ProKNX offline smart speakers can now be used to vocally control Sony Smart TVs
How many times have you had to search for the TV remote control in the last few months? It happens to all of us at one time or another; the remote control for the television is mislaid, runs out of batteries, or gets broken in a (pretend) Jedi sword fight. We experienced this issue just recently. After much searching for a lost remote control, it turned up in the kitchen fridge. It turned out that a member of the family (who shall not be named) went to get a snack and absent-mindedly forgot that they had put it down there. There was an upside to this story. In our search, we discovered quite a bit of spare change under the couch cushions. We realized something when it went missing. We discovered that it is extremely difficult to navigate your way around a modern TV without one.
Of course, for an active family, a few days without being able to watch television are bearable. On a more serious note, there are many people who rely on their television for company or entertainment due to a variety of health or social factors. For these users, the continuous functioning of a TV that is easy and intuitive to control is extremely important for their psychological well-being. On top of that, certain members of the population can find that TV remote controls are a trial to manipulate. These groups consist of users such as frail seniors, those with articulation pain, and differently-abled individuals with limited limb movement. This is when the ability to control the television with voice alone comes to the fore.
To facilitate the control of television without need to use a remote control, ProKNX has developed the capacity of their offline smart speaker, Aragon, to support voice control of Sony smart TVs. Instead of having to search for the remote control, you can now do everything with your voice. There is no longer a need for a remote control.
What commands does the offline smart speaker support?
By obeying voice commands the ProKNX smart speaker can now:
- Switch your TV on or off
- Select the channel you want to watch, either by number or by name
- Raise or lower the volume
- Select the application you want to watch e.g., Netflix, YouTube, and many others!
The smart speaker has the additional advantage that it can be spoken to using natural language, rather than only understanding stock phrases. Therefore, the TV control commands can be said in many different ways. This allows the user to have a large amount of flexibility to speak in the way they choose. The smart speaker also understand a wide range of accents. Aragon, the smart speaker, can also be set up in English, French, or German, giving them an even broader scope of understanding.
So, speak to your TV. Then, go ahead and give the remote control to your dog as a chew-toy. He’ll thank you for it!
You can watch short video on how easy it is to use your voice to control your Sony Smart TV here.