How Does Alexa Work
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How does alexa work Continue For a subsidiary of Amazon, see Alexa Online. Voice Assistant, developed by Amazon This article may contain original research. Please improve it by checking the claims made and adding links. Applications consisting only of original research must be removed. (December 2016) (Learn how and when to delete this template message) Amazon AlexaDeveloper (s)AmazonInitial releaseOn November 6, 2014; 5 years ago (2014-11-06)Fire OS 5.0 operating system or later, iOS 11.0 or later 1'Android 4.4 or laterPlatformAmafire OSiOSAndroidCortanaLinuxAcceal inEnglishFrenchGermanJapaneseKorean4NPannPannPanishPortugueseHineseTypeHinellielligent personal assistant, cloud voice serviceWebsitedeveloper.amazon.com/alexa Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa, developed by Amazon, first used in Amazon Echo smart speakers developed by Amazon Lab126. It is capable of voice interaction, music playback, compiling to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, sports and other real-time information such as news. Alexa can also control multiple smart devices using itself as a home automation system. Users can empower Alexa by installing skills (additional functionality developed by third-party vendors in other settings, more commonly called apps such as weather programs and audio features). Most Alexa devices allow users to activate the device using a wake word (such as Alexa or Amazon); Other devices (such as Amazon's mobile app on iOS or Android and Amazon Dash Wand) require the user to press a button to activate Alexa listening mode, although some phones also allow the user to talk commands such as Alexa or Alexa Wake. Currently, interaction and communication with Alexa are only available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Hindi. In Canada, Alexa is available in English and French (with a quebec accent). Amazon currently employs more than 10,000 Alexa employees and related products. In January 2019, Amazon announced the sale of more than 100 million Alexa-enabled devices. In September 2019, Amazon launched a slew of new devices, reaching many records, competing with the global smart home device industry. The new Echo Studio was the first smart speaker with 360 Dolby sounds and sound. Other new devices included the Echo dot with the watch behind the fabric, the new third generation Amazon Echo, Echo Show 8, the Echo device plug-in, the Echo Flex, Alexa's built-in wireless headphones, Kidneys, Alexa built-in glasses, Echo frames, Alexa built-in ring, and Echo Loop. The story of Amazon Alexa on display in the retail store In November 2014 Amazon announced Alexa along with the Echo. Alexa was inspired by a computer and the conversation system aboard Starship Enterprise in sci-fi series and movies, starting with Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Amazon's developers have chosen the name Alexa because it has a hard consonant with the X, which helps it be recognized with higher accuracy. They said the name resembles the Library of Alexandria, which is also used by Amazon Alexa Internet for the same reason. In June 2015, Amazon announced the Alexa Fund, a program that will invest in companies that make voice control skills and technologies. The $200 million fund has invested in companies such as Jargon, Ecobee, Orange Chef, Scout Alarm, Garageio, Toymail, MARA and Mojio. In 2016, the Alexa Award was announced for further development of the technology. In January 2017, The first Alexa conference, an independent meeting of the global Alexa developers and enthusiasts community, was held in Nashville, Tennessee. The sequel was announced with a new title, The Voice Project, and will be a major on the first day with Amazon's head of education for Alexa, Paul Cutsinger. At the Amazon Web Services Re: Invent conference in Las Vegas, Amazon announced Alexa for Business and the opportunity for app developers to pay add-ons to their skills. In May 2018, Amazon announced that they would include Alexa's 35,000 new Lennar Corporation homes built this year. In November 2018, Amazon opened its first alexa pop-up store at the Eaton Center in Toronto, demonstrating the use of home automation products with Amazon smart speakers. Amazon also sells Alexa devices at Amazon Books and Whole Foods Market, in addition to pop-ups at mall-based stores across the United States. In April 2019, Amazon announced the expansion of Alexa to Brazil, in Portuguese, along with Bose, Intelbras and LG. The app can be used by Alexa-enabled device owners to install skills, control music, control alarms, and view shopping lists. It also allows users to view the recognized text on the app screen and send Amazon feedback as to whether the recognition was good or bad. The web interface is also available to customize compatible devices (e.g. Amazon Echo, Amazon Dot, Amazon Echo Show). Alexa can perform a number of preset functions outside the box, such as set timers, share current weather, create lists, access Wikipedia articles, and more. Users say that the designated wake-up word (the default is simply Alexa) to alert the Alexa-enabled device to the team's subsequent function. Alexa listens to the command and performs the appropriate function or skill to answer a question or command. the ability to answer questions is partly powered by the language of Tungsten. When questions are asked, Alexa converts sound waves into text, allowing it to collect information from a variety of sources. Behind the scenes, the data collected is then analyzed using Wolfram technology to get appropriate and accurate answers. Alexa-supported devices can stream music from the Amazon Music owner's accounts and have built-in support for Pandora and Spotify accounts. Alexa can play music from streaming services such as Apple Music and Google Play Music from a phone or tablet. In addition to performing pre-installed functions, Alexa can also perform additional functions using third-party skills that users can enable. Some of Alexa's most popular skills in 2018 included The Question of the Day and National Geographic Geo quiz for trivia; TuneIn Live to listen to live sporting events and news stations; Big skies for hyper local weather updates; Sounds of sleep and relaxation to listen to soothing sounds; Sesame Street for children's entertainment; and Fitbit for Fitbit users who want to check their health statistics. In 2019, Apple, Google, Amazon and alliance Sigby announced a partnership to make smart home products work together. As of April 2019, Amazon had more than 90,000 features (skills) available for users to download on its Alexa-enabled devices, significantly more than just 1,000 in June 2016. Microsoft's Ai Cortana has been available for use on Alexa-enabled devices since August 2018. In 2018, Amazon rolled out a new Brief Mode in which Alexa began to respond with a beep rather than saying, OK to confirm the command. On December 20, 2018, Amazon announced a new integration with the Wolfram Alpha response engine, which provides increased accuracy for alexa users asking questions related to math, science, astronomy, engineering, geography, history, and more. Home Automation In Home Automation Space, Alexa can interact with devices from several manufacturers including SNAS, Fibaro, Belkin, ecobee, Geeni, IFTTT, Home Automation feature was launched on April 8, 2015. Developers can create their own smart home skills using the Alexa Skills Kit. In September 2018, Amazon announced a microwave oven that can be paired with an Echo device. It is sold under the label AmazonBasics. You can order takeaway food with Alexa; As of May 2017, ordering food using Alexa is supported by Domino's Pizza, Grubhub, Pizza Hut, Seamless and Wingstop. Alexa users in the UK can also order food through Just Eat. Early 2017 announced a private beta to place orders for pickup trucks using the use of Users can also order meals using Amazon Prime Now through Alexa in 20 major U.S. cities. With the advent of Amazon Key in November 2017, Alexa is also working with the smart lock and Alexa Cloud Cam included in the service to allow Amazon couriers to unlock customers' front doors and deliver parcels inside. According to an article published in August 2018 by The Information magazine, only 2 percent of Alexa owners used the device to purchase in the first seven months of 2018, and of those who made the initial purchase, 90 percent did not make a second purchase. Music Alexa supports a variety of subscription-based and free streaming services on Amazon devices. These streaming services include: Prime Music, Amazon Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Audible, Pandora and Spotify Premium. However, some of these music services are not available on other Alexa-enabled products that are manufactured by companies that have external services. This inaccessibility also includes Amazon Fire TV's own devices or tablets. Alexa can stream media and music directly. To do this, the Alexa device must be linked to an Amazon account that allows access to its Amazon Music library, in addition to any audiobooks available in its Audible library. Amazon Prime members have additional access to stations, playlists, and over two million songs for free. Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers also have access to a list of millions of songs. Amazon Music for PC allows you to play personal music from Google Play, iTunes and others on your Alexa device. You can do this by downloading your collection on My Music on Amazon from your computer. Up to 250 songs can be downloaded for free. Once this is done, Alexa can play this music and control playback through voice command settings. Sports Amazon Alexa allows the user to hear updates about supported sports teams.