There’s a show house in Central London which has 5 rooms. In order to gain access to the next room, you must complete a series of challenges. The only tool you have to help is the voice activated technology on your phone. Emily Clarke of Google explains why…

By downloading a series of apps, which are available on Android and iOS, users can access Google’s best offerings. The apps are: Google, Google Translate, Google Camera and Google Drive.

The Google app has a small mic icon on the side which can be tapped or the user can simply say “Ok Google” to activate. Celine Quinn tried it for us this morning - here she is using the “Ok Google” programme:

So there you have Google answering some important questions in life.

This is not just another Siri though. The voice recognition is much stronger, picking up different accents and even Irish words.

The idea is that by using voice control, you can have conversations with your phone rather than endless searches.

It’s now possible to ask your phone for directions from A to B and to “beam” this information to a family member or friend via NFC (if you are next to each other). You can tell your phone to set your alarm, call your wife or remind you to buy milk and it will do so! All that’s required are the magic words “OK Google”.

So we don’t have to wait for a super expensive smart home - with a talking fridge and lights that you can yell at - we can bring existing smart technology into the home with these applications. 

Google's "maps guy"

I met with Ed Parsons, the Geospatial Technologist of Google. He explained what he does and why it matters:

Ed went on to explain that there are certain companies who provide information on the new street layouts, or the location of a new ATM but also, customers contact Google and let them know when they have it wrong!

I asked Ed what is the next step for Google Maps: