Josh.ai is debuting a number of exciting updates for CEDIA Expo 2021. The company’s new features and enhancements, representing the culmination of feedback from its network of more than 700 certified dealers, will now be unveiled in webinars and virtual trainings throughout the fall to supplement the announcements. With intuitive user experiences driving its product direction, Josh.ai is proud to present innovation that delights while ensuring that client privacy remains paramount.
“Our mission at Josh.ai is to create truly delightful, private, and transformative smart home experiences,” said the CEO of Josh.ai, Alex Capecelatro. “The strategic advancements we have made in the last year, including the development of Josh Nano and Josh Core, the introduction of our first co-developed hardware solution with Lutron, our strategic partnerships, and the engineering investment we’ve made to implement impactful integrations and features for our dealers have us extremely excited for the future.”
Touchless Home Intercom
Josh.ai is excited to announce that the industry’s first touchless home intercom feature will launch this fall. With homeowners communicating to their Josh.ai systems everyday and adding more microphones in key areas of their homes, it was a natural next step to empower families to communicate directly with each other in their living spaces. While Josh.ai users were already enjoying one-way announcements to send a message to a single room or throughout a home, two-way intercom functionality via Josh Micro and Josh Nano unleashes a new range of possibilities.
For example, when dinner is ready and a command is given like, “Ok Josh, announce everywhere it’s dinner time,” family members can now easily respond to the person in the kitchen with, “Hey Josh, respond I’m finishing up the laundry, I’ll be down in 5” or “Ok Josh, respond I’m on my last math problem and will be down in a minute.”
By adding intercom functionality, Josh.ai brings more value to the home and enables households to connect in new ways. This feature is now available to new and existing Josh.ai clients at no additional charge.
Media Enhancements
Kaleidescape Integration:
Josh.ai and Kaleidescape will be releasing a new integration at CEDIA, which will support Kaleidescape’s remote control navigation through Josh.ai’s voice and app remote interfaces. Accessing the Kaleidescape remote through Josh.ai will provide access to the trackpad for directional navigation, home, and menu buttons, play and pause for content playback, and Strato users will be able to use the keyboard to type in search criteria. Included in Josh.ai’s remote control support will be the ability to script commands using the Natural Language Scene Editor. This aspect of the integration will be especially impactful for dealers giving demonstrations and wanting to include a Kaleidescape movie into the new experience. For example, the following scripted command would provide a transformative “Movie Time” scene to launch a particular film:
“Dim the theater scones to 10%, turn off the theater pendant lights, and close the theater blackout shades. Watch Kaleidescape in the theater, press the home button, scroll down, scroll right, press enter, scroll down, scroll down, press play.”
Peacock & HBO Max Support:
One of Josh.ai’s most powerful features is its ability to intelligently search and deep-link to audio and video content through supported streaming services. While the accuracy of its search criteria is always being refined, Josh.ai is excited to expand upon its offerings with the support of two new video streaming apps. In addition to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and YouTube, clients are now able to ask for shows and movies available on Peacock and HBO Max on a Roku device, giving users access to thousands of new shows and movies. For example, clients can launch their favorite HBO series with a command like, “Ok Josh, watch Game of Thrones!”
Music Grouping with Natural Language:
While a feature of the Josh App and a typical element of a distributed audio GUI, verbally group audio zones had previously presented a challenge. Whether the diction felt clunky or unnatural, it has taken copious amounts of surveying and testing for Josh.ai to roll out the first phase of its NLP support for music grouping. Users will now have even more freedom when giving commands to their Josh.ai system with commands like, “Ok Josh, group the patio with the Kitchen music.”
Dealer Tools
Installers will be excited to see updates in the Josh.ai Portal to program their Josh Nano projects. Beyond new system deployment flows and the ability to make VoiceLink audio connections via Josh Core, there is improved flexibility to adjust a Josh.ai system’s network settings as well. This improved networking oversight is thanks to Josh Core’s ability to span VLANs and includes user-friendly modifications that will allow installers to seamlessly update WiFi credentials without having to reset any hardware.
Mobile App
Following the launch of Josh Nano and Josh Core, installers have the flexibility of using a variety of tools to deploy their projects. In addition to the Josh.ai Portal and desktop setup tool for Mac or PC, the setup flows for Josh.ai’s new product ecosystem are conveniently available in its iOS app.
Josh.ai Personality Enhancements
In an effort to make speaking to Josh.ai more inclusive for users that have previously spoken to other smart assistants, the company has introduced a first of its kind dual wake word that will accept “Hey Josh” or “Ok Josh” to activate its far field microphones. The flexibility to speak more naturally, combined with advanced wake word sensitivity tuning, provides dealers with an even greater arsenal to optimize their client’s voice automation experiences.
Partnerships
Lutron’s Josh.ai Ready Wallplate:
Lutron Electronics, in collaboration with Josh.ai, has announced a beautiful, new offering that combines the power of a Lutron keypad with Josh Nano, to give homeowners unlimited control possibilities. The combined elegance of Lutron keypads, along with the flexibility of Josh Nano, the world’s first architectural microphone, brings beauty, simplicity, and privacy to all luxury projects. The Josh.ai Ready Wallplate will be compatible with Palladiom, seeTouch, and Pico keypads, with Palladiom metal and plastic finish options.
Crestron Home AV Integration:
Josh.ai has also pushed a significant update that now lets Crestron Home users control their AV systems using Josh. As long as Crestron Home acts as the control and media routing backbone, Josh.ai will be able to communicate with a project’s AV devices and use its intelligence to find specific content with compatible service providers. In addition to AV source distribution, Josh.ai natively works with Crestron Home’s lights, shades, thermostats, locks, scenes, and quick actions.
Control4 Music Enhancements:
Josh.ai has also released increased native music integration with Control4 controllers. In addition to its existing Pandora support, Josh.ai will now deep-link to content on Tidal and SiriusXM. Control4 clients will enjoy the freedom of making as specific or as generic of a request as they would like with the confidence that Josh.ai has access to the services to find as accurate of a match as possible.
Wall-Smart’s Designs Josh Nano Flush Mount:
Industry leading wall mount solution provider, Wall-Smart, has worked closely with the Josh.ai team to develop a special flush mount for Josh Nano projects. Developed for new construction, the mount eliminates the 3mm lip of Josh Nano and completely blends it into a wall or ceiling. Retrofit solutions will also be available upon request for custom orders.
AVPro Edge Introduces First Third Party Implementation of Josh.ai VoiceCast:
AVPro is the first manufacturer to add Josh.ai’s VoiceCast capabilities into its products, increasing the reach and availability of voice in the smart home. AVPro matrix switchers will now be able to seamlessly activate, duck the volume of current media, and route responses from a Josh Micro or Josh Nano through its in-room audio.
Article originally published on connecteddesign.com.