March 6, 2022
Voice control for the integrated home
Sound familiar? It’s only been a few years since voice control was first introduced, and already, it’s become a part of our everyday lives. Voice commands feel magical: the answer to a question arrives in seconds, rather than minutes.
Voice control provides the speed and convenience of the Internet in a more efficient method of delivery. Here’s the why and how behind integrating voice control into smart home design.
It’s true -- there are some limitations to voice control. When Alexa doesn’t understand the first time, repeating the command gets frustrating. Still, most agree that the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks of using voice control. In a home integrated with voice control, you can turn on the TV in the family room, even while you’re in the middle of cooking up a storm in the kitchen. It’s all fast and hands-free, which means it’s even easier to multitask than ever before.
The days of pushing buttons is over. Ask Siri what the weather’s like today, and she’ll give you a good answer. But what about asking Siri to turn up your thermostat or start a load of laundry? These days, voice control goes beyond smartphones. It’s now moving into smart homes, too. Samsung has introduced a line of refrigerators, dishwashers, washers, dryers and robotic vacuums that are compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Similarly, Bosch, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, GE, Jenn-Air, Kenmore, and LG also offer smart home integration that can be used with voice control.
Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home are the leading voice assistant ecosystems on the market. Try to commit to one brand from the get-go, but if you already own devices from different brands, don’t sweat. It’s still possible to use both the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa to control your smart home simultaneously. Third-party apps like Stringify, Yeti, and IFTTT can help streamline smart home automation across multiple devices. Once it’s all set up, using voice commands to control your smart home becomes even easier.
It’s predicted that by the year 2020, voice-enabled apps will not just understand our commands more accurately, they’ll also understand the context of our words, too. Recently both Google and Amazon also announced that “wake” words (like ‘Alexa’) won’t be needed when you’re already in the middle of a conversation with them, eliminating the need to use the “wake” word repeatedly. These exciting advances in voice control technology confirm that it’s more than just a trend -- voice assistants are here to stay.