| 1. These tiny microphones will make it okay to spill beer on your Amazon Echo |
| By Elizabeth Woyke, MIT Technology Review |
| Boston startup Vesper has devised a solution: miniature piezoelectric microphones that use a cantilever structure to harvest energy from sound and promise to be more durable and energy-efficient than conventional microphones. Vesper says that once its microphones are incorporated into gadgets, which will happen later this year, we should be able to use our voice-enabled devices outdoors and in inclement weather with less worry, for days on a single charge. More» |
| Why This Matters: More MEMS. Very interesting article from MIT Technology Review with a couple cool images about process including how they test the devices. -Cynthia Wisehart |
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| 2. I’m fluent in 5 computer languages, why can’t I switch off the bedside light in a Marriott? |
| By Brian Miller, FastCo Design |
| I test products for a living. If hotels tested rooms on groups of consumers who were drunk, or stressed, or deprived of sleep for twenty-four hours, I’m certain they’d rethink everything. So in the interests of science, I have inflicted all of these states on myself on a recent trip to the US, and have reached some conclusions that I would like to give the hotel industry for free as a service to them, and to road warriors everywhere. More» |
| Why This Matters: Why are hotels such a UX nightmare? That is the question that this product tester gamely pursues with the help of alcohol, jetlag and ill-advised multi-tasking. –Cynthia Wisehart |
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| 3. How Uber uses psychological tricks to push its drivers’ buttons |
| By Noam Scheiber, New York Times |
| Even as Uber talks up its determination to treat drivers more humanely, it is engaged in an extraordinary behind-the-scenes experiment in behavioral science to manipulate them in the service of its corporate growth. More» |
| Why This Matters: We all need to understand where work is going. It’s unlikely that these tactics will affect those who work in AV directly. But the people around us will be affected, and not just in their work. The “gameification” trend turns up lots of places. (I wear a fitness tracker, don’t judge). AV is also one way to deploy some of these emerging tactics. The article has an underlying horror at this type of motivation, and I see their point. But bosses have wielded emotion and data since always. Will doing it electronically make it better? Or worse? What if Siri was your boss? Is she any more or less capricious. –Cynthia Wisehart |
