Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa,[2] is a virtual assistant technology largely based on a Polish speech synthesiser named Ivona, bought by Amazon in 2013.[3][4] It was first used in the Amazon Echo smart speaker and the Echo Dot, Echo Studio and Amazon Tap speakers developed by Amazon Lab126. It is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, sports, and other real-time information, such as news.[5] Alexa can also control several smart devices using itself as a home automation system. Users are able to extend the Alexa capabilities by installing "skills" (additional functionality developed by third-party vendors, in other settings more commonly called apps) such as weather programs and audio features. It uses automatic speech recognition, natural language processing, and other forms of weak AI to perform these tasks.
Most devices with Alexa allow users to activate the device using a wake-word[7] (such as Alexa or Amazon); other devices (such as the Amazon mobile app on iOS or Android and Amazon Dash Wand) require the user to click a button to activate Alexa's listening mode, although, some phones also allow a user to say a command, such as "Alexa" or "Alexa wake".
As of November 2018, Amazon had more than 10,000 employees working on Alexa and related products.[8] In January 2019, Amazon's devices team announced that they had sold over 100 million Alexa-enabled devices.[9]
In September 2019, Amazon launched many new devices achieving many records while competing with the world's smart home industry. The new Echo Studio became the first smart speaker with 360 sound and Dolby sound. Other new devices included an Echo dot with a clock behind the fabric, a new third-generation Amazon Echo, Echo Show 8, a plug-in Echo device, Echo Flex, Alexa built-in wireless earphones, Echo buds, Alexa built-in spectacles, Echo frames, an Alexa built-in Ring, and Echo Loop.
According to Adi Agashe, Program Manager at Microsoft, Alexa is built based on natural language processing (NLP), a procedure of converting speech into words, sounds, and ideas.
Nina Rolle
The voice of Alexa, the virtual assistant developed by Amazon, is provided by Nina Rolle, a Colorado-based voiceover artist, according to a new book.
Expanding the SDK for Alexa
Over 35,000 skills have already been developed using Java and Node. js and by providing an SDK for the fourth most popular programming language with Python, Amazon will be able to attract even more developers to the Alexa platform.
Automatic speech recognition (ASR) is technology that converts spoken words into text. In short, it's the first step in enabling voice technologies like Amazon Alexa to respond when we ask, “Alexa, what's it like outside?” With ASR, voice technology can detect spoken sounds and recognize them as words.
Our pick. Amazon Echo (4th Gen) The best basic Alexa speaker. ...
Budget pick. Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) A good Alexa speaker (if sound quality isn't as important) ...
Upgrade pick. Sonos One. The best Alexa speaker for whole-house music. ...
Also great. Ultimate Ears Megablast. ...
Also great. Marshall Stanmore II Voice.
Alexa is specifically the name of the virtual assistant - the disembodied voice you talk to, ask questions, and bug with song requests. Amazon's Echo is simply the name given to the physical products themselves, the speakers which house the AI Alexa. ... For more information see our list of Alexa compatible devices.
Through the app, you can access all of Alexa's capabilities, from turning on lights to playing a specific type of music.
