NXP Semiconductors is leveraging the newly released Alexa Voice Service (AVS) Integration for AWS IoT Core to facilitate the first microcontroller (MCU)-enabled smart home Internet of Things (IoT) device with Alexa Built-in. iDevices, the smart home division of Hubbell Incorporated, recently launched Instinct, the smart light switch with Alexa Built-in. This award winning product utilises NXP’s i.MX RT106A MCU-based solution for Alexa and uses the AVS integration for AWS IoT Core.
Before the introduction of AVS for AWS IoT Core, developers wanting to add Alexa Built-in to products were required to use expensive application processor-based implementations running Linux, which needed a large memory subsystem and often a dedicated digital signal processor (DSP). Now developers can leverage NXP’s i.MX RT106A Crossover MCU-based solution to reduce the cost of adding Alexa Built-in to their designs by 50%, by eliminating expensive memories and a DSP. The i.MX RT106A delivers a turnkey Alexa Built-in solution running on Amazon FreeRTOS, while leaving resources for the developer’s own application software. By offering a turnkey solution for Alexa Built-in, NXP can also significantly reduce the time to market.
“Once backend infrastructure and industrial design were finalised in-house, we needed a turnkey solution for Alexa Built-in,” said Shawn Monteith, chief technical officer of iDevices. “Working with NXP and AWS IoT Core provided just that, allowing iDevices to accelerate time to market and optimise infrastructure costs.”
AVS for AWS IoT Core can also significantly reduce an OEM’s lifetime device management costs by reducing the frequency and size of over-the-air (OTA) software updates to devices in the field.
“AVS Integration for AWS IoT Core helps device makers take a step forward in realising the vision of making ambient computing part of our daily lives,” said Dirk Didascalou, vice president of IoT, Amazon Web Services. “By leveraging the power of AWS IoT Core, device makers can reduce the cost of producing Alexa Built-in devices and easily add Alexa to new types of products.”
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