Baidu “Breaks Boundaries” by Launching XiaoduPods Smart Earbuds and Announcing DuerOS Upgrades to Empower Smart Living
BEIJING, Sept. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) held the Baidu World 2020 event today in Beijing, unveiling DuerOS 6.0, the latest version of Baidu’s conversational artificial intelligence (AI) system, as well as the true wireless smart earbuds XiaoduPods, Baidu’s first portable consumer electronics product, demonstrating its “breaking boundaries” strategy. These breakthroughs will allow Baidu to broaden its AI services, fulfilling more user needs and assimilating into more aspects of daily life, such as elderly care communities and smart hotel rooms, which Baidu demonstrated during the event that was co-hosted with CCTV.
Making the debut at Baidu World 2020, XiaoduPods are developed under the vision of “breaking boundaries”. As Xiaodu’s first portable device, XiaoduPods soar beyond previous application scenarios and are suitable for even more occasions. With 28-hour long battery life, the smart earbuds contain dual microphones that are supported by AI algorithm to offer accurate voice pickup, filtering out excess noise from the user’s surroundings in the process. By double-tapping or using a wake-up word “Xiaodu Xiaodu”, users can effortlessly utilize various functions such as voice search, voice navigation, music or call.
In addition to the breakthrough achieved in application scenarios, XiaoduPods are also designed with functions that can apply to specific types of users. In “Wandering Earth” mode, two users can each wear one earbud that will intuitively translate their ongoing conversations into their respective preferred languages (available in English and Chinese) in real time. Additionally, the earbuds have “AI Translator” mode and “Simultaneous Interpretation” mode, which can break language barriers in various social situations. With almost no latency, XiaoduPods can be described as a “translator right next to your ears”. With the portable smart service provided by XiaoduPods, more users, such as businessmen and travelers, can enjoy the convenience of smart living brought by DuerOS. XiaoduPods are currently available for purchase on Dumall, JD, Tmall, Pinduoduo, and other platforms. XiaoduPods will retail at first for only RMB 199.
Under the “breaking boundaries” strategy, there are two main avenues: the first is to foster a higher degree of accessibility by expanding smart service capabilities into more application scenarios. The second is to tailor the functions of DuerOS products to specific types of users and cater to a wider range of needs.
“In the future, we will provide more devices for a wider range of application scenarios to make Baidu AI ubiquitous and implement more convenient smart living to users,” Kun Jing, Corporate Vice President of Baidu and General Manager of Smart Living Group (SLG), said. “This is quintessential to the ‘breaking boundaries’ strategy we have been focusing on.”
At the event, Kun Jing announced that DuerOS has entered its 6.0 era, marked by a series of comprehensive and remarkable upgrades. DuerOS is currently the most active, prosperous and sizeable conversational AI system available in the Chinese market, with more than 40,000 developers. According to renowned research firms including Canalys, Xiaodu ranks No.1 in global shipment of smart displays and No.1 in national shipment of smart speakers, and it continues to “break boundaries”, aiming to expand DuerOS applications and further fulfill the needs of users.
The capabilities of DuerOS 6.0 were showcased at the event when a news reporter for CCTV and the host Hui Kang, connected with Beijing Guofengmeitang Community in Changping District, one of the trial locations of Baidu’s smart elderly services. Nearly 200 elderly households within this community have been outfitted with customized Xiaodu smart displays to demonstrate the power of Xiaodu devices and the assistance AI can provide. Xiaodu provides elderly demographics with ubiquitous smart services that can be immensely helpful to their lives, such as for entertainment purposes, weather reporting, health consultations and more.
Baidu has also collaborated with hotel brands and has wide-reaching applications for the hospitality sector, with its services reaching 100-thousand hotel rooms and ranking first in the industry. Kun Jing and another CCTV reporter arrived at the branch venue at InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland hotel to experience smart hotel rooms equipped with Xiaodu capabilities. Under Kun Jing’s voice instructions, Xiaodu Smart Display X8 (Hotel Version) methodically directed the switches in the room and responded to his inquiries, showcasing the convenience of the smart hotel rooms offered by DuerOS.
Speaking at the event, Baidu Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO Robin Li emphasized the power of technology in delivering convenience to consumers. He said AI will lower the barriers of technology and eliminate many obstacles.
Furthermore, Robin Li explained that because Xiaodu has capabilities such as voiceprint recognition, it is able to recognize different family members based on their differing facial features and voices, thereby providing personalized services to each respective user. At the event, Xiaodu was able to adopt CCTV’s host Hui Kang’s voice to tell a bedtime story with the “Parents Story Telling” function of a Xiaodu smart speaker. Hui Kang was impressed and moved by the heartwarming demonstration, expressing that Xiaodu smart speakers can allow the elderly and children to both enjoy the convenience of smart products.
Baidu is looking to explore new user needs and further real-world applications to actively “break boundaries”, allowing more people to experience the convenience that AI brings to them. With continuous advancement and ongoing expansion of product lines, the ubiquitous Xiaodu is becoming increasingly integrated into all aspects of our personal and professional lives.
About Baidu
Baidu, Inc. is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. Baidu aims to make the complicated world simpler for users and enterprises through technology. Baidu’s ADSs trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “BIDU.” Currently, ten ADSs represent one Class A ordinary share.
SOURCE Baidu, Inc.
