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cost $179.99 and will also be available in May The device itself is on the left in this this pic-
2017. ture; to the right is a tablet held by a support
arm. This setup allows you to converse with
Meanwhile, Apple has quietly been working on
their own standalone Siri device. I have not friends and family members via Skype or other
seen a photo of their new device, which is visual calling applications.
scheduled to be introduced at Apple’s World-
wide Developer’s Conference in June. Howev- Designed specifically for seniors, here is a de-
er, it will be similar in function to the Echo and scription from the developer’s website about
Google Home, so we can expect some combi- what the product will do:
nation of speakers and microphones in a small
package.
“ELLIQ™ is an active aging companion
The Apple personal assistant will be more ex- that keeps older adults active and en-
pensive than Amazon’s Echo and Google gaged. ELLIQ seamlessly enables older
Home, according to analysts, because it will adults to use a vast array of technologies,
have state-of-the-art speakers and subwoofers. including video chats, online games and
A few years ago, Apple bought Dr. Dre’s Beats social media to connect with families and
speakers; Apple is expected to incorporate
their speakers and its own AirPlay wireless friends and overcome the complexity of
streaming into the Siri personal assistant. the digital world.
ELLIQ inspires participation in activities by
Apple owns facial-recognition companies proactively suggesting and instantly connect-
Faceshift and Emotient; analysts are predicting ing older adults to digital content such as TED
that the new Siri device will be able to use faci- talks, music or audiobooks; recommending
al-recognition technology to see that it is com- activities in the physical world like taking a
municating with you, and to determine how you
are feeling. This may lead to suggestions of walk after watching television for a prolonged
music to lift your mood if you’re feeling down, period of time, keeping appointments and tak-
or different options in the case of other per- ing medications on time; and connecting with
ceived emotions. As always, it will be interest- family through technology like chat-bots such
ing to see Apple’s take on another new market- as Facebook Messenger.”
place.
And, of course, most of us have smartphones
At a recent technology program conducted by
the Waukegan Township Senior Center, at- with many of the same capabilities as these
tendees were shown yet another personal as- standalone personal assistant devices, espe-
sistant that is expected to be available soon. cially when equipped with Siri, Google Now or
Currently named Elli-Q, it is still in development Cortana technology. By selectively adding /
- with an unknown release date and pricing. enabling appropriate apps for their phones us-
Here is a preproduction photo: ers can gain many of the capabilities of the
new personal assistants without having to pur-
chase yet another device.
It promises to be an interesting time, as new
AI personal assistants are rolled out and new
capabilities are added to existing personal as-
sistant device and smartphones. Stay tuned!
Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of
compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is
sweet as a flower, then my mother is that
sweet flower of love— Stevie Wonder
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