Piccolo Endeavors to be A Gesture-Based Smart Home Hub

February 2018 - Piccolo, from a San Francisco start-up of the same name, is a gesture-based vision assistant system for smart homes. The system uses a combination of advanced motion sensing cameras, artificial intelligence (AI), and voice controls to allow users to control it via voice and gesture commands. Piccolo can detect user input no matter where they are in the room, and aims to be the smart hub of the smart home. This includes its ability to connect to other smart devices, such as for music, television, and light control around the house. The makers of Piccolo envision it being adopted by older adults, wishing to age in place, who can feel safer at home with the fall detection that the device offers, as well as its ability to connect to emergency services. If the system can be fully functional with gesture-only input, it would be a boon for people with hearing and speech disabilities to be able to effectively control smart home devices as it would eliminate the need for voice input. Still in its pilot phase, for more information on Piccolo and its potential to reduce barriers in the smart home, please visit their website at https://www.piccololabs.com/?src=t [Source: Lucas Matney, Tech Crunch]