Google Nest Devices Can Tell When You’re Near Using ‘Ultrasound Sensing’

One of the features that Google debuted with the Pixel 4 is Motion Sense. This relies on radar technology to sense the movements of the user, where through the wave of a hand, it can silence calls, pick up calls, and so on. It also has the ability to detect when the user is about to pick up their phone, which in turn pre-activates the face unlock feature to make it faster.

It seems that Google is taking that concept and bring it to its Nest devices. While they aren’t incorporating Motion Sense tech into their Nest home devices, they are taking its concept. This has resulted in a new feature called ultrasound sensing, where it can detect when users are near to it, which in turn will activate it.

If this sounds familiar, it is because it is similar-ish to the Nest Hub Max, which relies on a built-in camera to recognize users. However, since not all Nest devices come with cameras, Google has turned to ultrasound technology. This sends out a high-frequency chirp that the device’s microphones try to pick up on to know if someone is near, and before you get too worried, Google has reassured Engadget that it will be at a pitch than dogs can hear, so it won’t annoy or harm your pets.

So what this means is that as you approach your Nest device, through the ultrasound sensing technology, it will know that you are near, it will turn on the display or show controls and information, so that everything will be ready for use before you even get to it. We’ve yet to try it out for ourselves, but Engadget who got a hands on claims that it works as advertised during the demo.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: Connected Objects, Google, IoT (Internet of Things)