Amazon Alexa Technology
Amazons Alexa Digital Technology
Device
Name: Alexa
Owner:
Amazon
Developed
by: Amazon Lab 126
Named
after the ancient library of Alexandria, Alexa is Amazons voice control system.
Alexa lets the user speak their wishes to a hardware speaker which is called
Echo smart speaker and let the user fulfilled their wishes such as dimming your
lights of room or playing music tracks, changing music tracks.
What
makes this difference apart from first generation voice assistant.
The
main thing Alexa unique and user friendly than other is its responsiveness.
There is no activation button or press in the system itself. Saying the word
simply trigger followed by what you want to happen and it usually be done.
Although all these things are done only before properly setting up and using
the correct command. As a user myself I find Alexa more natural and responsive
than speaking to a phone based voice system such as Siri from apple or Cortana
from Android.
How technology works
Amazon
manufactured a natural-language treating system that is one of the relaxed to
intermingle with we’ve seen. If you ask an inquiry or deliver a command, you
usually don’t have to ask twice. Part of Alexa’s success is reliant on the
several very sensitive microphones built into all Echo devices. Alexa is always
listening and is quick to respond.
Alexa
is predominantly useful for smart home users as it lets users control its
compatible devices without using the phone or launch an app. Although Alexa
does have its own app, but that’s mostly for setup and configuration or add new
abilities. Amazons other devices such as Echo and Dot let users access Alexa
useful features without user-interface interaction with a screen at all.
Automation action with routines is an Alexa main motto and its deliver at its
best. Alexa now can imitate the behavior of its users which is because of routine
feature. For example, you can say “Alexa I am home!” and it can greet you and
turn on the lights of living room. Another important feature this technology
provides is that users can set up as multi-room intercoms. With this feature
user can use their smart speakers to broadcast an announcement to the whole
house or in a school, airport or cruise ship.
Amazon
Alexa let user help in translating in different languages. In this global world
people are now multicultural and often visit another country for fun or for
business. Alexa help user translate in more than 89 language and Amazon is
working on adding more in coming years.
Key Problems in Technology and
Solution to the Problems
It
can do a lot of things but sometimes in practice things does not work exactly
how we expect them to. Adding a long list using Alexa sometimes get annoying,
for example I have to add shopping list by telling Alexa to add beer and chips
but I have to add these list separately. Things get annoying if you have large
list, since you have to add them separately.
Alexa
is limited in answering the question of users, since it’s not google you cannot
always find what are you looking. It is limited to its extent of information
depth and what is stored in main system. As an owner of Alexa I myself have run
into problems as a result of the limited number of wake words. Again, if I can
change the Echo’s wake word, but I can use only “Alexa,” “Amazon,” “Echo,” or
“Computer.” The far-field microphones on the original Echo and Dot are so sensitive
that if I were to address the Dot in my basement theater, and have the basement
door open, the Echo in the kitchen would likely respond as well. Owners can
change the wake word for each Alexa device, but it gets confusing to remember
which one responds to “Alexa” and which one responds to “Echo.”
Identical
with other website, Alexa accumulates information about how users interrelate
with it. After storing information, Amazon
relates that to how websites use cookies to assemble info on your browsing. It basically
knows what music you listen to, what you put on your shopping list, and what
smart-home products you have connected to your system, all based on what you
told it to do. Apparently, that information is used to marketplace more
products and services to you, yet in my experience, using Alexa on a daily
basis hasn’t resulted in more direct marketing from Amazon. Sometimes it feels
like the whole thing is spying you and your daily activity and you are just
following the routine.
How to Obtain
You
can buy Alexa Echo Dot 3rd generation at $39.99 if you are Amazon
prime member otherwise you have to pay little bit more, probably 12 to 20
dollars more.
Reference
Rory Carroll, Goodbye privacy,
hello ‘Alexa’: Amazon Echo, the home robot who hearsit all,
The Guardian, November 21, 2015
Brian Heater, Amazon Echo VP Mike
George talks Alexa security and simplifying search,
TechCrunch, May 10, 2016