Amazon has introduced a new version of its Echo Studio smart speaker with an integrated 13-megapixel camera. Released today alongside other Alexa devices, the Echo Studio with Home Camera offers largely the same audio hardware as the standard Echo Studio while adding features that use the camera to track listeners, monitor rooms, and help Alexa+ identify objects.
Audio hardware remains largely unchanged
Since its debut in 2019, the Echo Studio has been aimed at people who want higher-quality sound from an Alexa-based smart speaker. The new model has the same dimensions and audio configuration as the standard Echo Studio: one 3.75-inch high-excursion woofer and three full-range drivers.
Both speakers support Dolby Atmos, an Amazon-proprietary algorithm that adds surround-sound-like effects to stereo audio. According to the product page, they also offer lossless HD audio, advanced room adaptation, and features designed to reduce noise distortion.
Amazon announced Advanced Room Adaptation today, describing it as a feature that “continuously adapts sound to fit your space, automatically adapting to the acoustics of your room.”
Both models include four microphone arrays and Amazon’s AZ3 Pro processor, which was introduced by the company 1 year ago. The processor includes an AI accelerator for running Amazon’s Alexa+-generated AI chatbot.
A camera for tracking and home monitoring
The Echo Studio with Home Camera adds a 13MP camera without changing the speaker’s dimensions. Amazon says the camera can locate the user and adjust the volume “so that your music or audiobook remains the same volume as you move around.”
Amazon also envisions using the device as a smart camera for remotely checking rooms in the home—for example, to see “what’s going on with the dog or if you’ve left a light on.”
The camera can also provide Alexa+ with visual information. “Alexa can also see and understand what’s in front of the camera and help you in real time,” Amazon’s announcement says. “When you pull out a box of board games and ask Alexa+ to explain the rules, or hold up a box of cereal, Alexa will recognize it and help you reorder more flavors.”
Source: arstechnica.com
