Alexa works on AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology, developed by Amazon.
It was first used in Amazon Echo smart speaker and the Echo Dot. You can give voice commands to get the information, listen to music & audiobooks, prepare your to-do lists, stream podcasts and get the information on traffic, weather, sports, news and so many more things that could be happened.
Alexa works as a personal virtual Genei. You can ask from history to current events, anything, and it will reply within a few seconds. It’s a revolutionary gadget that is proving its usability in the world.
To wake up this device, a user needs to say a designated “wake word” (the default is “Alexa”) after this, Alexa listens for the command and performs the appropriate function, and it will give you a proper response.
How does Alexa Work: When questions are asked, Alexa converts sound waves into the text to gather information from various sources. At the backend, the data gathered is then passed to various sources to get the proper answer like WolframAlpha, iMDB, AccuWeather, Yelp, Wikipedia and many more. Then, it generates a suitable, accurate answer.
As of April 2019, Amazon had over 90,000 functions(“skills”) available for users to download on their Alexa enabled devices.
Home Automation: Alexa is performing well inhome automation, it’s again a revolutionary invention in the interior industry. Several manufacturers introduce Alexa enabled devices that perform the task on single voice commands. Pioneer manufacturers are SNAS, Fibaro, Belkin, ecobee, Instron etc. Developers are also creating their smart home skills using the Alexa Skills Kit.
Alexa in the Food Industry: Alexa has entered into the food industry and taken “take-out” food orders. Alexa is supported by Domino’s Pizza, Grubhub, Pizza Hut, Starbucks.
Alexa and Music: Alexa is widely used to listen to music everywhere. It supports a multitude of subscription-based and free streaming services. It includes Prime Music, Amazon Music, Apple Music, TuneIn, Spotify. Alexa can stream media and music directly. To do this, Alexa’s device should be linked to the Amazon account.
Alexa communication: There are several ways Alexa communicate like messaging, calls etc. Alexa can send typed messages only from Alexa’s app. It can deliver messages to a recipient’s Alexa application, as well to all supported Echo devices associated with their Amazon account. But Alexa cannot send videos and photos as attachments. The messaging feature does not yet contain any password protection, any person who is accessing the device at home can listen to the message.
Weather news, sports, traffic updates etc. common uses of Alexa. It also working well in business but its services are paid and third-party vendors customize it according to individual’s business need.
Alexa Skills Kit and Voice Services: Amazon providing third-party vendors to develop a set of skills that can be associated with Alexa for a task.
A “Smart Home Skill API” is available for hardware manufacturers to allow users to control smart home devices.
Amazon allows device manufacturers to integrate Alexa voice capabilities into their connected products by using the Alexa Voice Services (AVS)
Cons: Yet Alexa is performing so well, but it has some drawbacks. Alexa is not delivering password protected messaging, and anyone around the device can activate Alexa by “wake word” and listen to messages.
Summary: AI technology is the future technology, from mobile to the washing machine, from home appliances to banking transactions everywhere AI works and Alexa is a primitive infotainment device and its advanced versions are under preparation but very soon such kind of new-age gadgets will become a part of everyone’s life.