[Electronics-Talk] Appliance accessibility - Echo & Mobile devices

Jim Barbour jbar at barcore.com
Mon Feb 15 18:54:43 UTC 2016 

The Amazon Echo is just another interface to other technologies, including Audible, WeMo switches, Google, Ootunes, Pandora, etc.

So, I would say that phones or tablets will be a much better interface to these appliances than the Echo.

The affordability factor is a concern, but I'm seeing android tablets with Talkback for sale for less than $100.00.

Building accessiblity into each appliance is a very nasty solution. This solution requires that we, as blind people, need to learn a poorly designed, rarely used, and rarely tested blindness focused user interface for each appliance.

Jim

On Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 09:40:02AM -0500, Annette Carr via Electronics-Talk wrote:
> So I did a limited info search on the Amazon Echo, also known as Alexa.
> While it holds promise, my personal opinion is that mobile devices offer a
> more versatile solution.  My thought is that since most of us carry our cell
> phone/mobile devices with us, if all appliances were equipped with a cell
> phone interface, we could go to anyone else's house and have access to their
> appliances.  There are 2 homes where I frequently visit where I cannot get
> water nor ice out of their refrigerator.  The refrigerator has a totally
> glass touch sensitive panel where you choose what you want, including the
> ability to make a K-cup of coffee.  I'm to the point where I'm afraid to go
> near the refrigerator because sometimes when looking for the handle to open
> one of the 4 doors, I've unknowingly bumped the panel and sent the thing
> into orbit.  Yes, I did say four doors and that it makes coffee, but let's
> save that for a different discussion thread so that I can get back to the
> point of this message.  
> 
>  
> 
> Here are some statements from the article I read about Alexa that has led me
> to my personal opinion that I'd rather use a mobile device interface for
> appliances.  Of course in a perfect world, both options would be available.
> If you want to read the article in its entirety, the URL is:
> 
>  
> 
> http://www.cheatsheet.com/gear-style/amazons-echo-what-it-can-and-cant-do-fo
> r-you.html/?a=viewall
> 
>  
> 
> Here are some highlights from that article that was written in June of 2015.
> 
> 
> .         Echo is about the height of a toaster and can be placed anywhere
> with Wi-Fi access. After you set it up with your smartphone, you can control
> almost everything that Echo does with your voice - which is its major
> appeal. However, so far, the uses for Echo are limited. You can ask Alexa to
> tell you the weather, add items to your shopping list, reorder items you buy
> frequently on Amazon, offer reminders about upcoming calendar appointments,
> set a timer, or answer basic search queries. 
> 
> .         Alexa can play music, though her primary source is Amazon Prime
> Music, which has a very limited selection. But Alexa can connect to your
> phone, like any other Bluetooth speaker, to enable you to play music from
> apps like Spotify. 
> 
> .         it's Alexa's smart home abilities that make the case for a
> voice-powered home - even though those capabilities are fairly limited so
> far. Out of the box, Echo lets you control WeMo-enabled smart switches and
> Philips Hue lights. 
> 
> .         You can complete all of these tasks on your smartphone, and often
> with fewer errors. 
> 
> .         you could complete a voice search on your phone, Alexa is always
> on and always listening for a query. That makes her assistance a lot easier
> to access, especially when your hands are full or when your smartphone isn't
> close at hand. Alexa is also quicker to spring to action than Apple's Siri 
> 
> .         Just two days after making the Echo available to the masses,
> Amazon reported that it was releasing a free set of APIs that enable
> developers to add Alexa to any device with a speaker, a microphone, and an
> Internet connection with only a few lines of code. The press release notes,
> "When a developer uses the Alexa Voice Service to integrate Alexa into their
> device, their product also gets the benefit of updated capabilities that are
> added to Alexa, thus constantly improving the device over time." 
> 
> .         Amazon also released the Alexa Skills Kit, a collection of APIs
> and tools that enable developers to create new voice-driven skills and
> capabilities for Alexa on Echo and on future Alexa-enabled devices. 
> 
> .         Amazon's press release suggests examples of what developers could
> create with the Alexa Voice Service, including a "Wi-Fi alarm clock that
> lets a customer talk to Alexa," a "movie ticket machine that lets a
> moviegoer say 'Buy six tickets for the next showing of Jurassic World,'" or
> a "TV that makes finding tonight's game simple." 
> 
> .         Opam reports that to get manufacturers to begin building Alexa
> into their products, Amazon has also established what it calls the Alexa
> Fund, which will aim $100 million in investments at startups and designers
> planning on incorporating Alexa. The company has invested in seven startups
> so far. One, called Mojio, is a connected car company that will use Alexa to
> enable drivers to ask how much gas they need before their next trip. Another
> one, called Scout Alarm, enables homeowners to arm and disarm a home
> security system with a voice command.
> 
>  
> 
> So while a voice controlled home and the appliances within, are still in the
> future, we are getting close.  Yes, I hope that it becomes available in my
> lifetime, but there are many hurdles to overcome before that can become a
> reality.  Like many of you I am frustrated by the lack of accessibility
> appliances, but complaining about it here, pointing fingers, and stamping
> our feet is not going to solve anything.  This technology is in its infancy
> and we need to figure out how to get developers to incorporate accessibility
> for all.  
> 
>  
> 
> While above I stated that I'd rather use my Smart phone to access
> appliances, or even my home, promoting Amazon's Echo might not be a
> reasonable path to go.  Amazon has set up a fund to support developers in
> developing appliances and devices that interface with the Echo.  As of
> October 2015 10 grants have been issued.  To learn more about the Alexa
> Fund, visit URL:
> 
>  
> 
> https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/post/Tx2BKOPLCDGUETS/Amazon-An
> nounces-the-Next-Alexa-Fund-Recipient-Invoxia
> 
>  
> 
> So the question is, how do we catch this wave to ensure that accessibility
> becomes an integral part of Alexa's development.  Don't dwell on the reasons
> why this cannot work, look where we are with curb cuts and Apple's Voice
> Over.  
> 
>  
> 
> Annette
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Annette Carr [mailto:amcarr1 at verizon.net] 
> Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2016 1:16 PM
> To: 'Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances'
> Subject: RE: [Electronics-Talk] Appliance accessibility
> 
>  
> 
> I wonder if Alexa could be used for this.  Isn't Alexa already being used
> for home environmental control?  I'll have to do some research on this.
> 
>  
> 
> Annette
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> From: Electronics-Talk [ <mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org>
> mailto:electronics-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of cheez via
> Electronics-Talk
> 
> Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2016 12:07 PM
> 
> To: Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances
> 
> Cc: cheez
> 
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-Talk] Appliance accessibility
> 
>  
> 
> Why not bypass Bluetooth and make appliances accessible via the Internet. 
> 
> If one can communicate with a fridge using a computer or smartphone, then
> why not make it possible for one to set appliances the same way?
> 
> Now it may sound crazy, but if one doesn't have a computer or smartphone,
> then they could use a landline like one can do to reset cable boxes and the
> like.
> 
>  
> 
> Vince
> 
>  
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> 
> From: "Tracy Carcione via Electronics-Talk" <
> <mailto:electronics-talk at nfbnet.org> electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> 
> To: "'Discussion of accessible home electronics and appliances'" 
> 
> < <mailto:electronics-talk at nfbnet.org> electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> 
> Cc: "Tracy Carcione" < <mailto:carcione at access.net> carcione at access.net>
> 
> Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2016 8:35 AM
> 
> Subject: [Electronics-Talk] Appliance accessibility
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> > Many years ago now, the brilliant engineer Tim Cranmer had an idea of 
> 
> > how to make appliances accessible.  We would get a law passed 
> 
> > requiring manufacturers to include a chip which would broadcast menu 
> 
> > info to a blind person's device of choice.  Those days, it was 
> 
> > something like a Braille 'n Speak.  These days, it would probably be a 
> 
> > smart phone, with the signal via Bluetooth.
> 
> > 
> 
> > Could some version of this idea be workable today?  It wouldn't solve 
> 
> > the problem of a touch screen control, as someone described for some 
> 
> > dishwashers, but it would help with the problem of one button 
> 
> > controlling different menus and submenus, like some washers I've seen.
> 
> > 
> 
> > I'm not keen on my appliances being connected to the internet, but I'm 
> 
> > also not happy with the struggle it can be these days to find 
> 
> > something I can easily use.
> 
> > 
> 
> > Tracy
> 
> > 
> 
> > 
> 
> > 
> 
> > _______________________________________________
> 
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