Google builds and cancels Star Trek-like communicator

Google Search’s senior vice president and software developer Amit Singhal got the company to invest time in building a Star Trek Communicator-like device. However, the communication gadget never made it past the prototype stage.

Time writes this in an article about the ‘secret prototype’. The button to communicate with uses bluetooth, a microphone, a speaker and can be activated with a light touch. Optionally, the sound can also be passed on to the user via headphones.

The prototype was intended to test how users might interact with voice searches. The idea was to make it easier for people to enter searches without having to pull out a phone first. In addition, the chief of searches is a big fan of Star Trek.