But a virtual assistant also needsears, and that is where our second component comes in....
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But a virtual assistant also needs
ears, and that is where our second component comes in. It turns the sound of your voice
into electrical impulses that Alexa's brain can understand. This is the microphone. I don't know if you've ever played
around with an Alexa, sometimes you'll be standing right next to it
and it'll ignore you. But other times, you'll be,
like, three rooms away and it will light up at the sound
of your voice. And that makes me wonder -
what kind of microphones does it have inside that mean
it's able to do that? And then the follow-up question -
does that mean it's always listening? Well, let me show you. Take it apart. HE LAUGHS Open-heart surgery on Alexa. They
don't normally come apart this
easily. Well, he WOULD say that. That is Alexa's director
of audio, Philip Hilmes
ears, and that is where our second component comes in. It turns the sound of your voice
into electrical impulses that Alexa's brain can understand. This is the microphone. I don't know if you've ever played
around with an Alexa, sometimes you'll be standing right next to it
and it'll ignore you. But other times, you'll be,
like, three rooms away and it will light up at the sound
of your voice. And that makes me wonder -
what kind of microphones does it have inside that mean
it's able to do that? And then the follow-up question -
does that mean it's always listening? Well, let me show you. Take it apart. HE LAUGHS Open-heart surgery on Alexa. They
don't normally come apart this
easily. Well, he WOULD say that. That is Alexa's director
of audio, Philip Hilmes
Full Transcript
00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:06.032
But a virtual assistant also needs
ears, and that is where our second
00:00:06.032 --> 00:00:08.064
component comes in.
00:00:08.064 --> 00:00:12.056
It turns the sound of your voice
into electrical impulses
00:00:12.056 --> 00:00:15.024
that Alexa's brain can understand.
00:00:15.024 --> 00:00:17.028
This is the microphone.
00:00:19.048 --> 00:00:22.024
I don't know if you've ever played
around with an Alexa, sometimes
00:00:22.024 --> 00:00:24.088
you'll be standing right next to it
and it'll ignore you.
00:00:24.088 --> 00:00:27.048
But other times, you'll be,
like, three rooms away
00:00:27.048 --> 00:00:30.999
and it will light up at the sound
of your voice.
00:00:30.999 --> 00:00:33.032
And that makes me wonder -
what kind of microphones does
00:00:33.032 --> 00:00:36.028
it have inside that mean
it's able to do that?
00:00:36.028 --> 00:00:39.048
And then the follow-up question -
does that mean
00:00:39.048 --> 00:00:41.064
it's always listening?
00:00:41.064 --> 00:00:42.839
Well, let me show you.
00:00:42.839 --> 00:00:45.000
Take it apart.
00:00:42.839 --> 00:00:45.000
HE LAUGHS
00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:48.000
Open-heart surgery on Alexa. They
don't normally come apart this
easily.
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:49.024
Well, he WOULD say that.
00:00:49.024 --> 00:00:52.072
That is Alexa's director
of audio, Philip Hilmes.
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Movie Summary
Hannah Fry uncovers the secrets behind the miraculous technologies of the modern world,revealing the mind blowing stories behind their invention
