Josh.ai had plenty of news to deliver at the company’s recent Winter Launch event. Alongside the launch of a new touchscreen interface, Josh announced the release of a new open-source platform called Nimble DevSuite designed to help accelerate integrations with the control platform.

With the release of the Nimble DevSuite platform, it seems Josh.ai is really starting to hit the gas on developing integrations with its platforms. Citing a constantly evolving industry, as well as increasing demands from dealers and clients, the Nimble DevSuite is Josh.ai’s answer to somehow incorporating the massive ecosystem of smart devices onto its platform.

According to Josh.ai, the Nimble platform is directly rooted in open-source technologies and is, by design, equipped to support a variety of platforms and protocols, which the company hopes will lead to faster development and increased flexibility regarding integrations within its ecosystem.

Following the announcement, Josh.ai stated that Nimble firmware will be pushed out soon via an over-the-air update to active systems.  

Additionally, Josh had plenty of new integrations with smart home systems and devices to announce that included products from Shelly, August, Yale, Google Nest, Big Ass Fans, Honeywell, Hunter Douglas, Wiz, Nanoleaf, Hearth & Home, Anthem, as well as integrations with Vantage’s entire control platform with these new integrations will be rolled out to the Josh.ai platform over the next few weeks following the Winter Launch Event.

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The company also showcased several updates to its platform in the form of nineteen new AI voices, expanded app functionalities and a custom software upgrade to AVA’s recently launched Cinema Remote hardware.

Josh Touchscreen, AVA Expansion Adds New Control Options for Clients and Dealers

Marking what the company calls “another milestone in Josh.ai’s evolution” the Josh Touchscreen adds a physical interface for the long-established voice control system.

The new interface features a room-level view and gives users insight and control over the space’s connected devices, scenes and custom dashboards with added assistance provided by JoshGPT AI integrations. And before you ask, yes, the interface will still come with voice control capabilities through a tap-to-talk button built into the hardware.

At launch Josh Touchscreens will be available in polished black and ceramic white finishes with an 8-inch edge-to-edge display. The device also comes equipped with proximity and light sensors that help factor into specific automations.

According to Josh.ai, the touchscreen is mountable in a North American single-gang cutout with the option of positioning it on a tabletop also possible. The company also stated that flush mount solutions for the touchscreen are forthcoming from Wall-Smart.

The company is also leveraging its partnership with AVA to provide an augmented control experience for the recently released AVA Cinema Remote hardware. This comes in the form of an out of the box software package that provides clients with a customized Josh.ai interface on the AVA hardware.

More than a simple visual overhaul, however, the package is also intended to expand the control capabilities of the Cinema Remote, upgrading it to be a true universal remote for the Josh.ai ecosystem.

Josh Touchscreen is available for dealers to pre-order now with a target ship date by or before CEDIA Expo 2024. The Cinema Remote will now be shipping with customized software experience, exclusively available to Josh.ai dealers.

Meanwhile, iOS and Android users will have direct access to new Josh App features being pushed out today that include customizable graphical tiles that can be expanded and condensed to provide anywhere from a room level to a whole home level view of connected devices.

One of the handier updates, aside from the general streamlining of the interface, CEO Alex Capecelatro noted, is that now users can get quick insight into which rooms have active devices at a glance. JoshGPT has also been given slightly more authority within the system, being able to access and control certain devices at user request.

Video control has also been expanded to more closely resemble an app-friendly version of the AVA Cinema Remote interface that includes a new channel tab to select active streaming subscriptions from the phone interface.

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