Amazon's Alexa digital assistant is a helpful tool for the Echo smart speaker and its smaller cousins Echo Dot and Tap. However, people who do not have the Internet of Things (IoT) device or live outside the United States can now use a special app that lets them try out the voice command device from their web browser.
The new app is available at echosim.io. This new simulator uses Alexa voice assistant technology to answer many types of questions.
However, browser users will not get to experience the listening skills and microphone array of the Echo device. They must click and hold a special button on the site before speaking to the web-based version of Alexa, according to The Verge. This is more like Amazon Tap.
Amazon Tap is a $130 version of Echo that is a portable Bluetooth speaker. As its name suggests the smart speaker works by pushing a button instead of saying "Alexa" before asking every question.
Tap works with Amazon's Alexa Voice Services. Thus, it can be used to set timers, dim lights, play music, or order snacks.
The goal of the web simulator is to show global developers what the personal assistant can do since no Alexa products are sold outside the US.
Amazon's Alexa simulator was inspired by a hackathon project. Developer advocate Sam Machin created the Alexa in the Browser application last year, according to VentureBeat.
The Alexa Skill Testing Tool is available to anyone with an Amazon account. They just have to sign in to their Amazon account then discover what Alexa is able to do.
Amazon is launching the Alexa simulator as rival companies are developing new voice command tech. Apple is getting ready to launch a Siri software development kit (SDK) so developers can pair their applications with the voice assistant.
Meanwhile, Google has brought its speech recognition tech to its desktop search engine. It is also planning to share its Google Assistant tech with third-party developers.
They can then build applications for the forthcoming Google Home speaker. The Alphabet company announced the virtual assistant gadget to be released later this year, at the recent I/O developer conference held at its Silicon Valley headquarters.
Here's a review of Amazon's Echo Dot