Neato announced that several of their smart vacuums will now work with Google Home. These vacuums already work with Amazon Echo, and they can also be controlled with an app on your smart phone.
Ask your Neato to start cleaning and it will leave its docking station, and get to work. Ask Neato to report its battery level, and you will get an answer through your Google Home speaker. You can also control your Neato vacuum through your smart phone app even when you are not home.
The D3 Connected, D5 Connected, and Botvac Connected vacuums work with Google Home, but only in the US.
Gadgets
Clarity: A Speaker That Runs Both Alexa and Google Assistant.
Introducing Clarity, a voice activated Alexa speaker with a touch screen that also runs Android, as well as Google Assistant. Now you can use one device to ask Alexa and Google Assistant any question. You can play music and watch movies on the display screen. Because it is also an Android tablet, you can also download any app from the Play Store. Pricing is set initially at $99.
Cool Picks: April 3, 2017
In this week’s, Cool Picks, James Oates, Joel Ramos, and Rachel Feinberg discuss their favourite gizmos and gadgets.
Bristol Braille Develops the Canute: First Multi-Line Braille EBook Reader.
Bristol Braille has created Canute, a multi-line braille eBook reader. It has 9 lines of refreshable braille. Each line has 40 cells of braille. That is an amazing 360 cells, essentially making it a full page of refreshable braille.
It is about the size of a laptop, and is designed to work as a braille version of a Kindle eBook reader. It is estimated to cost about 600 Brittish Pounds, or about $750 U.S.
If you are curious about the name, Canute is the name of an English king from the eleventh century.
The Cool Blind Tech Microphone Shootout!
Ever wonder what type of microphone the Cool Blind Tech team is using on their podcasts? Better yet, thinking of starting your very own podcast and want to know which microphone to buy?
Introducing Tile: A Wireless way to Find Anything You Have Misplaced.
Have you ever misplaced something: like your keys, wallet, or phone? Well, Tile can help with that, and do even more.
Spotlight with Charlene Xia of Team Tactile: Creators of Tactile: A Real-Time Text to Braille Device
Squirrel Devices Creates Tools for Blind Students in STEM Courses.
Pranay Jain and Anshul Singhal, two graduate level students at MIT have founded Squirrel Devices, a company which provides measuring and drawing tools for Blind students in STEM courses.
The Tactile Caliper allows students to measure and draw straight lines with an accuracy of 1/16 of an inch. The Caliper is 12 inches, or 30 Centimeters, and is a mechanical device with no battery or electrical source. Amazingly, when locked in place, the device displays the measurement in braille.
There is also a Tactile Protractor, which is also mechanical. When opening it, it clicks each time you reach a degree. This makes it remarkably easy to measure an angle, or draw one as well.
VIP: To Measure Or Not to Measure?
Join Jessica, James, and Nelson for another exciting VIP as they discuss the latest happenings in accessible tech. Lots of excitement this week, and we’ve got you covered! Here are our stories
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Cool Clips: March 21, 2017
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