Google’s Experimental Little Signals Collection Demonstrates the Future Of ‘Ambient’ Notifications

Google is experimenting with how we interact with technology using a series of objects that can relay notifications in subtle, ambient ways. The Little Signal collection demonstrates a gadget that can puff out air, cast a shadow, or physically tap on a surface to notify you of various events.

The company has been working on its ambient computing design since 2019 and has been adding tiny elements of it to some devices. It was created by the Google Seed Studio (and Map Project Office) tasked with creating "advanced concepts for Google hardware devices."

Google currently has six objects in the Little Signals collection: the Air, Button, Movement, Rhythm, Shadow, and Tap. It shows off concepts of what the devices could look like in its feature video.

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A gadget can be placed beneath a potted plant with arching flowers and the device will blow onto it whenever there's a notification, causing the plant to gently sway. One gadget quietly casts a rounded shadow from the device over the surface of a table; the shadow expands and retracts back into the center of the object.

In another scene, a pastel-colored cylinder in a row softly rises from a device in tune with a clock. It's also shown to use familiar sounds such as when a pendulum taps on a surface, almost like a knock on the door, and the tune of a chime swinging plays as a more calming way to deliver a notification.

The company is exploring how technology can "subtly signal for attention" (notifications) and share other information without being overwhelming. Compared to today's Smart Display visual alerts or loud sounds from speakers, it attempts to engage "with our senses in more nuanced ways."

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While Google's collaborator for this project calls it a series of "interaction experiments and thought starters," the concept can already be turned into something real. For instance, Google provides instructions on how to put the electronics and code together to build a fan that tells you about the weather and some hints for how to make the other objects. 

The company provided 3D files for each object for those who want to figure out how to integrate the electronics themselves. The files can be downloaded as a zip from the Little Signals website.