This month, Seattle-based Amazon has announced updates to a few accessibility features for the industry’s doyenne of digital assistants in Alexa. The updates encompass three features: Tap to Alexa, Alexa Captions, and the new Automatic Speech Recognition technology.
With Tap to Alexa, it’s now possible to use one’s voice to enable the functionality by asking “Alexa, enable Tap to Alexa.” As the name implies, Tap to Alexa allows people to use Alexa by touch rather than voice. This is helpful for those who are nonverbal or have speech delays that make interacting with Alexa in the conventional manner—designed as a voice-first UI, obviously—difficult if not downright impossible.
Tap to Alexa was added to Amazon’s Fire tablets last September.
As for Alexa Captions, users are now able to use closed captioning, call captioning, and more with screen-based Echo devices such as the Show. A person simply has to tell Alexa to “enable all [or whatever] captions” to use their preferred method.
Finally, an update to Automatic Speech Recognition. The new feature, currently available only in the United States, is described by Amazon as “the cornerstone of the entire voice experience, allowing computers to finally understand us through our most natural form of communication [in] speech.” The technology detects spoken sounds and transcribes them into text, with Amazon saying the tech represents “the first step in enabling voice technologies like Amazon Alexa to respond when we ask, “Alexa, what’s it like outside?” The transcription process happens in real time, allowing people to gain immediate feedback on their commands or queries; this bimodal sensory experience can be incredibly helpful for people with cognitive and/or speech impairments, for example.
Besides the new accessibility software, Amazon also has provided some tips and tricks for getting the best out of Alexa. Users can use Alexa via the aforementioned accessibility features to keep up to date with the sports world, as well as keep tabs on the UV index and turning Alexa into one’s own personal deejay. In addition, Amazon has a webpage dedicated to summer-themed tips and tricks for Alexa.
More information on Alexa and accessibility can be found on this page.
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