We’re all getting pretty used to summoning our various devices via voice by now, be it through Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, or Google Assistant. Now, a new company is getting into the smart home ecosystem. Universal Electronics, Inc. (UEI) is pairing its digital assistant platform for the smart home, code-named Nevo Butler, with TrulyHandsfree voice command capabilities, including customer-branded wake words from speech-recognition firm Sensory.
On paper at least, Nevo Butler looks like a pretty generic but widely customizable remote control, enabling applications like home entertainment control, home automation experiences, and most importantly, interoperability across diverse and fragmented systems — a common problem that manufacturers are starting to think about, given the dozens of apps that some smart home users are forced to endure.
In addition to offering a versatile monitoring and control assistant solution for the smart home, Nevo Butler includes a customizable digital assistant front-end capable of addressing and controlling a wide range of devices. The product comes available as kits that address specific channel needs including smart home security, energy management, entertainment control, and hospitality functions.
For example, the security-focused kit is packaged with door/window and motion sensors, while the hospitality kit comes with a smart thermostat and a motion occupancy sensor. Universal Electronics conducted product demos of the Nevo Butler at CES 2019, but there’s no definitive word yet on pricing or availability.
“This product gives our customers a powerful platform to offer innovative and new voice-powered services to consumers while they remain in charge of the consumer experience,” said Arsham Hatambeiki, senior vice president of Product and Technology for UEI, in a press release. “Sensory’s voice-recognition capabilities provide a reliable foundation to build new digital experiences in the home that consumers will trust and use on a daily basis.”
TrulyHandsfree is one of the most widely deployed speech recognition engines in the smart home market, having been loaded on more than two billion devices worldwide. The voice control module offers support for every voice UI application with several types of wake word options.
“TrulyHandsfree was purposefully engineered to offer extremely accurate and noise-robust wake word and speech recognition on devices with ultra-low-power configurations to very high-performance components,” said Todd Mozer, CEO of Sensory.
The whole gizmo is powered by nevo.ai, the manufacturer’s proprietary artificial intelligence engine and, unlike many smart home digital assistants, can be operated while offline for the most commonly used commands. While online, the Nevo Butler can curate and interact with common home automation devices such as sensors and thermostats through the user’s home Wi-Fi or Zigbee network.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.