Ask Alexa Who’s At The Door With Amazon Echo Smart Home Camera Control
Home security will be a little more convenient for Amazon Echo Show owners. According to a new blog post on the Amazon Alexa Development site, users will be able to view live video feeds from their smart home cameras on their Echo Show through the Smart Home Skill API. Soon you will be able to determine whether there is a Girl Scout selling delicious cookies or an annoying solicitor at your door, without ever having to leave your chair.
Users will be able to say things like “Alexa, show me the front door camera” and get an instant live video feed. The API uses the standardized Alexa language model, so Alexa will be able convert the user’s request into a directive and send that directive to their device. The adapter will fetch the video feed and pass it onto the Echo Show.
Ring, Arlo, Nest, August, EZViz, Vivint, Amcrest, Logitech, and IC Realtime have all created Alexa skills for their cameras. Naveen Chhangani, Senior Director of Product Management at Arlo by NETGEAR noted, “Our Alexa skill makes it fast and easy for our customers to access their Arlo cameras and see what’s happening. It could be the baby’s room or the front door or the backyard camera; you can see live video right away. It is an amazing end-user experience.”
Amazon announced the Echo Show last month. The device is similar to the Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Tap, however, it also features a screen. Besides the ability to get live video streams from security cameras, the Echo Show’s most notable feature is video calling. Video calling can be initiated hands-free to others who have an Echo Show or a mobile device with the Alexa app. There will also be a “Drop” feature that will allow users to instantly connect to those within close proximity. Users will be able to “drop in to let the family know it’s time for dinner, see the baby’s nursery, or check in with a close relative.”
The Amazon Echo Show is available for pre-order in black or white for $229.99 USD or five monthly payments of $46. The device will ship to customers on June 28th. You can check it out here.
Users will be able to say things like “Alexa, show me the front door camera” and get an instant live video feed. The API uses the standardized Alexa language model, so Alexa will be able convert the user’s request into a directive and send that directive to their device. The adapter will fetch the video feed and pass it onto the Echo Show.
Ring, Arlo, Nest, August, EZViz, Vivint, Amcrest, Logitech, and IC Realtime have all created Alexa skills for their cameras. Naveen Chhangani, Senior Director of Product Management at Arlo by NETGEAR noted, “Our Alexa skill makes it fast and easy for our customers to access their Arlo cameras and see what’s happening. It could be the baby’s room or the front door or the backyard camera; you can see live video right away. It is an amazing end-user experience.”
Amazon announced the Echo Show last month. The device is similar to the Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Tap, however, it also features a screen. Besides the ability to get live video streams from security cameras, the Echo Show’s most notable feature is video calling. Video calling can be initiated hands-free to others who have an Echo Show or a mobile device with the Alexa app. There will also be a “Drop” feature that will allow users to instantly connect to those within close proximity. Users will be able to “drop in to let the family know it’s time for dinner, see the baby’s nursery, or check in with a close relative.”
The Amazon Echo Show is available for pre-order in black or white for $229.99 USD or five monthly payments of $46. The device will ship to customers on June 28th. You can check it out here.
