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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for Fnord666_

Amazon is working on building a pair of smart glasses to house its Alexa voice assistant, and a home security camera that could be linked to its existing Echo connected devices to further expand their capabilities, according to a report in the FT citing people familiar with the company's plans.

The newspaper says one or both of these products could be launched before the end of the year, alongside updates to existing Echo devices.

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment, saying company policy is not to comment on rumors or speculation.

According to the FT, the smart glasses are intended to be purely an earbuds-free housing for Amazon's Alexa AI — with a bone-conduction audio system that would enable the wearer to hear Alexa without the need to be wired in.

With no mobile platform of its own to build on, Amazon has a strategic disadvantage vs Google and Apple because it cannot bake its voice AI into smartphone hardware where millions of engaged users could easily summon it — hence the company working on a plethora of alternative connected devices to try to put Alexa within earshot anyway.

The idea for the glasses, which would be its first wearable, would be to do just that: Enable Alexa to be summoned from anywhere, vs the current situation where users are barking commands at static in-home speakers.

The FT reports the glasses would wirelessly tether to a user's smartphone for connectivity. They are also apparently being designed to look like a regular pair of spectacles, so they could be worn comfortably and unobtrusively.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/20/amazon-is-working-on-smart-glasses-to-house-alexa-ai-says-ft/

Also at Reuters and USA Today.

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