“It really makes the relaunch of The Village Voice real in a way it wasn’t before.” “For us, putting a print issue out was a stake in the ground,” Mr. Brian Calle, the publisher of LA Weekly, bought The Voice in December and revived its dormant website in January. Barbey, took it digital-only a year before shutting it down. The new issue, which came out on Saturday, is the first print incarnation of the storied independent publication since August 2017, when its previous owner, Peter D. “New York is back, The Voice is back, I’m back.” “It all makes sense,” said the longtime Voice columnist Michael Musto, who has a byline in the return issue. The report was focused on public restrooms across Europe and the U.S., but Sato says he has seen similar behaviors in Tokyo.New Yorkers may have noticed something strange in the last few days: copies of The Village Voice, fresh off the press and still free, on newsstands and in street boxes. Half of them were opening the door with toilet paper, and 30% were avoiding hand contact as much as possible, and using their elbows. A 2015 report on bathroom behavior found that 60% of users were stepping on toilet levers to flush. Kazoo’s idea for a hands-free toilet came well before the pandemic brought hygiene into the spotlight. The user can choose between ten genres including hip-hop, classical, and what Sato calls “therapootic music,” which taps into that frequency. “It is said that the 528 Hz frequency stimulates bowel movements,” he explains.
“It’s an incredible waste of water and not at all sustainable.” The music takes care of that, but Sato says there’s another reason behind it.Ī 2018 Japanese study found that a music frequency of 528 Hz has an especially strong stress-reducing effect, even with only five minutes of exposure. “A lot of people using public facilities run the tap water or flush only to muffle the sound when they’re doing their business,” explains Sato. If you’re feeling in the mood, Hi Toilet can even play some music for you. Once inside, an infrared sensor identifies where the voice command was made and takes control of the room, something like the Weasley’s enchanted house in Harry Potter, except in this case, the magic is real. To that end, designers used a human-computer interaction technology that helps build a more conversational AI by matching your commands-”flush the toilet,” “turn on the tap”-with a set of pre-defined actions.Īnd since none of this would work without the toilet being able to hear you, the studio also developed a sound system with automation sensors and control systems. For the AI to parse out a command, it has to understand what you’re asking for.
#Voice returns its village voicey full
So, once you have the toilet’s full attention, the experience is a bit like talking to a chatbot. For now, the toilet only responds to Japanese and English speakers, but Sato says any language can be programmed into it, as long as it’s supported by the underlying technology. The team built a custom voice command system using a Japanese open-source speech recognition library. “‘Hi Toilet’ works as a hot word for the facility to start receiving voice commands,” explains Sato, who designed the facility in collaboration with TBWA’s Disruption Lab.
To activate the toilet, all you have to do is greet it, and a chime will invite you to voice your next command. And, while the idea for a hands-free toilet germinated well before the pandemic, it’s a timely reminder that we all deserve a safe, clean, and inclusive place to do our business in the city. After a year and a half of acrobatics to flush with our foot, or turn the doorknob with a paper towel that then must be discarded while the door is propped open, this offering is a welcome addition to our public restroom needs. This particular toilet was designed by Kazoo Sato, the chief creative officer at advertising agency TBWA\Hakuhodo. Self-described as the most hygienic toilet in the world, Hi Toilet is the latest iteration of the Tokyo Toilet Project, which is replacing 17 public toilets in Shibuya, a popular shopping and entertainment area, with clean, modern, accessible structures. All it takes is a voice greeting: “Hi Toilet.” In Tokyo, you can now enter a new public restroom, flush, wash your hands, and even play music-all without ever touching a surface.
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