Alexa Voice Service (AVS) can now be produced on any connected device, AWS announced recently.
That’s because of a new AVS Integration feature in the AWS IoT Core. Using it will reduce the cost of producing an Alexa Built-in device by up to 50%, the company claimed.
The savings results from offloading compute and memory audio workloads to the cloud. AWS said the result should enable new categories of voice-ready products, including light switches, thermostats and small appliances to allow for a “truly ambient experience.”
Media retrieval, audio decoding, audio mixing and state management can be shifted from a physical device to a virtual Alexa Built-in device in the cloud. Designers can lower hardware requirements from 50 MB of RAM to 1 MB of RAM running on Linux or Android. Arm Cortex A class microprocessors can be switched out with less expensive Cortex M microcontrollers.
In a customer win, AVS Integration for AWS IoT Core is being used by iDevices with its Instinct smart light switch with Alexa Built-in. Home users can save on counter space and, iDevices sped up time-to-market at lower cost.
AWS partners have launched two development kits, including two that are available from NXP and Qualcomm. Qualcomm has a mesh networking kit for $1,395 with four microphones, while NXP’s kit is $149 with three mics.