Bose is adding voice control to its smart speakers via Google Assistant. The new integration will allow customers to control the speaker with simple voice commands after using the phrase “Hey Google” to get its attention. Google Assistant will introduce the usual array of smart home features. Users will be able to play music, control…
Huami has upgraded the Amazfit Verge smartwatch with the full integration of Amazon Alexa. Users of the wearable device will now be able to talk to the hand to get news, sports, and weather updates, and to perform a slew of basic clerical functions. “Alexa has become a natural part of our daily routines in…
” Interpreter Mode will translate what the user is saying into the selected language through synthetic speech, or into text if it’s being used with a Google Smart Display. “ Google has announced a number of new features and integrations for its AI-driven virtual assistant platform at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, but one of…
Samsung’s Bixby virtual assistant will soon be able to buy and sell stocks via voice command. The functionality is currently being developed by DeepSearch, a Korea-based data analytics service whose platform is designed to deliver important information about publicly traded companies to end users. Accordingly, as the Korea Herald reports, the new Bixby capability will…
Amazon is seeking to get its Alexa virtual assistant into more third party devices with the announcement that it has now opened up the SDK for its Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit. The development platform was first announced near the start of the year, when it was available for select headphone devices from Bose, Jabra, and…
Nuance Communications is joining forces with Korean telecom KT to develop a new automotive AI system to the Korean market. The solution will combine both companies’ artificial intelligence technologies. Nuance is already well-known for its Dragon Drive platform, which supports speech and voice recognition in vehicular applications; and the company has also expanded on this…
“…BMW Group emphasized its artificial intelligence, asserting that it can learn the driver’s habits, allowing it to offer directions based on a command like, ‘Take me home.’” BMW cars will get their own virtual assistant early next year, dubbed the “BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.” The system will allow drivers to adjust various in-car settings on…
Apple is hoping to leverage this week’s excitement about its new product announcements into some extra enthusiasm for its HomePod smart home speaker system, with a software update enhancing its capabilities. It’s essentially an AI upgrade. On the HomePod, Siri, Apple’s virtual AI assistant, can now search for songs by their lyrics, and perform other…
Further evidence has emerged that Facebook is indeed working on its own smart speaker system, as well as an AI assistant to operate it. The latest, and perhaps biggest, clue comes by way of code found in the Facebook and Messenger Android app by mobile researcher Jane Manchun Wong. The code enables a rudimentary speech…
Two Canadian credit unions are now testing a system that lets customers do their banking through Alexa, Amazon’s voice-based virtual assistant. The technology comes by way of Vancouver-based FinTech specialist Central 1, which developed it in collaboration with San Francisco design agency Point One Digital. Essentially, the idea is to make Alexa a customer service…
Google appears to be working on a new facial recognition system for its mobile devices, according to a new XDA-Developers report. It’s mostly conjecture, but it’s based on pretty solid footing. Essentially, XDA-Developers has been digging around in code for Google Assistant, Google’s AI-driven virtual helper, and found snippets suggesting that a mysterious feature codenamed…
SK Telecom is bringing its AI assistant technology to a hotel in Seoul. The Korean telecom says its Nugu virtual assistant will be deployed at the Grand Walkerhill hotel, allowing hotel guests to perform actions like adjusting lighting and temperature via voice command. The system will initially be installed in 44 rooms, and SK Telecom says…
“Smart cars may be one increasingly important avenue going forward, with Baidu having established partnerships with major brands including BMW, Daimler, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, and others to integrate its conversational AI platform into their vehicles.” Baidu has hit a major milestone for its DuerOS voice-based AI platform: The company has announced that it’s now being…
Qualcomm released its “2018 State of Play” report on the consumer market this week, at its IoT Industry Analyst Workshop. The report’s findings, based on surveys of 6,000 consumer across China, the UK, and the US, outline a couple of key, ongoing trends. One is the rise of the voice interface for consumer electronics, with…
“Speak With Me technology will be available for deployment across any automated vehicle fleet running AWare regardless of vehicle type or automated driving system.” A new partnership could help to bring artificial intelligence to more cars. The AI technology comes by way of Speak With Me, whose eponymous platform revolves around a conversational voice assistant.…
Nuance Communications has won the highest combined rating of intelligent assistant and bot vendors in Opus Research’s “Decision Makers’ Guide to Enterprise Intelligent Assistants,” the company has announced. This is the second consecutive year the company has won this distinction. The report grades enterprise-focused AI solutions providers on the basis of technology, track record, and…
