There’s a lot that digital assistants like Alexa can do for you these days even if they’re not doing the bulk of the data processing on the device itself. In the absence of a dedicated artificial intelligence chip, the data processing is done in the cloud and while it’s quick, it’s not as quick as it would be with a dedicated chip. A new report claims that Amazon is now developing its own artificial intelligence chip for Echo devices to speed up Alexa’s response times.
Citing a person familiar with the company’s plans, The Information reports today that Amazon is developing its won artificial intelligence chip which would be used in its Echo devices.
An onboard AI chip will enable these devices to handle more data processing locally instead of having to send the data to the cloud. This is going to speed up response times and also enable the assistant to provide more advanced features.
It’s certainly not the only company that has had this idea. Apple and Google are working on their own AI chips as well. Previous reports have also suggested that Samsung is developing its own AI chip to improve Bixby’s capabilities on its flagship smartphones.
Just how soon the company will be able to add this chip to its Echo devices remains to be seen. Amazon has not yet commented on the report.
Filed in . Read more about Alexa, Amazon and Artificial Intelligence.