Yamaha Is Latest Custom Channel Vendor to Integrate With Josh.ai Voice Platform

Yamaha added Josh.ai voice control to its MusicCast-enabled AV receivers, it said Thursday. The partnership continues the voice-control company’s courting of the custom integrator channel: it teamed with LG (see 1903190002) for its 2018 and 2019 TVs last week and with Savant control systems last month (see 1902130037). The Josh.ai platform auto-discovers AV devices on a network and natively understands multiple sources and destinations, said Yamaha. The platform gives users a “sophisticated voice-controlled home automation experience” along with apps. Josh.ai’s proprietary natural language processing lets users execute tasks using conversational language, said the companies. An example of a complex command has a user telling Josh to “dim the lights, listen to ‘Paint it Black’ by the Rolling Stones, and watch Black Mirror season two, episode three." Some 40 Yamaha receivers are compatible with Josh.ai platform.