CES 2017: Whirlpool Corporation & Amazon Deliver Voice-Controlled Appliances

Whirlpool Corporation announces a new collaboration with Amazon that will usher in a suite of home appliances responsive to voice control. In early 2017, new smart appliances launching across the company’s portfolio of brands will feature voice control capabilities through Alexa enabled devices.

The concept: Families will be able to adjust the temperature of their ovens or change the wash cycle of their washing machines via voice commands.

“As we continue to explore innovative solutions, we always want to do so with consumers’ habits and needs in mind,” says Brett Dibkey, vice president of Integrated Business Units at Whirlpool Corporation. “As demand for a smart home ecosystem grows, consumers are looking for a wide variety of new ways to interact with their appliances, whether it’s on-product, digitally with an app, or through voice control.”

Consumers will be able to use Amazon Alexa devices to ask Alexa to help with a host of tasks on appliances across the Whirlpool Corporation portfolio:

• Consumers can ask Alexa to pause and start washers and dryers; turn on/off quiet mode; tell the dryer to run the Wrinkle Shield option; ask if the washer or dryer is running; and ask for the time remaining on a wash or dry cycle.
• In the kitchen, consumers can use Alexa to interact with smart ovens to set and adjust the cooking mode, temperature and time; ask whether the oven is on; ask how much time is remaining on the oven timer; ask for the current oven temperature; set, start and stop the oven timer.
• Consumers can also interact with refrigerators to turn on/off maximum ice and maximum cool settings; ask for refrigerator filter status; ask for current refrigerator temperatures; and set pantry drawer temperature modes.

The collaboration of Alexa expands on the success of Whirlpool Corporation’s relationship with Amazon, which also includes Amazon Dash Replenishment in laundry and kitchen products.

Whirlpool Corporation will first showcase the new Amazon Alexa capabilities—available through the Whirlpool skill on Alexa enabled devices like Echo and Echo Dot—on nearly every Whirlpool brand smart appliance on display at this week’s CES 2017.

The post CES 2017: Whirlpool Corporation & Amazon Deliver Voice-Controlled Appliances appeared first on Electronic House.

from
http://ift.tt/2hTWJ5u