One of surprising successes in recent times is the Amazon Echo, a speaker with Amazon’s AI assistant Alexa built into it. The device has been received pretty well and so far it seems that many users are reacting positively to it, so much so that it has since spawned various devices like the Amazon Tap and the Amazon Echo Dot.
However it seems that is not enough as Amazon and Intel have announced that they are working together to bring Alexa onto more connected devices. For starters Intel has actually recreated a reference design for a set of speakers with Alexa integrated into it. This means that companies who want to reduce their own R&D costs and use this reference design to make their own speakers.
Intel is also bringing Alexa to its Smart Home Hub, which in turn is helping developers build more connected home products that can be controlled using Alexa. Given that Google is hoping to achieve the same thing with Google Home, it seems that Amazon might have the added advantage of Intel’s backing.
At the moment Alexa is open to third-developers to use and we have seen a few devices that have taken advantage of it, but we guess with Intel’s backing it should open it up to more companies.
Filed in . Read more about Alexa, Amazon, Connected Objects, Intel, IoT (Internet of Things) and Speakers.