HAL Is Here – Almost

Voice Control of Your Life Is Now Mainstream

In 1968’s sci-fi classic “2001: A Space Odyssey,:” the HAL 9000 computer could talk and respond to humans. Fast forward 50 years to 2018, and we have much of HAL’s intelligence in voice assistant services from Amazon, Apple, and Google.

You see people regularly talk into their smartphones on New York City streets, asking where their next meeting is or the location of the next Starbucks. We can even ask Apple’s Siri such esoteric questions like “what flights are flying overhead right now?”

While that one is interesting, perhaps more useful are the types of things we can do with voice commands for home automation.

How about saying a command like “Goodnight” and having all your lights turn off, with perhaps just a few dimmed on for nighttime navigation? Or asking your entertainment system to start Netflix, and having everything turn on automatically and be ready to go for binge-watching your favorite show?

Voice recognition is accurate enough now that controlling your technology and information through just your voice is a reality. And unlike HAL 9000, voice assistants do your bidding without a mind of their own (for now at least).

Read on for some more ways to simplify your life with voice control.

Say you invest in a Crestron home automation system. When paired with Crestron’s Pyng hub, an assistant like Amazon’s Alexa can control practically anything your home can automate. For example, saying “Alexa, we’re leaving” could activate your Crestron “away” mode, setting the security system, adjusting your climate control, lights and anything else to your preferences.

You may know that Alexa also makes a wonderful – if pricey – kitchen timer, but the timer is also handy for smarter chores. If you like falling asleep to TV at night, you can say “Alexa, turn off the TV in 30 minutes” and everything will shut off, even if it’s your family room home theater. Or if you have a hot tub on your penthouse deck, it could shut that off too.

Not as much of a fan of Amazon’s Alexa? Google’s Assistant is also increasing its presence in home automation. Lutron’s Connect app can integrate with Google Assistant. That means that a command like “OK Google, I’m home” can have a Lutron lighting control scene turn on the lights to your preferences when you get back from work.

Perhaps you like Siri more than Alexa or Google. After all, she (he?) was the first voice assistant. Apple has been a little slower to bring Siri into home automation. But just this month, the company announced that they are working with major vendors like Savant and Crestron to control the new 4K Apple TV with your voice, through those companies’ remotes.

Also, Apple and Crestron have announced that Siri on an iPhone or iPad will be able to control lights, motorized shades, entertainment systems, and more. So now asking Siri “Did I leave the front door unlocked?” can result in it locking it through your smart lock.

We’ve only scratched the surface here of what you can do with your voice to simplify your life. Contact us today; we’d love to show you more.

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