Google previews new Google TV ambient mode using radar to detect presence, displaying relevant info, aiming to be a smart home hub.
Would you desire a television possessing the capability to discern your presence and your departure from the space? Google certainly harbors this aspiration. At CES 2025, the technology conglomerate previewed an impending ambient mode for Google TV devices, designed to enable compatible products to identify when an individual occupies the room and subsequently present pertinent content.
By way of illustration, as I neared the seating arrangement in the demonstration area alongside a Google product manager, the expansive screen positioned before us displayed snippets of information, including current news headlines, meteorological conditions, scheduled appointments, and photographic memories from a recent excursion -- all without the need for any verbal command or physical interaction with a control.
.jpg "Google TV's new presence detection feature.")
This concept is by no means novel. Entities such as Amazon, Samsung, and Sony have all incorporated presence-detection functionalities into televisions to varying degrees, with Sony's implementation dating back as far as 2009. However, Google anticipates that the fusion of presence detection with an updated iteration of the Google Assistant, leveraging the company's Gemini models, will elevate the television to the status of a central living room hub, extending beyond its role as solely an entertainment medium.
"Our vision is for this to evolve into something considerably more expansive," remarked Jamieson Brettle, a product manager at Google, during the demonstration. "Similar to a smart display residing within your living space, serving as the most substantial screen within your residence."
Novel Google TV products incorporating both proximity detection and the Google Assistant with Gemini capabilities are slated for introduction towards the latter part of the year, while the Gemini enhancement will be rolled out to both new and existing models throughout the duration of the year.
Google is not employing cameras to ascertain your presence within the room. Instead, Brettle elucidates, a radar-like technology is utilized to sense motion, thereby precluding the actual visual perception of the individual or their immediate surroundings. Brettle indicates that the selection of this technology over cameras was motivated by considerations of cost-effectiveness, preservation of privacy, and efficient power management.
The novel Gemini functionality appears to be a subtle augmentation of the Google Assistant's prevailing Google TV capabilities, aimed at facilitating the operation of Google's voice assistant on televisions in a manner analogous to its function on mobile devices. The underlying principle is to enable the formulation of more specific inquiries with subsequent follow-up questions and to engage in more naturalistic conversations with the Google Assistant. In one illustrative instance, Brettle requested cinematic recommendations akin to Jurassic Park that would be suitable for young children, and the system retrieved The Land Before Time.
In another demonstration, Brettle showcased the capacity of the Google Assistant powered by Gemini's models to furnish YouTube videos as responses to certain queries, such as those pertaining to vacation recommendations. Furthermore, a news brief feature is incorporated, which summarizes news articles and indicates their sources.
Google has been integrating artificial intelligence into its core product offerings -- spanning its search engine to Pixel mobile devices -- over the preceding two years, concurrent with the transformative impact of generative AI on the technology sector. The Google TV Gemini update signifies the company's latest endeavor to revamp its fundamental services and platforms through the integration of AI. Notably, Google is not the sole entity endeavoring to introduce AI to the large screens within homes; Samsung unveiled several new AI TV features at CES, including one designed to provide supplementary information about the content being displayed on the television.
The central question revolves around whether consumers will perceive these features as genuinely beneficial. While televisions possess capabilities far exceeding mere streaming of content or engaging in video games, it remains uncertain whether novel AI functionalities such as these will emerge as a significant driving factor in consumer purchasing decisions in the immediate future.