Hollywood classics like IRobot, Star Wars or Wall-e led the way to what now has become real: futuristic science fiction scenarios are no longer mere visions or imaginative fantasies. In the USA you can already get your personal R2 D2. Only a much smaller, slim, black and sexy version of it: We’re talking about the Amazon Echo Service called “Alexa”.
Ok, the legendary R2 D2 may be a very high idol. Still, the reaction to voice commands and the following conservation reminds of the typical human – machine conversation á la Hollywood. What is already reality in the U.S.A. will someday conquer the German market, too.
Who or what is this Alexa thing?
Alexa is a service by Amazon, which recognizes the said input of its user and reacts according to the commands. Amazon is already experienced in the production of various gadgets. For now the Kindle tablet is Amazon’s most successful gadget but things may change: Yet, the only English-speaking personal assistant has already encountered the U.S. market and will also come to Germany soon. The aim of Amazon Echo is to make your home smart. In times of the “Smart Home” Alexa works like a control center in which different functions are unified. Among these are not only the smartphone-classic functions like the alarm clock or the weather forecast. Next to her ability to do online search when asked for, Alexa also assists you while online shopping, plays music, reserves a table at your favorite restaurant and also calls the cab to bring you to it. And even more: The little robot friend, which looks more like classic bluetooth speakers, is way more many-sided.
How does Amazon Echo work?
The operation of Alexa is actually not that difficult. All you need is the keyword “Alexa”. It’s the signal to bring Amazon Echo to life and make it obey its user’s commands. A friendly woman’s voice communicates with you and by that she also recognizes your gender and age and even notes when there are guests at home. Alexa even tells jokes! All that personifies Alexa to a gadget way more than a mere computer. A dialog with Alexa could thus look like that:
User: “Alexa, ask restaurant service for a good Asian restaurant in Berlin.”
Alexa: “Where do you want to look?”
User: “Berlin-Kreuzberg.”
Alexa: “I’ve found 3 restaurants. Number 1 ‘restaurant1’, number 2 ‘restaurant2’ and number 3 ‘restaurant3’. You can book a table by saying ‘Reserve a table at’ and the number of the restaurant and the time.”
User: “Reserve a table at number 1 today at 6 pm.”
Alexa: “Do you want to book a table at restaurant1 today at 6 pm?”
User: “Yes.”
Alexa: “A table for 2 at restaurant1 at 6 pm is booked. The reservation number is xxx.”
Amazon Echo cooperates with the music service Spotify and the traffic service Uber, which enable her to play various music lists, call a cab or provide you with current traffic information. There is even more cooperation planned so the functions of Amazon Echo are constantly broadened. It may soon be possible for Alexa to detect your location even when you’re not at home. This allows location-based services to come up with new ideas for marketing and campaigns. And that is exactly what we as pdm solutions are aiming at. CCO Lars Urban says there are many chances for location-based services: “This is a really exciting trend. Right now we are working on various use cases as the combination of different services provides great potential for changes. The whole search process for local information could be redesigned.”
What is the future of Alexa?
Even though Alexa is not yet available in Germany, the trend shows that these smart speakers belong to some of the most important gadgets of our time. The device will soon be available up from 180 € on the German market. It is said that Apple also works on a gadget like that, so maybe we’ll see some kind of SIRI-box soon. Fact is that there are plans for more cooperation partners so the smart device can even expand its functions as an entertainment and information service. Additional services could be linked thermostats that can be regulated by Alexa or the verbal navigation of car functions like opening its windows from the breakfast table on hot summer days.
Ok cool. So what’s the catch?
All these functions produce doubts about the security of all the collected personal data. Alexa is now part of the home and thus has access to very private data. Collecting data, remembering commands and learning from them belong to her basic purposes. But what exactly happens with it? A question which evokes skepticism and exacerbates Amazon Echo’s way to Germany. Eventually the topic of data privacy and protection has always been a controversial issue and former examples have shown that the German mentality is not that open towards new inventions like others. The linking of Alexa with domestic appliances etc. also requires a high digitalization of the home inventory. You see there are some barriers to break down before it is possible to measure the success of Amazon Echo in Germany.
Unfortunately there are no official plans when Amazon Echo will be available in Germany. Whether Amazon Echo will be as successful here as it is in the U.S.A. remains to be seen. Still, the trend is more and more shifting towards the “smart home” and that is undisputable. With this in mind: Alexa, ask cinema service what I can watch in Berlin-Friedrichshain tonight at 10. ;)