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Kohler debuts new showerhead powered by Amazon's smart assistant


Alexa, take a shower with me! Kohler debuts new showerhead speaker powered by Amazon’s smart assistant that will allow users to listen to music, the news or even shop

  • The furniture company will release a new showerhead with Amazon’s smart assistant built into it
  • Users will be able to listen to music, hear Alexa read the news, or even shop
  • They will have six to seven hours of playback and cost between $99 and $229 

Kohler has announced its customers will soon be able to to talk to Alex in an unexpectedly intimate new place: the shower.

The plumbing and furniture company revealed an update to its line of Moxie AI Speakers that will now come built in to a showerhead.

The new showerhead will cost between $99 and $229 and provide playback time between six and seven hours.

Kohler is preparing a new showerhead equipped with its Moxie AI Speaker (pictured above) for release in 2020, giving users the chance to talk to Alexa will scrubbing up.

Kohler is preparing a new showerhead equipped with its Moxie AI Speaker (pictured above) for release in 2020, giving users the chance to talk to Alexa will scrubbing up.

The speaker will support the full range of Alexa options, according to Engadget, letting users listen to music, hear the news, or order new household items from Amazon, all from the steamy confines of the shower.

It’s part of Kohler’s continuing efforts to turn the bathroom into a platform for smart assistants and remote user control.

The company is planning to release a smart mirror, called the Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror, that will work with both Alexa and Google Assistant.

It’s also designed the Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet, which will feature a heated seat, built-in speakers, and personalized ‘cleansing and drying functions.’

All of these new smart bathroom technologies will be operable through Kohler Connect, the company’s smartphone app that will let users customize water temperature, and turn on the showerhead or bath faucet in advance.

With the right smart equipment, users will also be able to create integrated mood settings for showers, customizing light levels, audio presets, temperature, and steam levels, for what the company describes as a ‘spa-like showering experience.’

The growing range of smart bathroom products will all be operable remotely through the Kohler Connect smartphone app (pictured above)

The growing range of smart bathroom products will all be operable remotely through the Kohler Connect smartphone app (pictured above)

When asked in 2018 about the company’s support for smart assistants like Alexa in a space as personal as a bathroom, CEO David Kohler emphasized the company’s respect for privacy.

‘We don’t want to do technology just for the sake of novelty,’ he said.

‘I think because of the intimacy of the bathroom space you want to be careful and you want to preserve privacy but at the same time it can be an area where you can enjoy a lot more convenience as well because it is a really important room to people.’ 

HOW DOES ALEXA WORK AND WHY ARE PEOPLE CONCERNED OVER PRIVACY? 

HOW IT WORKS:  

Any time audio is sent to the cloud, a visual indicator appears on the Echo device – a light ring on Amazon Echo will turn blue or a blue bar will appear on Echo Show.

Amazon also says that voice recordings are kept until a customer chooses to delete them.

The recordings are used to increase the diversity with which Alexa is trained to help it better understand customer requests.

For example, differentiating between YouTube and U2 and using historical context, such as the Olympics, to know what the user is referring to.

Amazon maintains the device is not activated until the wake word is said. This can be configured to be Alexa, Echo or Computer.

It also records when the microphone button is manually pressed.

PRIVACY CONCERNS: 

Amazon devices have previously been activated when they’re not wanted – meaning the devices could be listening.

Millions are reluctant to invite the devices and their powerful microphones into their homes out of concern that their conversations are being heard.

Amazon devices rely on microphones listening out for a key word, which can be triggered by accident and without their owner’s realization.

The camera on the Echo Spot, which doubles up as a ‘smart alarm’, will also probably be facing directly at the user’s bed.

The device has such sophisticated microphones it can hear people talking from across the room – even if music is playing. Fraudsters could then use this live audio feed to collect sensitive information from the device.

HOW TO TURN ALEXA SETTINGS OFF:

Open the Alexa app on your phone. Tap the menu button on the top-left of the screen.

Select ‘Alexa Account’. Choose ‘Alexa Privacy’. Select ‘Manage how your data improves Alexa’.

Turn the button next to ‘Help Develop New Features’ to off. Turn off the button next to your name under ‘Use Messages to Improve Transcriptions’.



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