’s future

The Verge also reported that Google’s Nest Smart Display and Nest Mini speaker also use ultrasound technology to detect how close a person is to the device. However, Google Nest users cannot trigger Google Home routines using motions. Read also: India on track to achieve historic high in exports: Piyush Goyal

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