The slender box-shaped device sits on the vehicle’s dashboard. It provides access to 70,000 Amazon Alexa skills. It also lets you set reminders, make shopping lists, find nearby attractions, and make phone calls.
As useful as this product is, Amazon definitely had to overcome some obstacles while developing the Echo Auto. The company’s head of Echo products, Miriam Daniel, admits the unique challenges her team faced when training the Echo Auto to hear the human voice over the acoustic “war zone” of a car’s interior.
Terrific Trade-ins: Estimate the value of your trade-in vehicle
Challenges during the training phase
Amazon’s development team first had to adjust the device’s software, user interface, and hardware to suit the vehicle’s unique environment. They tweaked the gadget to have a fast response time and handle frequent shut-offs. The team also designed the Echo Auto to partner with an car’s audio system to reduce its size and cost.
Next, the team put the Echo Auto through a series of rigorous conditioning. This phase consisted of drop tests, heat and UV exposure, and climatic chambers, among others.
However, the team’s biggest challenge was training the Echo Auto to hear the human voice over car noises like rain, wind, the AC system, road noise, and the radio. To this end, Amazon enlisted the help of drivers to create a sound library compiled of sounds they recorded in real-life driving scenarios. The team then used this aural collection to help improve the device’s ability to detect voice cues.
The development team then used a garage-lab setting as well as the Artificial Head Measurement System from HEAD Acoustics. This test-dummy talked to the Echo for up to 18 hours at a time to make sure it understood a variety of commands and queries. The team then recorded Alexa’s responses and documented which questions confused it, to help improve the Echo Auto’s performance.
The availability of Echo Auto
All of this training paid off for the team since Amazon is now starting to ship the product to some consumers on the wait list for it. Though the device remains an invite-only offer, you can still go the Echo Auto listing on Amazon’s website here and click the “request an invitation” option for a chance at claiming one of these gadgets. Then, you just have to wait on an email stating that Amazon accepted the request to know that your Echo Auto is on its way.
Photo: Amazon
Peace of Mind: Learn more about OnStar and Chevrolet Connected Services
News Sources: Wired, Engadget
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.
