Voice Control
Voice Control is one of the many capacities in home automation. It enables the user to control multiple aspects of their home via voice.
Some of the most commonly known technologies are Amazon's Alexa and Google Home. They are essentially smart-microphone devices, hardware platforms that can process language using a software layer.
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THE GREATER GOOD
Voice control is not just a modern convenience for the tech-interested consumer but can be a great support for those with disabilities and medical impairments. With voice control, all physical connections between you and the operations of your home are no longer necessary: Merely speak, and your wishes are voice control's command.
Find out how the team at Gramophone invented a voice-control-based solution, which experts deemed impossible!
Introducing Josh AI
Guess what company won CEDIA’s Best New Product Award in 2017? It’s Josh.ai, now on display at the Gramophone Experience Center in Timonium, MD. We are impressed with Josh.ai., and the customers who have experienced Josh in action are also impressed. Josh is a programming language that responds to your voice so that you can use the devices in your home more easily. Even better, Josh can control and connect with your other smart devices - cell phones, computers, tablets, etc. Motion sensors, front door locks - all your technology becomes easier and more intuitive. Josh is a secure system, as they manufacture both hardware and software - so your data stays private to you.
Heating, Lights, Shades? Ask Josh
Do you want to adjust your thermostat for a bit more heat on a cold day, to warm up your home? Dim your lights, for a more soothing mood? Lower the shades on a hot day, to keep the sun from making your air conditioning system work too hard? Turn on your kitchen lights one-half hour from now, as a reminder to take those delicious brownies from the oven? It’s as easy as saying “Ok, Josh, turn the heat to 72 degrees” or “Ok Josh, lower the living room shades.” You’ll enjoy using your home’s technology more easily than ever.
The experts at Gramophone can install Josh.ai for you as a stand-alone system, or integrate it with other well-known automation systems that you may be using, such as Control4, Lutron and Crestron. If you can speak, you can use Josh! Visit Gramophone’s Experience Center in Timonium MD for a demonstration of what Josh can do to enhance your enjoyment of your home. Just call us for an appointment. We love showing off Josh.ai!
ALEXA
Alexa is a virtual assistant technology developed by Amazon. This technology is a cloud-based voice service available on hundreds of devices from Amazon and third-party device manufacturers. It helps you throughout the day with a more intuitive and convenient way to interact with your everyday technology. For example:
Simplify your life – by automating and securing your home with smart devices.
Productivity – Alarms, timers, calendars, email Alexa, helps with the details so you can stay focused.
Entertainment – Alexa can bring music and entertainment to your entire home with multi-room audio.
And so much more…
How safe is Alexa?
Alexa's voice recognition works via machine learning, but Amazon also has a dedicated human quality-control team that reviews user recordings to ensure Alexa's accuracy. It is safe for most people to use, although some professionals recommend turning it off when working from home. These privacy concerns come from the device's tendency to pick up on words that sound like prompts but aren't.
How to Protect Your Privacy With Alexa
An alternative to turning off an Alexa device is enabling "Alexa Guard." This feature notifies users of "the sound of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, or glass breaking" when away from home. The user can then replay the suspicious noise to determine if the sound is cause for concern.
Users can even opt-out of voice recording and human reviews using the following voice commands:
"Alexa, delete everything I said today." or "Alexa, tell me what you heard."
GOOGLE ASSISTANT
Google Assistant is the other most well-known artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant. As the name indicates, it was developed by Google and is primarily available on mobile and smart home devices. Unlike the company's previous virtual assistant, Google Now, the Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations.
Google Assistant helps you with over 1 Million actions on different devices for different purposes.
Ask Google to control smart devices in your home. No matter where you are, get things done – whenever you want.
SMART HOme INTEGRATION
Using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, you can control a specific device, a few devices simultaneously, or your entire Smart Home with just your voice.
Our premium partners, Control4 and Savant, have a variety of Alexa, and Google Assistant enabled devices for your seamless automated whole-home experience.
To use Alexa voice control with your Control4 system, you must have:
• An Alexa-compatible device and an Amazon account
• Control4 Smart Home running OS 2.8.2 or newer
• Control4 4Sight subscription
For a Savant System to function with Alexa, the following must be completed:
• A Savant Pro System running da Vinci 8.4 or higher.
• A Savant Pro App user linked to your account.
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