The Jetson’s depiction of the future is now our present.
The first black and white TV was released in 1929.
The first colour TV was released in 1953.
The first practical TV remote called the ‘Zenith Space Commander’ was introduced in 1956.
The first personal computer, the HP 9830, was released in 1972.
The first 1G mobile phone was released in 1973.
The first person-to-person SMS (2G) was sent in 1993.
A century of pretty remarkable ‘firsts’ if you ask me.
In 1999, with the ever advanced Nokia 3210 on the market and the addictive Snake game, life seemed pretty sweet. Your average consumer couldn’t ask for much more than what they knew. However, the dawn of the 21st century has left an unquenchable thirst for all things technological. From robotic toys and gadgets for kids (that as adults we have trouble opening the complex packaging on, yet funnily enough they can snap up at the age of 3), to touch screen mobile smart-phones- of which automation and smart technology is rapidly becoming the lifestyle ‘norm’. The launch of the iPhone 3G on 9 June 2008 saw a dramatic shift in mobile technology with what seemed like not much else left for a consumer to imagine. Apple and its competitors’ innovation have made movies like ‘Minority Report’ and the Jetson’s seem not-so-farfetched as they once did. Touch and sliding screens… who would have thought? They’ve ‘siriously’ out-done themselves, what else more could they do?
Get serious. Siri- sirious.
iPhone 4S (14 October 2011)- one can actually talk to their phone and have it answer back. Gone are the days of the frustrating voice-dialler on mobiles that rarely understood the ‘call’ request, let alone any name other than ‘John’ in our phonebook. Siri makes the iPhone 4S the first device that understands humans and responds.
But wait… there’s NOW more…
Technology has gotten Siri-ous too. The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has seen revolutionary gadgets adopting the same technology as Siri. Gadgets that consumers can now interact with via voice and gesture, including TVs you can speak to and colour on! Experts at the event have predicted that in the coming year, every technological device, from mobile smart-phones, TVs, laptops, and fridges, will be able to see, hear and understand us- breaking down one of the last barriers between man and machine.
At the show- “Voice is the most natural human-computer interface – everyone knows how to use their voice,” said Jason Stirling, senior vice president at voice recognition firm Nuance Communications. Stirling said the potential of voice had been unlocked after the commercialisation of “natural language understanding”, which has enabled machines to not only hear us but to understand what we mean. “Imagine simply asking your TV to turn on and requesting your program as opposed to managing 3-4 remote controls”- It looks like the old ‘Zenith Space Commander’ remote and its descendants will become redundant in the not-so-distant future.
It seems as though Siri and Microsoft’s Kinect accessory were only the early successful innovations driving mainstream appeal, which for now, appears to have no limits. Reach for the stars these technological gurus will continue to do, while we as the consumers are running closely after. Human nature wants bigger and better, which is a comforting reality for the big guys on campus like Apple, LG and Microsoft, who can release one model in one year, and less than a year later release a slightly upgraded version and still have consumers queued around the block up to 3 days before the official release.
Visit this article to read more and view images of the smart gadgets ‘happening’ in Vegas.
