Voice control company Josh.ai launched an Android app that’s been customized to work with AVA’s remote control, it emailed Tuesday. A dedicated “speak to Josh” mic icon is embedded on the remote’s home screen. Customers giving voice commands through the AVA remote will experience the same contextual awareness they have with their Josh.ai mics, it said.

Alexa is part of NASA’s Artemis I mission to the moon, said Amazon Monday, saying voice-enabled computers on Star Trek spaceships were an inspiration for Amazon’s voice engine. Amazon engineers began working on the project in 2018 to solve issues with extreme forces, vibrations and radiation, blogged Arun Krishnan, editor-in-chief, Amazon Alexa. They also had to make sure Alexa could follow commands throughout the 42-day, 1.3-million-mile trip, including within 62 miles of the lunar surface, without Wi-Fi. In space, Alexa Local Voice Control processes commands locally, technology that could be extended for other uses, Krishnan said. To make sure Alexa could understand speech in a noisy environment, engineers designed two mics with a processing algorithm that combines signals from the mics in a way that helps Alexa make sense of commands coming from mission control, he said. Alexa device owners can follow Artemis I by saying, “Alexa, take me to the moon.”

SoundHound announced an advance in conversational AI that recognizes and understands speech, then responds and acts in real time. Its Dynamic Interaction technology uses fragment parsing -- breaking speech down to partial utterances before processing them in real time -- and full-duplex audiovisual integration to create an instantaneous experience vs. requiring wake words and turn-taking “with awkward pauses” to process requests, it said. In restaurant settings, users won’t have to speak in a slow or unnatural way to be understood, and they can customize and edit a food order as they go, the company said.

Comcast introduced a “large button” voice remote Wednesday that's designed for users with mobility, dexterity or vision impairments. The remote is available to X1 and Flex customers at no additional cost, said the MVPD. It has an accessibility shortcut button that offers quick access to personalized settings, plus Comcast’s Talking Guide, closed captions, large text capabilities and audio descriptions, the company said. Comcast worked with technology training company New Horizons on research and testing.

Wells Fargo tapped Google Cloud AI for a virtual assistant designed to improve the banking experience, the company said Monday. The assistant, named Fargo, will roll out to customers in coming months, it said, saying 65% of millennials and Generation Z survey respondents said they prefer to use a virtual assistant for customer service vs. having to wait for a customer service representative on the phone. Customers will be able to turn debit cards on and off, check credit limits, search for transactions and get financial tips using the digital assistant, the company said. If Fargo can’t address a question, it will connect the customer to a live agent, it said.

Voice control company Josh.ai teamed with Kaleidescape to enable customers to launch a title saved to a Kaleidescape movie player using contextual voice commands, the companies emailed Tuesday. Once Josh.ai is deployed, each Kaleidescape device in the home is automatically detected on the network along with its downloaded content, they said. A Josh.ai command can link related control functions to a command so that asking for a movie title also engages a scene for lowering lighting, drapes and a projector screen, they said. Josh.ai can also control Kaleidescape players when they are routed through Crestron SIMPL, Crestron Home and Control4 video distribution.

The virtual assistant market is on track to advance 2% this year to 2.1 billion shipments and 3.1 billion by 2026, said an August Futuresource report. “After strong rebound following the disturbance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual positive trajectory for the virtual assistant (VA) market will be curtailed this year,” said analyst Simon Forrest, citing chip shortages, supply chain disruption and a “deteriorating global economic situation.” Google Assistant has the largest market share globally -- on nearly one in every two voice-enabled devices -- due to its availability on Android smartphones, Forrest said. Apple’s Siri is found on one in every four devices, and Amazon Alexa ranks third, with one in six voice-enabled devices integrating the VA. By 2026, almost three fourths of CE devices sold will have either built-in or works-with assistant capability, Forrest said, saying voice interfaces are moving toward more “conversational platforms.” VA companies are gearing up for an “ambient intelligent world, in which AI and compute become all-pervasive, yet recede into the background by being more closely integrated into the environment,” said the analyst. Voice interfaces will become smarter and more powerful, while being embedded into more products, he said.

Owners of Skullcandy Push Active and Grind headphones will be able to have their devices upgraded to include multi-simultaneous wake word functionality using Native Voice technology, said the software company Wednesday at Amazon’s Alexa Live 2022 developer conference. Native Voice’s technology will give hands-free access to multiple voice services. The Push Active and Grind series headphones are Skullcandy’s first to include both Alexa and the Skullcandy assistant simultaneously, in addition to other voice assistants, said the companies. Amazon established the Voice Interoperability Initiative to enable more customer choice and flexibility with multi-assistant capabilities, said Erin Egan, Amazon voice interoperability initiative lead. Skullcandy launched the Skull-iQ technology in September, with a priority to give users more access to services via voice control. That technology will be part of a variety of products to be launched, which will include Native Voice and direct access to Alexa and other voice assistants, they said. Skullcandy customers will be able to choose which voice services are most suitable for their lifestyle and needs. The headphone maker’s voice technology provides functional control of various devices with play, pause, and answering or rejecting calls; Alexa handles voice requests such as getting a recipe, or checking a sports score or weather forecast. Headphone users have to use multiple wake words, a spokesperson emailed. The free Native Voice updates for Push Active and Grind users are expected by year-end.

Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) announced two new voice remote controls for the RDK open-source software platform. It’s working with the RDK community to integrate voice and universal control as part of the RDK Accelerator Program, an initiative designed to make it easier for MVPDs to adopt the RDK platform and launch products, UEI said Tuesday. The pre-integrated remotes will work with any RDK Accelerator set-top box, UEI said. UEI hopes to help customers worldwide integrate advanced convenience features such as voice control and automated setup of their TVs, sound bars and AV receivers using RDK, said Steve Gutman, UEI senior vice president-global sales for video service providers. One of the voice remotes has a keypad and optional full backlight; the other has a unibody keypad billed as “easy to clean.” Both are designed to control live, recorded, on-demand TV and streaming video, UEI said. The company's QuickSet setup feature for home entertainment and smart home devices is an option.

Amazon and LG announced Tuesday an integration of Alexa AI with LG hotel TVs that use the webOS smart TV platform. Starting this year, hotels will be able to upgrade LG hotel TVs running webOS 6.0 or 5.0 to offer guests access to a custom Alexa voice control through LG’s far-field mic array accessory, they said. Hotel operators will be able to offer guests a natural language interface for TV and music navigation, and enable them to connect with specific hospitality functions such as ordering room service, calling up a weather report or integrating with in-room devices for smart lighting, motorized window shades and climate controls, said Richard Lewis, LG Business Solutions USA vice president-technology and research. On privacy concerns, LG said properties don’t have access to voice recordings, “and the experience is anonymous, meaning information about the speaker’s identity is not shared with Amazon.” The mic array accessory is compatible with LG TV networks using Pro:Centric Direct software; the TV is a hub for control of compatible wireless smart devices, without requiring a stand-alone control system, LG said. Hotel operators can develop custom announcements that use on-screen and audio communication for event announcements and check-out reminders. The mic array accessory is powered through a TV’s USB port and mounts to the top of the set; it’s ready to respond to requests once it's activated by guests upon arrival using the Alexa wake word, LG said. Guests who prefer to use a standard remote can turn off voice control by hitting a mute button, it said.