News from the HomeZIX front keeps on coming. First came the add-on enabling control with instant messenger; now the folks at Automation Vista have added voice recognition to the growing list of HomeZIX features. (To read up on another new product using VR, check out the Voice Activated TV Remote by InVoca). Users of HomeZIX can go to www.automationvista.com and download the VoiceZIX application. The instructions on installation and set-up are right there and look pretty easy to follow.
Control can be done from multiple microphones throughout the house, and users can voice-train for a number of included commands or create new commands for simple actions or macros and scenes. Command templates from VoiceZIX are exported to HomeZIX, and users can customize each script in HomeZIX to determine how the system will respond to each command. One example has a system respond to the voice command “Movie mode” by dimming the lights to 50 percent and turning on the DVD and TV. Again, the ability to use C# scripting empowers users to customize any number of ways.
I’ll be interested to hear first-hand reports from those who have used or are using the new VoiceZIX feature. As discussed in the blog on Sensory, Inc.’s new voice recognition integrated circuit, the technologies utilizing voice recognition and voice activation that I’ve come across have so far been a bit of a let-down. Any advances in this corner of home automation would be most welcomed.
Up next from HomeZIX: VoiceZIX for PocketPC.
Between watching re-runs of the “The Jetsons” and convincing his Insteon and Z-Wave controls to get along, Ben Hardy is immersed in the world of home automation, home control, and home networking.
“Again, the ability to use C# scripting empowers users to customize any number of ways.”
The only one who gets empowered here is the .Net technologist, Ben :). Btw, the concept of VR dimming the lights, if the TV, other audio device or fore/background noise is audible, well, it ain’t happening. VR is dependent on unkamboozled processing only.
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I TRY to stay optimistic about such things, but I suppose there is no avoiding the sad reality that we ask for a lot more from these VR applications than they are able to deliver.
One day…