{"id":338882,"date":"2017-04-20T22:11:12","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T14:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1479270"},"modified":"2017-04-20T22:11:12","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T14:11:12","slug":"amazon-lex-the-technology-behind-alexa-opens-up-to-developers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/amazon-lex-the-technology-behind-alexa-opens-up-to-developers\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Lex, the technology behind Alexa, opens up to developers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Amazon Lex<\/a>,\u00a0the technology powering Amazon\u2019s virtual assistant Alexa, has exited preview, according to a report from Reuters<\/a> this morning. The system, which involves\u00a0natural language understanding technology combined with automatic speech recognition, was first introduced in November,<\/a> at Amazon\u2019s AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

At the time, Amazon explained how Lex can be used by developers who want to build their own conversational applications, like chatbots.<\/p>\n

As an\u00a0example, the company had demoed a tool that allowed users to book a flight using only their voice.<\/p>\n

However, the system is not limited to working only\u00a0in\u00a0the chatbots you find in today\u2019s consumer messaging apps, like Facebook Messenger (though it can be integrated with that platform). Lex can actually work in any voice or text chatbot on mobile, web or in other chat services beyond Messenger, including Slack and Twilio SMS.<\/p>\n

Amazon has suggested<\/a> it could be used for a variety of purposes, including web and mobile applications where the technology provides users with information, powers their application, helps with various work activities, or even provides a control mechanism for robots, drones and toys.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Chatbots in messaging \u2013 and particularly in e-commerce bots\u00a0\u2013 is a solid entry point for Lex\u2019s technology, though. Consumers today have been frustrated by\u00a0the current crop of \u00a0chatbots that have clunky menus to navigate through, and a limited ability to respond the questions users asked. Lex, on the other hand, would allow developers to create bots that convert speech to text and those that could recognize the intent of the text, making the resulting bot more conversational, and more sophisticated than those on the market at present.<\/p>\n

Lex, as a fully managed Amazon service, would also scale automatically as the bots\u2019 usage increased, meaning\u00a0developers would only pay for the number of text or voice queries that Lex processes.<\/p>\n

Amazon\u2019s goal with opening up Lex to the wider development community could give it an edge in its ability to compete with other voice technology, like Google\u2019s Assistant or Apple\u2019s Siri, for example. The company plans to take the text and recordings that people send to Lex-powered apps in order to improve Lex, and its ability to understand more queries, notes today\u2019s\u00a0report.<\/p>\n

This openness has been Amazon\u2019s larger strategy with much of its Alexa platform. For example, it already had rolled out\u00a0Alexa Voice Services<\/a> which allowed developers to integrate Alexa into their own devices, like speakers, bedside alarm clocks, and more.<\/p>\n

Alexa\u2019s software isn\u2019t the only area where Amazon is embracing an open ecosystem. The company earlier this month said it would make the technology powering its Echo speakers<\/a> available to third-party device makers as well. This includes the microphone array listening to Alexa commands, and\u00a0the proprietary\u00a0software that can recognize wake words, reduce background noise, and cancel out echos in large rooms.<\/p>\n

By offering this to OEMs, other device manufacturers can build their own smart, voice-powered products \u2013 even those that would compete\u00a0with Amazon\u2019s own Echo speakers.<\/p>\n

Developers interested in Amazon Lex can get started here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Amazon Lex,\u00a0the technology powering Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa, has exited preview, according to a report from Reuters this morning. The system, which involves\u00a0natural language understanding technology combined with automatic speech recognition, was first introduced in November, at Amazon’s AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas. At the time, Amazon explained how Lex can be… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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