Amazon’s Alexa Now Enables Voice Command over Home Appliances

GE Appliances Partners with Amazon to Make Voice-Controlled Kitchens a Reality

Phoenix, United States – October 2, 2016 /PressCable/ —

Before today, someone overheard barking instructions to his or her refrigerator might have been thought delusional. But henceforth, one shouldn’t be too quick to judge, now that Haier Group’s GE Appliances has incorporated Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service into their Wi-Fi-enabled GE and Monogram refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, clothes washers, dryers and water heaters.

Now consumers will be able to send commands to any of these appliances connected to a home network via their Amazon Echo, Echo Tap or Echo Dot. GE Appliances calls their proprietary voice control program Geneva, so a typical command might sound something like this: “Alexa, tell Geneva to preheat the oven to 375.” Geneva understands 39 different voice commands to date.

Last year Amazon made available software tools that enable others to integrate Alexa into their products and services. Charlie Kindel, Director of Amazon Alexa Smart Home explained in a news release, “One of our goals with Alexa is to enable voice control on every device within the home, and this collaboration gets us one step closer to achieving that.” GE Appliances hopes to secure a first-mover advantage. Their V.P. of Service and Consumer Comfort, Liz VerSchure, said in a release, “Integrating our connected appliances with Alexa will help make consumers’ lives easier, more productive and a little more fun.”

Amazon and GE Appliances will not have this burgeoning market to themselves. They will likely face stiff competition from other joint ventures seeking to leverage voice recognition technology for easier control of smart homes via voice commands. For example, Nuance, the developer of Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software, is working with semiconductor manufacturer Conexant Systems to incorporate voice recognition processors into all sorts of home appliances.

The information herein was compiled by Butcher Block Co., a leading online seller of kitchen furniture, countertops and kitchen accessories. BBC strives to stay atop emerging trends impacting consumers in their kitchens. The company carries kitchen products manufactured by John Boos, Catskill Craftsmen and other major manufacturers.

For more information, please visit https://butcherblockco.com

Contact Info:
Name: Kathleen Grodsky
Organization: Butcher Block Co.
Address: 10448 N 21st Pl Phoenix, Arizona
Phone: (877) 845-5597

Release ID: 135473