Amazon wants Alexa to be your home’s brain, and this could be the next step
Amazon is looking to make Alexa work faster by putting custom AI chips into devices like the Echo speaker, the Information reports. Although these devices already use local processing to listen for the “Alexa” wake word, they still send the full voice command up to Amazon’s servers for interpretation. Parsing those phrases on the device could allow Alexa to respond faster.
Just to speculate a bit, a dedicated AI chip could also help Alexa become less dependent on remote servers overall. Amazon wants Alexa to serve as the brains of your home, with control over door locks, security cameras, and household appliances such as ovens. Connections to those devices would be more secure and reliable if the internet didn’t have to be involved.
On a related note, Reuters reported today that Amazon’s $90 million acquisition of security camera maker Blink last December was motivated by the startup’s chip-making expertise.
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