- Amazon Alexa is a convenient voice assistant that can control appliances and remind you of appointments with your voice
- Alexa-powered smart homes reduce the burden of childcare and increase family time.
- Setup is surprisingly easy. There are many useful functions that will surprise you. There are also many useful functions that will surprise you.
Alexa is a voice assistant that can tell you what to do when you are busy with housework or childcare. Alexa, the world's favorite voice assistant, can control home appliances and tell you today's weather just by using its voice when you are busy with housework or childcare. This time, we attended an event held in Tokyo on August 9 to introduce smart homes using Alexa, where we learned about the latest models and what they can do, as well as a guest speaker, Ms. Asako Nakamura, who manages both a business and a home and childcare business, who gave an in-depth explanation of how Alexa is used for childcare and how to set up the system. She will also give an in-depth explanation of how Alexa can be used for childcare and how to set up Alexa!
Check out the types and features of the Alexa-powered Echo series!
Alexa has been popular around the world since the Amazon Echo went on sale in the U.S. in 2014, and while most people may think of Alexa-powered smart speakers as round, ball-shaped devices, there are now many other types available. *
(*) Alexa is an AI voice recognition service developed by Amazon. Amazon Echo (Amazon Echo) below is a smart speaker equipped with Alexa.
The two main types are the Echo Show, which has a display, and the Amazon Echo Dot and Amazon Echo Studio, which do not have a display. There are different sizes of display inches and different features for each model. There are so many different types!
There are many things you can do with Alexa, but here are four main ways to use it.
Find out more about the Echo series here!
What you can do with Alexa
(1) Smart Home
By registering canned actions in advance via the Alexa app, you can multitask with a single phrase, such as "Alexa, good morning," to open the curtains, turn on the lights, and tell you today's schedule. Alexa-enabled smart home products (sold separately) are required to operate home appliances.
2) Entertainment
You can play music using Amazon Music and Spotify, and, of course, watch YouTube and Prime Video on those with displays.
(3) Busy daily task management
In addition to setting timers and alarms, the reminder function can be used to remind you of various things, such as linking to a calendar, making a shopping list, or changing diapers if you have small children.
(4) Check on children and pets
Although only available in the Echo Show series with display, the "call" feature can also be used to check on children and pets with the built-in camera, or connect to a security camera to check on indoor and outdoor activities.
From here, let's take a look at how Alexa is actually being used in a home with children, along with Nakamura's story of actually raising a 3-year-old child!
Smart Home Achieves "Family Time" and "Stress Reduction
The main reason we decided to make a smart home was because we wanted to spend more time with our family, and we decided to remodel our house when our three or four children were born. At the time, I was worried about balancing work and child-rearing, so I started thinking about making a smart home along with the remodeling.
Nakamura says that although he had always known about Alexa and Echo devices, he had an image of them being used by gadget enthusiasts, but when he actually tried setting them up, he was surprised at how easy it was.
In our house, we have an Echo Show 10 in the kitchen that controls the appliances and devices in each room. In the mornings, I say, 'Alexa, good morning,' and it turns on the lights in the living room, opens the curtains, and tells me the weather forecast. My husband likes to take a bath in the morning, so I've also set this up so that he doesn't forget to turn on the water.
Nakamura says that the introduction of Alexa has reduced the stress of housework and daily life that had been piling up without her noticing.
"Walking to turn on the lights and appliances is only ten steps, but I noticed that it had become a bit stressful as it piled up over and over again. Now, it is automated with just one word, and I feel like my busy mornings are smoother and more comfortable," he said.
Alexa-enabled peripherals are necessary to run home appliances. Among the most useful are smart lights, smart remote controls, and thermo-hygrometers.
The SmartLight is a dimmable light, replace the bulb, and you're done with installation. For small children, it is important to create an internal body clock, so we gradually dim the lights 50% and 30% at night to create an environment where they naturally fall asleep. The smart remote control is used to adjust the temperature of the air conditioner. Once the infrared remote control of the air conditioner is registered with the smart remote control, the setup is complete. The smart remote control can then be linked to Alexa via the Alexa app, and can be set to perform routine actions such as turning on the air conditioner when the room temperature reaches ◯C.
Ms. Nakamura says that her child is currently in the middle of the "no-pee" stage. When her child is reluctant to turn off the TV, she simply says, "Alexa, turn off the TV in 10 minutes," and it turns off.
Other features include a setting that allows Roomba to start cleaning when you leave the house, a smart key on the front door knob that automatically opens the door when you come home with your children's luggage, supermarket bags, etc., and a motion sensor that turns off the lights if there is no human movement for more than 10 minutes. They are making use of these features.
Alexa has helped us to focus on what we want to do.
Check here for detailed setup instructions.Oh my god!!!
How can I achieve a smart home at home?
Alexa reduces daily stress and gives you time to focus on what you want to do, but what kind of devices and settings are needed to actually create a smart home at home?
Basically, the following five items are required.
- Wi-Fi environment
- Devices such as the Amazon Echo series
- Appliances to be moved (e.g., fans, air conditioners, etc.)
- Smart plug (*1, for running switch-operated appliances)
- Smart remote control (for remote-controlled appliances)
(*1) The appliances that turn on again when unplugged and plugged in while the appliance is on are compatible with this function. (For safety reasons, please wait 10 seconds before plugging it back in.)
Once you have prepared the above, download the Alexa app to your smartphone and proceed with the settings there.
Click here to see how to set up
Once Alexa is set up, the next step is to connect each home appliance. The home appliances are imagined to do this via a smart remote control and smart plug connected to Wi-Fi; simply add the appropriate device from the "Devices" menu of the Alexa app and set it up.
How to work with Switch Bot (smart remote control)
The second half of the event will be a tour of actual rooms that have been converted into smart homes. Take a peek at some of the Echo devices placed in each room and their specific applications!
At the sink, you can listen to the weather and morning news ("Alexa, what's the weather/news today?") ), or automatically clean the bathtub after bathing. For children who have trouble brushing their teeth, "Alexa, put on the toothpaste" is a very convenient and enjoyable way to brush their teeth. You can also ask, "Alexa, put shampoo on my shopping list.
Nowadays, there are more and more opportunities to work at home. You can work in a comfortable space by saying, "Alexa, put on some music.
If you are concerned about your family or children, you can easily check on them by saying, "Alexa, talk to the Echo in the kitchen," or "Alexa, show me the children's room!
Here is the Echo Show 15 in the kitchen, taking advantage of the large screen to watch dramas and cooking videos while cooking. You can also tell it, "Alexa, add milk to the shopping list," or "Alexa, remind me to take out the garbage tomorrow morning at 7 a.m." to prevent forgetting to buy or take out the garbage.
This event ended on a high note. It was full of surprises about the convenience of such an easy smart home and how easy it is to set up, etc. You can check out what you can do with Alexa and the different types of Alexa here!
(ENDS)
Interviewing and writing:Misako Tateoka
From an IT company, she switched careers to the editing and publishing industry. Currently, I work as a freelance editor and writer, editing and writing in a wide range of fields such as travel, gourmet, and social.
What is important is "to convey valuable information to readers in an interesting and easy-to-understand manner.
He has been involved in the production of numerous magazines, including TRANSIT, FRaU, and Metro Minute.
BabyTech is always stimulated by all the services and products that I wish I had when I was a child! I am always inspired by the things I encounter at BabyTech. My hobbies are traveling, cooking, and aikido.
