Your New Friend: Alexa
Technology is changing our lives, and those people who have access to it often take it for granted. Nowadays, we use technology which we do not care how works.
Did you experience using a technology which has speech recognition ability? Speech recognition is an ability of technology to identify the words and phrases in spoken language and convert them to a computer command. To convert the speech to a computer command, the computer undergoes several complex steps. First, when user speaks, they create vibration in the air also called analog wave. This analog wave will be translated into digital data that the computer understands by sampling the sound through Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). Then when the computer recognizes the speech, it will determine what the user probably says and outputs it as text or issues computer command.
One of the examples of technology which has the ability of speech recognition is Alexa. Alexa is a voice control system developed by Amazon. It is capable of listening to the voice commands and responding with contextual responses to help the user get the job done. Just like Siri on Apple’s iPhone and Google Now on Google, Alexa is also a virtual assistant in Amazon’s devices such as Amazon Echo, Amazon Tap, etc.
For example, if the user that has Alexa device went home in the middle of the night, and the house was dark due to not having any of the lights on, and he needed to find his key or enter his house code, he will just say, “Alexa, turn on the terrace light.”
Or when the user badly needed information because in the baking book, the measurement was in ounce, but for the measuring cup it was in milliliter, and his hands were full of flour, he will just say, “Alexa, how many milliliters are in an ounce?” then Alexa will answer the question, and he can continue baking.
The word “Alexa” is the activation word which would trigger the device, but there are other words or action to activate it such as “Echo,” “Amazon,” or “Computer,” and an action such as tapping.
However, all devices have its limitation. Alexa can only receive one command at a time; it can’t do the user command “Alexa, turn on the lights and play music.” But the good thing here is that the user can add commands also called skills of Alexa so that it can handle those. There is no such thing as perfect in this world so we must able to understand that to have a useful device the person who is using it must be responsible enough to know how to use it wisely.
Technology
Technology refers to the process that human uses to create solutions which satisfy the need or solve problems.
Speech Recognition
Speech recognition is an ability of technology to identify the words and phrases in spoken language and convert them to a computer command
Alexa
Alexa has the ability to listen and respond to voice commands that helps the user to get the job done.