“Alexa, what’s the traffic like?”
Hey, everybody’s first robotic personal helper, Alexa, actually comes to Canada’s cars with the Echo Auto app from Amazon.
And much as you do at home, you might ask Alexa what long it takes to play music, read the internet, make calls, handle your schedule and put together a shopping list when you’re in your car.
If you would like to ask Alexa to play road-trip games, ask for directions, check the nearby weather and road conditions, or find the cheapest gas station that requires Alexa Skills store apps.
“Voice technology really shines in environments where you’re occupied with other tasks,” said brand spokesman Arianne Walker. “It’s actually one of the big reasons why we saw Alexa become so popular in places like the kitchen and, of course, the opportunity with auto is right on par with that of the smart home. If you think about it, voice can strip away a lot of the complexity, can minimize distraction and really help make your drive more productive and entertaining. It’s really been designed as an extension of that experience that people have with Alexa in the home for that consistency and continuity throughout their lives.”
Amazon’s Echo Auto, launched last year in the U.S., will attach to a vehicle through the blue tooth interface on your phone or an auxiliary cord.
There’s even an eight-microphone system and the driver can speak to Alexa about noisy music, A / C and noise from the lane.
“(It’s) the most microphones we have ever put in a device designed specifically to handle all that in-cabin noise even though it’s one of our smallest devices yet,” said Walker.
