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According to a now-unpublished blog post, Amazon Echo, the home automation system that gives voice commands to a virtual personal assistant called Alexa, would be soon compatible with devices powered by Samsung’s SmartThings.
We learned this from Google‘s web cache, which has the habit of temporarily preserving web content although its owners chose to delete it. The news was released on the SmartThings blog but it was quickly removed.
Soon, Amazon Echo users will be able to integrate SmartThings hub and the home devices linked to it into Echo. This means that SmartThings-connected light switches, air conditioning systems, fire alarms, computers, automatic blinds, ovens, and many other would be activated through a simple voice command targeted at Alexa.
The company wrote in the post that Alexa will have control over devices that are outside the SmartThings ecosystem but they are plugged into a company’s Power Outlet, or they were produced by the company such as smart switches and lights.
On the unpublished blog post there was also a demo video of what the future system may look like. According to the clip, Amazon Echo users would be able to turn on various home devices linked to the SmartThings hub by a simple phrase – “Alexa, [insert here voice command: …].” So, you could switch on or off the lights and even dim them without even leaving your bed.
Nevertheless, both companies declined to provide more details on the project or an official release date.
Amazon Echo was first rolled out in November. Only Prime users could get access to it if they requested an invitation. Amazon Echo looks like a paper-towel roll or futuristic computer speaker which can connect to a Wi-Fi system and the Internet to be able to fulfill all your household-related demands.
Echo has an embedded microphone that is permanently on. So, when the system hears the magic word “Alexa” it comes back to life and tries to solve various tasks. So, far it can search the Internet and deliver news to you, it can fill you Amazon shopping cart, it can tell jokes, and control various devices in your home.
A couple of months ago, Amazon rolled out the system for any U.S. customer for $179. The company has even unveiled Alexa API to all developers out there in an attempt to explore new functions of the system.
Until now, Amazon Echo was compatible with the Wink Hub, but the partnership with Smart Things may mean that the online retail giant may want to expand options for Echo users.
Image Source: YouTube
