Amazon is introducing three new accessibility features for Alexa, its virtual assistant, on Echo Show devices, highlighting the Gestures function, the new way of interacting with Alexa on smart screens without the need to establish voice commands or touch the touch screen.
Also coming are text-to-speech features, typing and saving phrases to be read aloud, and enabling different types of subtitles on all devices simultaneously.
But as we said, the most outstanding function of those presented today is the new Gestures function, which comes optionally, requiring prior activation. To do this, you will have to go to “Settings”, then “Device options”, and finally “Gestures”.
For now, this function only has the raising of the hand, with the palm of the hand facing the camera, to turn off the timer that is in progress depending on the cooking recipe that is being carried out.
This is interesting, especially when it is not feasible to establish voice commands or even touch the screen with a dirty hand as a result of cooking. Being a function called in the plural, Gestures instead of gesture, it is possible that Amazon is working on new capabilities for this new function that we could see in the future.
For now, this new optional feature is compatible with Echo Show 8 (2nd generation) or 10 (3rd generation) devices, according to the company.
For people with speech and hearing difficulties
The second of the new functions allows write phrases on Echo Show devices, to be read aloud laterbecoming part of Tap to Alexa, with the possibility of saving phrases, generating shortcuts, and used in a personalized way for each situation.
According to Amazon:
Text-to-speech can be useful for customers with speech disabilities, or who are non-pronouncing or non-verbal, and who might be looking to use their device to communicate with others in their home.
And the third of the new accessibility features is called Consolidated captions, which allows you to turn on call captions, closed captions, and Alexa captions at the same time on all compatible Echo Show devices.
According to Amazon:
Each form of closed captioning can be useful for clients who are deaf, hard of hearing, or in loud or noisy environments
To activate it on any compatible Echo Show device, you have to go to Settings”, then go to “Accessibility”, and finally go to “Subtitles”.
More information: Amazon
