14 DAY TRIAL // Amazon is reportedly working on developing a new feature for Alexa that would allow the virtual AI assistant to recognize the voices of users. The company has been working on the new feature since the summer of 2015, according to a report by the Time.
As it turns out, the feature would allow the virtual assistant to distinguish between individual users based on their voices. At this point, it’s unclear if and when the new feature would arrive to Alexa, but the report mentions that the underlying technology has already been completed.
Amazon must just integrate the new feature in its own products that incorporate Alexa. It would allow users to set a primary user account and only allow parents to place credit card purchases, thus avoiding unpleasant incidents from occurring. Last year, Amazon Echo devices in multiple homes were triggered by a news report on the TV and multiple orders were placed.
The new feature would match the person speaking with a sample
Amazon’s technology would require Alexa to create voice prints for all users, thus allowing the virtual assistant to match the person speaking to one of the voice samples and identify the user. The feature is called Voice ID and Alexa could become the first voice assistant with such a tool.
Amazon’s Alexa currently competes against Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and other AI voice assistants, none of which offers advanced voice recognition features. Google Assistant can distinguish between the Pixel phone owner when saying "OK Google" or a friend or family member. But its Home smart speaker cannot make such distinctions.
Amazon has brought Alexa to a number of devices, including the US variant of the Huawei Mate 9. Just yesterday, Motorola announced that Alexa would arrive to its Moto Z smartphones in the form of a Moto Mod. The modular accessory could feature Amazon’s virtual AI built-in.