Voice control is the future, and we’re only getting started. We’ve seen incredible expansion since voice assistants first emerged with Siri in 2011. It’s now estimated that one in every six Americans owns a smart speaker. Many experts predict that in the next five years, nearly every application in our homes will integrate voice.
In a few years, will we be telling elevators which floor to go to, or instructing our cars to pump gas? Only time will tell, but we’ve rounded up the latest voice innovations we saw in 2019 and share what developments to expect in 2020. Whether your Carmel, IN household is new to voice controlled home automation, or if you already use it routinely, learn more below.
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What Happened in 2019?
“Ok, Google,” “Alexa,” and “Hey Siri,” chimed across the nation as 2019 witnessed new players and moves in the voice control game. Control4 partnered with Google Assistant in their smart home system, which users can now set to the voice of John Legend, apparently. Sonance accepted Josh.ai to control their speaker amps, which is built specifically for smart homes.
A compelling feature of Josh.ai is that one can freely use complicated commands like, “OK Josh, listen to ‘Truth Hurts’ by Lizzo on the porch and classical in the kitchen.” Since Josh is meant for the smart home only, it understands the slight differences between commands like “Make it brighter” or “Turn the lights up,” understanding that you mean the room you’re standing in, and not the whole home unless explicitly stated. Josh.ai works with Control4, Sonos, Lutron, and Nest, so you can easily manage all of your smart devices.
Voice Control in 2020: Cars, Wake Words, and the BBC
A major theme we’re seeing in 2020 is voice control in cars. Volkswagen plans to add voice-activated air conditioning this year, and voice control arrives to Lamborghini, General Motors, and Rivian vehicles. All four manufacturers will incorporate Amazon Alexa for users to access music, news, raise and lower windows, navigate, and even pay for gas.
In other news, both Google and Amazon announced that their voice assistants will no longer require repeated ‘wake’ words. Previously, both assistants required a wake word (“Alexa” or “Ok, Google”) to initiate a second phrase. For instance, one would say, “Ok, Google, turn up the lights. Ok, Google, play Lana Del Rey.” But now, users will be able to simply say, “Ok, Google, turn up the lights and play Lana Del Rey.” As voice assistants develop, commands will be much more natural and efficient to say.
We’ll also see a new voice assistant from the BBC, which is developing their own program. The working title for its wake word is “Beeb.” Rather than create its own piece of hardware, the BBC is planning on having its voice assistant work on different devices. Will we start to see customers switching between assistants like we switch between apps on a phone? We’ll report back in a year or two!
Interested in incorporating voice control with a home automation system? Get started with Digital Home Design in Carmel, IN. You can call us at (317) 816-1400 or submit an online form here.
