Once users set up Alexa Routines, Alexa will detect sounds of water running or an appliance beeping send them notifications. Now, the devices powered by Alexa can recognize different sounds such as snoring, glass shattering, dogs barking, babies crying, and smoke alarms. 

Amazon revealed the latest sound detection capabilities in its November roundup.  

Amazon is looking forward integrate Alexa into lives and they have promised support for custom sounds. According to the company, custom sounds will trigger smart home actions. 

Besides, the company also stated that it has made the Occupancy Routines feature available on Echo devices.

This feature sees if your home is occupied using Ultrasound Motion Detection and then performs certain actions. For example, turning the lights on when a motion is detected. 

For Amazon Pharmacy customers, you can now ask Alexa to refill your prescriptions by saying, “Alexa, refill my medications.” AI assistant will be able to track and provide you updates on medications delivery. 

Last month, Amazon added a Conversation Mode to its third-gen Echo Show 10 to allow you to have more natural conversations with Alexa. Alexa Conversation Mode is now available in the US. If you want to enable this feature, just say “Alexa, join the conversation.” 

Last but not least, the Echo Show 15, an Alexa-powered wall-mountable 15.6-inch smart display, is now up for pre-orders starting at $250. You can buy a compatible stand accessory that works in both landscape and portrait orientation.  

Read Also : Apple is Working on New Wireless Charger Similar to AirPower

The post Alexa Can Now Detect Bleeping Appliances & Running Water appeared first on Tech Research Online.

For instance, if a user asks Alexa for the time taken to fully cook an egg. The assistant tells you that it takes roughly 1 1/2 minutes, then she will ask you if you’d like to set a timer.  

Amazon says “the update involves algorithmic tweaks and a deep learning model that will allow the device to evolve based on its relationship to the user. If you’re asking Alexa about how to cook eggs every morning and always opting to set the timer, Alexa’s discovery model will use active learning to improve its predictions and more accurately conclude whether or not you want to know when those 1 1/2 minutes are up.”  

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In a blog post, Amazon wrote “Amazon’s goal for Alexa is that customers should find interacting with her as natural as interacting with another human being.” “While [apps] may experience different results, our early metrics show that latent goal [inference] has increased customer engagement with some developers’ apps.”  

The company seems to acknowledge that latent goal discovery might become annoying for users. For instance, in early prototypes, when users requested “chicken recipes,” Alexa would follow up with- “Do you want me to play chicken sounds?”  

So, to mitigate unwanted suggestions, the company has implemented a deep-learning model that factors in different aspects of the dialogue context. With its help, Alexa will be able to read the customer’s current session and determine whether the customer has engaged with Alexa’s multi-skill suggestions or not.  

The news of new inference comes as Amazon launches Alexa Conversations with a series of deep neural networks that aim to help developers easily integrate a natural conversational experience into custom apps. 

The post Amazon’s Alexa Will Now Ask You Follow-Up Questions for Integrated Conversational Experience appeared first on Tech Research Online.