The Watch Project X Onlinefuture is here, and it's terrifying.
Taking the plunge to get an Amazon Echo can be a big deal for some people. Sure, we're all used to having Siri on our phones, but having a robot around the house that's constantly listening for you to deliver its next task is a bit weird and can take some getting used to.
But one man made the experience even weirder. No one will ever be prepared for this hacked Alexa.
Developer Brian Kane managed to modify his Amazon Echo and a Big Mouth Billy Bass (you know, one of those creepy wall-mounted singing fish that were popular 20 years ago) so that when Alexa speaks, the fish turns and its mouth moves.
In the clip Kane asks Alexa the weather, and the fish's head immediately faces the camera and starts moving as Alexa responds with the local weather for Cambridge.
UPDATE: Nov. 5, 2016, 12:49 p.m. EDT
In an email to Mashable, Kane, a teacher at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), explained that he created the hack using Arduino, an open-source platform used to create interactive electronics.
"This piece was an in-class demo to show the students how to rapid prototype a concept and get it working quickly, so that we can test new ideas on people and make decisions," Kane told Mashable. "We're looking at AI as artists and designers, making new experiences and using the design process to find out what life can be like in a world of intelligent machines. "
Kane also made a good point, noting that the success of new products depends on a user's emotional attachment to the piece.
"So much of the industry is dominated by engineering and business, but ultimately the success of these new products will be that people can make an emotional attachment to them, and that's what artists have been doing for generations," said Kane.
While the Big Mouth Billy Bass Alexa hack won't be hitting the shelves anytime soon, Kane does have plans to release a "limited edition of signed artists versions for collectors and friends."
But don't worry, there's plenty more weird stuff in the works over at RISD. Kane says that he hopes that this project will bring some attention to his students and their projects this semester.
"RISD is the new MIT, and we're looking to make amazing new experiences for people that are emotionally engaging by bringing an artistic sensibility to technology through storytelling and unlimited creativity."
As for his prototype, Kane says it will become a permanent fixture in his own space, though he's looking for suggestions on exactly where to put it.
Here's a normal Big Mouth Billy Bass in action, in case you need a reminder of its original horror.
[h/t: The Verge]
Topics Alexa Amazon Echo
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