alexa News - Page 5 of 6 - CNX Software

January 4, 2018January 25, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

$129 Allwinner R18 based 3-Mic Far Field Amazon AVS Development Kit in the Works

Allwinner-SoC-Only-3-Mic-Far-Field-Dev-Kit-for-Amazon-AVS

Several companies are already offering development kits for Amazon AVS (Alexa Voice Service), but as we’ve seen in the past, those are rather expensive with far-field kits such starting at $349 with kits such as Synaptics AudioSmart 4-Mic Development Kit, or Intel Speech Enabling Developer Kit, and hands-free kits being barely cheaper at $299 and up. But there will soon be a cheaper solution, as Allwinner and SinoVoIP (aka Banana Pi) are working on “SoC-Only 3-Mic Far-Field Dev Kit for Amazon AVS” that includes 3 microphones, and works without special DSP, relying instead on Allwinner R18 processor’s audio codec and capabilities. Allwinner SoC-Only 3-Mic Far-Field Dev Kit for Amazon AVS (aka R18-AVS-EVK) specifications: SoC – Allwinner R18 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.15GHz with Mali400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB eMMC flash Video Output – HDMI Audio – 6x Microphones, 2x AEC, AUX and headphone output; GMEMS voice […]

December 27, 2017December 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

$17 Sonoff S31 Wireless Smart Socket Includes Energy Monitoring Function

ITEAD Studio has just launched another Sonoff Smart Home product with Sonoff S31 WiFi smart socket with energy monitoring. Just like Sonoff switches, light bulbs, and their other products, the device can be controlled using eWelink app for Android or iOS, and supports integration with Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. It should be noted that the company only provide a US plug version for now, and so far, there’s no Wiki link, so while it’s likely based on ESP8266 or ESP8285 like their other Sonoff devices, it may not be designed to be easily hackable, although I suspect the electronics may be similar to Sonoff POW switch (TBC). Sonoff S31 hardware specifications listed by ITEAD: Voltage Input – 90~264V AC, 50/60HZ Max. Current – 16A Max. Power – 4200W (Note package above reads max load: 220V/10A) Gang – 1x US type with ground Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with support […]

October 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Intel Speech Enabling Developer Kit Works with Alexa Voice Service, Raspberry Pi 3 Board

We’ve known Intel has been working on Quark S1000 “Sue Creek” processor for voice recognition for several months. S1000 SoC is based on two Tensilica LX6 with HiFi3 DSP, some speech recognition accelerators, and up to 8x microphones interfaces which allows it to perform speech recognition locally. The solution can also be hooked to an application processor via SPI, I2S and USB (optional) when cloud based voice recognition is needed. Intel has recently introduced their Speech Enabling Developer Kit working with Amazon Alexa Voice Service (AVS) featuring a “dual DSP with inference engine” – which must be Quark S1000 – and an 8-mic array. The kit also includes a 40-pin cable to connect to the Raspberry Pi 3 board. Intel only provided basic specifications for the kit: Intel’s dual DSP with inference engine Intel 8-mic circular array High-performance algorithms for acoustic echo cancellation, noise reduction, beamforming and custom wake word […]

September 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Amazon Introduces Echo 2, Echo Plus, Echo Connect, and Echo Spot Alexa Devices

Beside their “all-new” Amazon Fire TV 2017, Amazon has made a bunch of other announcements mostly related to their Alexa services with four new or updated Echo devices: the “all-new” Echo, the Echo Plus, Echo Connect, and the Echo Spot. 2017 Amazon Echo (aka Echo 2) The new second generation of the Alexa based Echo has a new smaller design, improved sound with Dolby processing, and a lower price at just under $100. Some of the key features include: Speakers – 2.5″ woofer and 0.6″ tweeter Connectivity Dual band 802.11 b/g/n WiFi for streaming music from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, etc…, controlling smart devices Bluetooth LE Audio 3.5mm audio jack 7-mic array using beamforming technology and enhanced noise cancellation. Improved wake-word (“Alexa”) detection Various designs with 6 different fabrics Dimensions – 148 x 88 x 88 mm Weight – 821 grams The Echo can make free calls to the US, […]

September 28, 2017September 28, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

$69.99 Amazon Fire TV 2017 TV Box Supports 4K HDR-10 Video Playback

Amazon has just announced a new Fire TV TV box with support for 4K Ultra HD and HDR (High Dynamic Range), and a cheaper price, as it is selling for $69.99 on Amazon US with delivery scheduled to start on October 25, 2017. Amazon Fire TV 2017 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905Z quad core ARM Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP3 GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 8GB flash Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.0a up to 4K 60 Hz with HDCP 2.2, Doby Atmos support Video – HDR-10. H.265, H.264 Connectivity – Dual band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi + Bluetooth 4.1 LE USB – 1x micro USB port for power (and optional USB Ethernet adapter) Dimensions – 65 x 65 x 15 mm Weight – 87 grams Amazon just mentions “Amlogic Quad-core 1.5GHz | ARM 4xCA53” for Fire TV processor, so it first assumed it could […]

September 17, 2017September 21, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 4 Comments

Review of Vobot Alarm Clock with Alexa

Karl here with a review of Vobot sent By Cafago. I had to Google it when I was asked to review it. Turned out it was an Echo type device with a pixel display and a battery. It started as an Indiegogo campaign. I had been wanting to try to do some sort of voice control with my home automation so I agreed to review it. Vobot Clock C1 Specifications These are pulled from Vobot’s website. No power supply is included but a long USB cable is. Vobot Setup I let my wife do the initial setup as I figured that she would use it the most. She followed the instructions, and it seemed straightforward from what she told me. She said she had to reboot it once during a step but it continued the setup with no problems. She tied to our Amazon Prime account, and she quickly was […]

July 4, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Sonoff B1 is an $18 Hackable WiFi RGB LED E27 Light Bulb based on ESP8285 WiSoC

Earlier this year, I wrote about an ESP8266 based RGB LED “AI Light” lightbulb that was hacked to run ESPurna open source firmware. That’s all good, except some people tried to get one, and ended with a different hardware. So if you’d like something that’s more of a “sure thing”, ITEAD Studio has designed Sonoff B1 dimmable RGB LED E27 light bulb based on ESP8285 processor, and with a “4 pads” to allow for custom firmware flashing. Sonoff B1 hardware specifications: Typical Lumen Output – 600lm Beam Angle – 120 degrees typ. Color Temperature – 2800K-6500K & RGB full color Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4GHz Power Supply – 90-260V AC 50/60Hz via E27 base Power Consumption – Light off: 0.5W Max; rated power: 6W Temperature Range – Operating: 0ºC~ 40ºC; storage: -20ºC~ 80ºC Operating Humidity – 5%-90% RH Sonoff B1 with stock firmware can be controlled using the […]

June 17, 2017June 17, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Design Amazon Alexa Gateways, Robots and Smart Speakers with WisCore Modular Development Kit

RAK Wireless has launched a new development board powered by Mediatek MT7628A processor running OpenWrt with built-in WiFi and Ethernet connectivity, and audio codec and microphone to support Amazon Alexa voice service. Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Z-wave will also be supported via UART modules. Wiscore Specifications: Processor – Mediatek MT7628A MIPS24KEc CPU @ up to 580MHz System Memory – 128MB DDR2 (64 MB optional) Storage – 16 MB flash + micro SD card Audio MicroSemi ZL38062 for audio in and out MicroSemi ZL38067 to handle “Alexa” keyword single or dual digital microphone up to 5 meter range Far field voice wake up Support for echo cancellation Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 2×2 MIMO up to 300 Mbps 2x 10/100M Ethernet (LAN and WAN) Optional UART modules for Bluetooth, ZigBeem Z-Wave USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port Expansion – Arduino headers with UART, I2C, SPI and GPIOs Power Supply – 5V via […]