Smart Speakers: Modern Home Audio Devices

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Smart speakers are modern home audio devices that provide auditory enjoyment for people, serving as the endpoint of sound systems by converting electrical signals into sound energy and emitting them into the air. There are various types of speakers, each tailored to different usage scenarios and user groups. Smart speakers, based on traditional speakers, integrate communication, sensor, or other internet technologies, offering additional new features that align with modern living scenarios beyond just amplifying sound.
Smart Speaker Core Technologies:

(1) Bluetooth Technology: Bluetooth speakers were among the first to be dubbed ‘smart,’ essentially being speakers equipped with Bluetooth transmission technology. The ‘smart’ aspect is reflected in the ease of connecting to the speaker via Bluetooth from devices like smartphones by simply selecting and clicking on the speaker’s name, enabling automatic connection within seconds and managing music players, including adjusting volume, song selection, and playback status. Bluetooth technology is thus one of the earliest internet technologies used in speaker products.

(2) Wi-Fi Technology: Wi-Fi technology in speakers primarily takes two forms. The first is to equip the product with a wireless card that can connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, facilitating the product’s access to online resources. The second allows the speaker to connect with other devices on the local network, such as smartphones, computers, and TVs, enabling a many-to-one broadcasting approach.

(3) Infrared Technology: Infrared technology in speakers is mainly used in human-machine interaction. These speakers come with built-in infrared sensors that allow control based on the user’s body movements without physical contact with the product.

(4) Natural Language Processing Technology: Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a crucial technology in the field of artificial intelligence, involving human-machine interaction, database organization, storage, and logical operations. A complete natural language interaction process involves two primary entities: the ‘speaker’ and the ‘listener,’ which can interchange roles.

(5) Touch Control Technology: Touch control technology in smart products is a type of sensor technology. It utilizes human body temperature and finger pressure to achieve the sensing process during product interaction.

Main Brands of Smart Speakers:

(1) Baidu Brand: Xiaodu Smart Speaker. The Xiaodu Smart Speaker, under Baidu’s umbrella, is an AI speaker powered by Baidu’s conversational AI operating system, DuerOS, boasting over 10 million hours of audio content and more than 400 daily life skills.

According to Baidu’s financial report for the first quarter of 2019 released in May 2019, Xiaodu Assistant continues to lead in China with 275 million smart devices equipped, a year-on-year increase of 279%; voice interaction times reached 2.37 billion times, a year-on-year increase of 817%.

(2) Huawei Brand: Huawei Smart Speaker. The Huawei AI Speaker, released on October 26, 2018, is Huawei’s first smart speaker equipped with voice synthesis technology from Orion Star. The price of the Huawei AI Speaker is 399 yuan and it officially went on sale on November 1, 2018.

(3) Alibaba Brand: Tmall Genie Smart Speaker. Tmall Genie, released on July 5, 2017, by Alibaba Group’s Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Business Group, is an AI smart terminal brand. It allows users to perform operations such as audio-visual entertainment, shopping, information inquiry, and life services through natural language dialogue interaction, becoming a household assistant for consumers.

(4) Xiaomi Brand: Xiaoai Student Smart Speaker. Xiaoai Student is Xiaomi’s artificial intelligence voice interaction engine and an AI virtual assistant that connects everything. It is equipped in many Xiaomi ecosystem devices such as Xiaomi mobile phones, Xiaomi AI speakers, Xiaomi TVs, etc., and is currently used in eight major scenarios including personal mobile, smart home, smart wear, smart office, children’s entertainment, smart travel, smart hotels, and smart learning.

(5) Ximalaya: Smart Car Bluetooth Player. Ximalaya FM claims to have 20 million good voices and 4 million host resources in terms of content, including excellent programs such as Luo Ji Thinking and Tonight’s Post-80s. However, Ximalaya FM does not have sufficient copyright for these contents. On the other hand, self-operated programs like Duan Zi Laile and Qiu Shi Broadcast are a significant advantage.

(7) JD Brand: Dingdong Smart Speaker. Dingdong Smart Speaker is the first smart speaker jointly launched by iFlytek and JD. It is reported that this is the first product launched after the establishment of the joint venture. In March 2015, JD and iFlytek signed the Investment Cooperation Agreement, stating that they will be committed to the research and development and promotion of smart home hardware products, voice solutions, and smart hardware platform services, and to create hot products that can connect the intelligent application chain.

That’s a comprehensive overview of the definition, core technology, and main brands of smart speakers in China. If you want to learn more about the smart industry, please follow the industry knowledge section of the Three Cobblers Report.

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