Tips From The Top

Early this year, Josh.ai clients will be able to take advantage of even smaller versions of the popular Josh Micro.

At the first-ever company keynote address last November, Josh CEO Alex Capecelatro introduced the Josh Nano and Josh Core. Josh Nano is the world’s first architectural microphone; its counterpart Josh Core is the processor. 

“We believe that technology doesn’t need to look cluttered,” said Capecelatro in the keynote address, as reported by Residential Systems. “Voice control allows us to streamline and simplify the mess of what’s going on with multiple control panels. With voice commands, you don’t need to have physical switches for all you want to do in a room.” With these two new developments, Josh is moving the technology field forward along with the design field.

Josh Nano was also inspired by mainstream smart speakers. “These products have done a lot to help create demand for voice control,” said Capecelatro, “but they’ve also created a conversation around privacy data and, more than that, these devices in our opinion are not the right aesthetic for what voice control in the home should be” In addition, he noted, luxury home owners are not looking for a high-end voice control assistant that looks like every other mass market assistant out there.

The design and technology is phenomenal: Josh Nano takes out the speaker and uses the home’s audio distribution and built-in speakers for Josh’s responses. It’s only one tenth of an inch thin, and 1.6 inches in diameter, and can be installed flush on a wall. In coral white or jet black, it has an optional paintable cover – in other words, it’s practically invisible.

Security is a huge priority for the company. The Nano includes a privacy switch to physically disconnect the microphones when toggled.

It also includes a capacitive touch sensor for contextual touch control. A full RGB LED light ring disappears when not in use, and a remote temperature sensor can be used to trigger advanced automations.

Even with its tiny size, the unit is incredibly effective. “A four-microphone array allows us to beamform in a much more accurate way,” said Capecelatro. “If, say, someone’s giving a command off to the right of Josh Nano and there’s a TV playing on the left, the left microphones can essentially noise-cancel the background sounds while the right microphones are focused on the user. This is a better performing microphone, even though it’s a lot smaller.”

Natural voice control is the way of the future, and Josh.ai is working to make it as aesthetically pleasing as it is effective. “We really think the Holy Grail of the smart home is to make things invisible,” said Capecelatro. “You just walk in a home and you get the command. You say, turn on the lights, play some music, open the shades. That’s really the way to go.”

Both Josh Nano and Josh Core are able for preorder now, and should be shipped early this year.

To learn more about how you can take advantage of Josh.ai technology in your home, call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to discuss the possibilities.