Recently, household appliances with smart features have come out of distant illusions. Today, the various components of artificial intelligence are introduced daily in the collective concept of the “smart home” system. Specially developed protocols are used for integration and interaction between the various components of the system. Therefore, many dedicated software devices have recently been set up to establish a connection between the owner and “smart” things. Let’s see what a voice assistant is and what its functions are.
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Popular Voice Assistants
Attempts to create computer programs capable of recognizing and executing voice commands date back to the early 1990s. Due to imperfections in computer technology and the insufficient development of information technology itself, it wasn’t easy to implement these advanced ideas for practice.
The first voting plan was released in the early 2000s, and the plan was intended for general use. This is the development of Microsoft, the leader in information technology. This is because they are designed to make it easier to enter text without using a keyboard (for example, for people with disabilities). But ten years later, due to the rapid development of science and technology in computing, compact but powerful devices seem to support “heavy” applications – smartphones, laptops, and tablets.
The creation of efficient mobile devices that are always close to the users has led to the development of applications that recognize and respond to voice commands. That is why there are so many voice assistants who today have become the mediators between the protocols and the intelligent “smart home” users. Let’s look at some drawings of different global IT industry leaders, their features, obvious pros and cons.
1. Apple Siri:
The first full virtual assistant was created for the AppStore in the late 2000s by a small IT company “Siri Inc”. But already in 2010. The company, Apple Corporation from Steve Jobs, bought the rights to this application. The program’s name is an abbreviation of the English term “interface for speech interpretation and recognition”. Today, this app is integrated into all modern Apple products: laptops, Macs, iPad 3 tablets and above, Apple Watch smartwatches, and Apple TV.
The program can recognize the two most common languages on the planet, including Russian. You can use male or female voices to communicate with users. Activation is done via the voice command “Hello, Siri!”, Which of course, repeats the welcome message from Google. Originally, Siri was developed for Android and Blackberry, but after Jobs acquired it began working exclusively with Apple technology.
2. Google Home:
Despite its wealth of experience, creativity, and extraordinary intellectual potential, Google is not one of the pioneers in creating voice programs. The first similar product from the computer giant was first released in 2016. Google Home can perform various functions: search for the necessary information on the Internet, automatically check the operation of the “smart home” system, and Google’s virtual assistant can quickly warn the user of errors and deviation components in operation according to its required configuration Change parameters, turn on or off the desired device.
3. Amazon Alexa:
Amazon’s intelligent voice assistant was born in 2014 and is a rewards program for Amazon Prime subscribers. Since 2015, the program has been offered for free. Today, Alexa has been integrated into many Amazon audio devices – Echo, Amazon Echo Dot, and set-top boxes. Today, Alexa has become the hub of various smart household appliances: Philips Hue lights, Nest thermostats, various Belkin, Wink interior accessories, and much more.
4. Microsoft Cortana:
This virtual assistant was created by the Bill Gates team and allows you to enter voice and test commands.
5. Facebook M:
The products of team experts Mark Zuckerberg are still under development. Designed specifically to work in the “Facebook Messenger” environment, it must also include the widest range of other features, including control of “smart home” elements. Right now, the program is in the testing and review phase, after which people are likely to receive the latest and extremely intelligent products.
6. Xiao Ai:
A new virtual assistant from a manufacturer of highly intelligent devices in the Middle East. They are designed to be installed on the latest Xiaomi devices (MiAI smartphones and smart speakers).
7. Sonos One:
Sonos One, the purpose of creating this device is to keep pace with global advances in computing.
