All items tagged with smart home (225)
Teenage Engineering, Raven and Baidu's Collaboration on New Smart Speaker Concepts
November 20, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

Teenage Engineering, Raven and Baidu's Collaboration on New Smart Speaker Concepts

Baidu, a company known as China's search engine is investing heavily in its own voice engine, artificial intelligence (AI), and even hardware technologies, following Google's footsteps. Earlier this year, Baidu acquired Raven, a Beijing-based smart home startup, and the first results of that investment have now been revealed with two voice-activated speakers that run on the company's own AI platform. The design was the result of a cooperation with a Swedish start-up, Teenage Engineering.
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Amazon Introduces Alexa, Alexa Skills Kit and Alexa Voice Service to Canada
November 15, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

Amazon Introduces Alexa, Alexa Skills Kit and Alexa Voice Service to Canada

Amazon announced that Alexa, the voice recognition engine that powers the Amazon Echo range of smart speakers, is now available for Canada, along with three Alexa-enabled devices: Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot. The expansion also means that the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) and the Alexa Voice Service (AVS), enabling developers to build voice experiences for Alexa users will now be available for English speakers in Canada.
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Change and Opportunities in the Audio Landscape
November 10, 2017 by Joao Martins

Change and Opportunities in the Audio Landscape

On November 9, 2017, I attended the Futuresource Audio Collaborative 2017 conference, at the Ham Yard Hotel in London. With the topic "A Change is Gonna Come," the conference was a valuable and insightful event. To entice our readers to actually spend the hours listening to those interventions (and for those that don't have the time to do it), I will share some of the key highlights, adding some personal takes on the topics addressed.
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NXP Software Development Kit with Apple HomeKit Support Now Available
November 6, 2017 by Cristina Costa

NXP Software Development Kit with Apple HomeKit Support Now Available

NXP Semiconductors announced that its Apple HomeKit Software Development Kit (SDK) now offers full support for home automation applications using HomeKit. NXP's HomeKit SDK now supports all Apple HomeKit transports, including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 4.2, Wi-Fi, Ethernet with iCloud remote access across NXP microcontrollers and microprocessors. The solutions enables Smart Home development with the most advanced security features.
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Google Unveils New Home Smart Speakers and Wireless Pixel Buds
October 5, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

Google Unveils New Home Smart Speakers and Wireless Pixel Buds

Google is all-in in its determination to compete with Amazon, Apple and everyone else on the hardware front. On the same day, Google unveiled its second-generation family of consumer hardware products, including new Pixel 2 smartphones, Google Home Mini and Max smart speakers, an all-new Pixelbook tablet/laptop, Google Pixel Buds wireless earbuds, and more. No longer releasing "reference hardware" for its software ecosystem, Google is apparently determined to emulate Apple's successful strategy.
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u‑blox Launches NINA-B3 Full-featured Bluetooth 5 Modules
October 4, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

u‑blox Launches NINA-B3 Full-featured Bluetooth 5 Modules

Swiss company, u‑blox, specializing in wireless and positioning modules and chips, announced the launch of its full Bluetooth 5 compliant NINA-B3 wireless MCU (microcontroller unit) module. Featuring Bluetooth low energy long range connectivity, high data transfer rates and supporting Bluetooth mesh and 802.15.4, NINA‑B3 caters to applications in smart buildings, smart cities, and the Industry 4.0, including home automation systems, sensor networks, and high-quality wireless audio applications.
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Amazon Announces New Amazon Echo and Echo Plus Smart Speakers and Introduces New Alexa Products
September 28, 2017 by Joao Martins

Amazon Announces New Amazon Echo and Echo Plus Smart Speakers and Introduces New Alexa Products

Amazon is not resting on its laurels in voice personal assistants. The company continues to severely undercut Google's ambitions with the Google Home, Assistant and Chromecast products, while jumping ahead to compete head to head with Apple and undermining Apple's plans for Siri and the smart home. The company just announced a completely revamped line of Echo speakers with lower prices and improved everything, as well as new classes of Echo devices.
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STMicroelectronics Introduces BlueNRG-MESH Bluetooth Mesh Networking Software Development Kit
September 27, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

STMicroelectronics Introduces BlueNRG-MESH Bluetooth Mesh Networking Software Development Kit

STMicroelectronics is empowering the next wave of control-by-phone innovation with new software for creating smart objects that connect using the latest Bluetooth wireless networking features. The company announced an all-in-one software package that enables creation of networked smart objects and accompanying mobile apps with support for the official Bluetooth SIG Mesh-networking specification, assuring end-product interoperability, enhancing ease of use, and market appeal
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Josh.ai Targets Smart Home Integration with Josh Micro
September 12, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

Josh.ai Targets Smart Home Integration with Josh Micro

Launched during CEDIA 2017 and already considered as Best New Product (CEDIA 2017 Awards), the Josh Micro is a new hardware programable controller that runs the Josh.ai software, combines a breakthrough far-field microphone for hands-free voice control and more. As the company states, Josh Micro is a new platform for the smart home, designed to be developer friendly and community-based, making its capabilities widely accessible to other developers.
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IFA 2017 Consumer Electronics and Appliances Trade Show Delivers
September 6, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

IFA 2017 Consumer Electronics and Appliances Trade Show Delivers

IFA 2017 has attracted more than 253,000 visitors to Berlin, as the power of innovation and brands yet again turned the event into the world’s most important tradeshow for consumer electronics and home appliances. With more than half of all trade visitors coming from abroad, IFA Berlin provided a huge boost for both manufacturers and retailers in the crucial run-up to the holiday period, which runs from Thanksgiving in the United States all the way to Christmas and the New Year.
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