Floating Record Speaker

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Besides the volume knob this doesn’t have any moving parts. The “spinning” is made possible by embedding an e-ink screen (like those seen on a Kindle) into the record label. The end result is kind of an illusion, if you can look past the thicker record.

This could be a Bluetooth speaker or Personal Assistant (Alexa/Siri), and would be compact in size. The speaker is located in the base. The display could juggle artists and songs, but it would probably be easier to display the current app, such as Spotify or Apple Music. The metal spindle is pegged into a glass cover that overlays the display. E-ink displays don’t suffer burn-in so the spinning image can always be active when the device is. And lastly E-ink displays are available in full-color too.

Mirror Mirror Personal Assistant

HUD mirror mirror fairy tale personal assitant Alexa siri gadget 2019 dave delisle davesgeekyideas daves geeky ideas

Here is another design using Heads-Up Display technology (more on that here), a personal assistant based on the mirror from Snow White. This was inspired by a recent episode of Black Mirror that featured an interactive toy with an emotive face. Why isn’t there a personal assistant with an animated face?

HAL 9000 Smart Thermostat

HAL 9000 smart thermostat intercom speaker 2019 dave delisle davesgeekyideas dave's geeky ideas

Same deal as a Nest thermostat, with a silver dial encompassing a screen, but given a HAL 9000 makeover. This could also be given personal assistant (Alexa, Siri) abilities, thanks to the speaker placement. The speaker and screen also lend themselves to intercom and security cam functionality.

It would be a neat device to have, but speaking as a Dave I’m a little hesitant about wanting one.

Magic 8-Ball Personal Assistant

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The Magic 8-Ball is a toy that people interacted with much like they would with today’s personal assistants Alexa or Siri; they asked questions, the 8-Ball provided answers, albeit random ones. Amazon’s Echo Spot devices inspired me to draw up this design.

Hitchhiker’s Guide Amazon Alexa Design

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Amazon recently announced several new Alexa devices so I thought I would make one that is inspired by Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, at least the one seen in the movie (which used voice commands for queries). I sort of got carried away and made 5 devices in one package, see below.

Alexa The Game Show Host

Alexa echo show jeopardy game show host

The Echo Show is an Alexa assistant with a display, and I think the killer app for this device is game shows like Jeopardy where Alexa serves as the host. Alexa can display the game, narrate questions, listen for answers, and keep track of score.

Apple Siri Screen

Apple Siri Screen design by Dave Delisle

Amazon recently released the Echo Show, an Alexa assistant with a built-in screen that displays information on demand. If Apple were to release a similar product, they can do no worse than making it look like an 80’s Macintosh computer. Nostalgia is all the rage these days, see the NES Classic or C64 Mini.