Ever since ChatGPT came out in 2022, people have wondered when we will see these powerful language models launch on smart speakers. For owners of Google"s smart home products, the wait is nearly over, with Gemini set to deliver more natural and conversational interactions on speakers and displays and to improve Nest cameras.
The search giant said that Gemini will initially be rolled out to Nest Aware subscribers in Public Preview later this year, Google has not stated further roll out details after this point, however.
The AI currently being used on smart speakers is a bit of a nightmare. If you know the correct thing to ask, it"ll work, but a lot of the time, these speakers tell you they don"t understand. With the new language models, you may still be misheard, but they will very likely always provide an answer to your queries.
Aside from improving speakers and displays, Google is also using AI to improve the Nest cameras. Using Gemini"s multimodal models, your Nest cameras will go from being able to detect specific things to being able to broadly understand what they see and hear. It can then tell you everything important that it saw.
With the current technology, Nest cameras may be able to say something like "animal detected" but after the upgrade, they will be able to tell you much more detailed information such as "the dog is digging in the garden".
Explaining another way this upgrade will benefit Nest owners, Google said:
"You can also use the new camera activity search in the Google Home app to find exactly what you are looking for in your home. For example, “Did the kids leave their bikes in the driveway?” Google Home can search through your camera history, giving you a list of only the relevant events and a helpful summary. That simply wasn’t possible before. The sky"s the limit for what you can ask, “Did the FedEx truck drive by today?” or “Did my dog go near the cookies?” This will be a monumental shift for Nest cameras and will transform how you get help in your home."
Speaking of Google Home, Google says that the Gemini models will be able to help you create automation much more easily. Just tell the model what you want to happen in plain language, and Google Home will set it up for you.
These changes are also going to be coming to Nest Aware subscribers in Public Preview later this year and expand over time. In other news, Google today announced that it was ditching Chromecast in favour of the Google TV Streamer.