All Articles Tagged Voice Control

Julie Jacobson | 05/14 09:05 AM, 2 Comments

CineTouch, which creates software to make AMX systems easier to program and operate, has added a new feature set to the home automation platform: voice control. The company just released Ask Cindy, which allows users to adjust the thermostats, select music and zones, launch scenes and perform other integration feats with just a few words. Simply press the “Ask Cindy” button on your AMX-enabled iOS or Android device, and speak your commands. “Cindy can reply and act on command, challenge for passcodes, announce activities, respond to changes in the environment,… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/11 09:53 AM, 0 Comments

Every year, the Consumer Electronics Association picks 5 Technology Trends to Watch. For 2012, the organization included “alternative input technologies,” and we couldn’t agree more. But while CEA spends considerable energy on the “emerging” trend of touchscreens (yawn), we believe 2012 could be a break-out year for other, newer technologies - especially voice control, but also near-field communication (NFC), gesture-based control, biometrics and RFID. Is it finally time for voice control? Speech recognition has been available for quite some time, and has been implemented in many DIY-type automation systems for… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/03 09:57 AM, 3 Comments

Few aspects of “smart home” technology have been lampooned as much as voice control. Consumers who think they’re really hip still love to cite, “Open the pod bay doors, HAL.” Very clever, like all those stale references to the Jetsons. More recently, voice recognition has been famously skewered by Howard Stern and the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. In the real world, though, it’s not that funny anymore. Why? Because we’re so used to barking orders at our cell phone to “dial so-and-so” or “play such-and-such.” And we think nothing… View this story

Arlen Schweiger | 12/21 08:34 AM, 0 Comments

There is more good news for those who are interested in, or banking on, voice control technology as one of the next big things in custom electronics - we certainly are, having named it as one of our Top 5 Hot Home Tech Opportunities for 2012. LG Electronics' new Magic Remote for its Cinema 3D Smart TVs won't be your run-of-the-mill clicker. Nope, the Magic Remote may sound more like something out of an infomercial, but LG says the device will be equipped with some of those newfangled alternative input… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 11/29 09:28 AM, 6 Comments

Where will CE Pros find new inspiration and fresh opportunities in 2012? CE Pro has selected 5 Home Technology Opportunities for the coming year. They will be presented in the January 2012 of the magazine (CES issue). Please let us know your thoughts on our Top 5 in the comments section below! 1. Cloud-based services Most integrators are sold on the notion of cloud-based content, but the opportunities in the cloud go way beyond that. In 2011 we started to see some promising activity around cloud-based home-control, telephony, energy management… View this story

Joe Whitaker | 04/21 06:35 AM, 4 Comments

Have you seen the hilarious video of two Scottish guys trying to control an elevator via voice? (Warning: profanity). It’s pretty much the same joke (but funnier) that has played out in the home automation space since the advent of the MasterVoice Butler-in-a-Box some 20 years ago. The stuff has never worked very well and users generally look foolish (meaning no disrespect to Home Automated Living, Homeseer and other home automation vendors who continue to support voice recognition). The downside of voice recognition: Two Scottish guys trying to ride an… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 04/07 05:47 AM, 1 Comment

Amulet, which makes a voice-enabled remote control for Windows Media Center, will soon make its technology available for third-party development. “We’re coming out with an SDK [software developer’s kit] to use with automation,” says president Patrick Lawless. The SDK will be available shortly after the company’s first product, the Amulet Remote, is released this summer. Lawless demonstrated the product during the Electronic House Expo (EHX) in March. Move the remote toward your mouth and the voice recognition kicks in. You can, “Play Movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” or… View this story