Tag: CoWatch

Smart Home Integration

By on October 20, 2016 in Amazon Alexa

CoWatch, Alexa and Amazon Smart Home integration.

You can use CoWatch to control Alexa-enabled products such as lights, switches, thermostats, and more. Using the Alexa app on your CoWatch and your voice enabled skills, ask Alexa to switch on a lamp, turn on the fan, dim the lights, or increase the temperature. Some products work directly with Alexa and other smart home ecosystems require a compatible hub.

Set up or use a smart home skill, go to Connect a Smart Home Device to Alexa.

Lighting is the perfect place to start with Smart Home integration and Amazon has a great selection of starter kits that include Alexa compatible hubs and by extension, your CoWatch. They also come with light bulbs, outlets and sensors that you can control with your voice through Alexa.

The Philips Hue Starter Kit is Alexa compatible and offers color ambience settings.

The Wemo switch and smart socket series works directly with Alexa and CoWatch (no hub required).

Using Alexa with Wemo, you can control appliances from anywhere in the world as well as monitor your energy use, set schedules, and receive notifications. Wemo also works with Nest thermostat.

www.amazon.com/add-smart-home-device

Connect your Smart Home Device to Alexa

After you set up a smart home device, enable the Skill to connect it to Alexa.

Important: Please read Safety Information for Using Smart Home Devices with Alexa before you enable a smart home skill.

To begin:

  • On your mobile device, download the manufacturer’s companion app for your smart home device.
  • Use the manufacturer’s companion app to set up the smart home device on the same Wi-Fi network as your Alexa device.
  • Download and install the latest software updates for your devices.

To connect your smart home device to Alexa:

  1. Open the Alexa app and select Skills.
  2. Select Categories and choose Smart Home.
  3. Browse or search keywords for the skill for your smart home device and select Enable Skill.
  4. Tip: If there isn’t a skill for your device or service, verify that the device is compatible with Alexa. If it is, try the second set of steps below titled “Smart Home Devices without a Skill.”
  6. If prompted, sign in with your third-party information and then follow the prompts to complete setup.
  7. Discovery begins after you have signed in to the skill.

Smart Home Devices without a Skill

Philips and WeMo devices do not require a skill to connect to Alexa. To connect these smart home devices:

  • Philips devices:
    1. Hit the button on your device bridge.
    2. Say “Discover devices.”
  • WeMo devices:
    1. Say “Discover devices.”

After a successful discovery you can then control the device with your voice.

Note: If you turn off or unplug your smart home device and then turn it back on, it may take some time before Alexa can rediscover the device. If Alexa can’t discover your device, check the companion app for your smart home device to ensure that it’s on the same Wi-Fi network as your Alexa device.

Please follow these guidelines when using smart home devices with Alexa.

When you connect devices and services to Alexa, anyone speaking to Alexa can operate those products. This includes products such as garage doors, locks, and appliances. Please follow these recommendations when using connected devices with Alexa:

  • Follow all instructions and recommended uses for smart home devices.
  • After making a request, confirm the action was completed on the smart home device.
  • Take steps to ensure the security of your Alexa supported device and safe operation of your connected products. For example, if you do not want Alexa to respond to voice commands (like when you are away from home), turn off microphones on your Alexa supported device.

You can also use Lock up with August:

With an August Lock and the new August Home skill for Alexa, you can now use your voice to lock your doors or check the status of your locks. Double-check that the front door is secure as you fall asleep-or lock up the house without interrupting movie night.

You’ll need an August lock and an August Connect hub to use this skill. Once your devices are set up and named (for example, “the front door”), go to “Skills” in your Alexa App to enable the August Home skill and link your account. Then just ask:

  • “Alexa, ask August to lock the front door.”
  • “Alexa, ask August to check the status of my lock.”

To order an August lock and hub, just ask:

  • “Alexa, order an August lock.”
  • “Alexa, order an August Connect.”

Check out Amazon’s Complete List of Compatible Smart Home Devices here:

www.amazon.com/smart-home-devices

 

CoWatch Debuts on Amazon.com

By on September 22, 2016 in Press

From Crowdfunding to Crowd Pleaser: iMCO’s CoWatch, World’s First Available Alexa-Enabled Smartwatch, Debuts on Amazon.com

Compatible with both iOS and Android, CoWatch accelerates from Indiegogo to mass market

SAN FRANCISCO - September 21, 2016 – iMCO, a global innovator in smart wearables and devices, today announced the availability of CoWatch, the first available Alexa-enabled smartwatch that gives customers voice control from their wrist. This is also the first smartwatch powered by the Cronologics OS, a revolutionary operating system built by Google and Android veterans, and is compatible with both iOS and Android devices.

CoWatch began its crowdfunding journey on Indiegogo back in April of this year and exceeded funding expectations by 280 percent. Since then, the team has been working toward meeting demand for broader consumer availability and distribution.

“We’ve been extremely pleased with the positive response from our initial backers and early adopters,” said Danny Dong, Founder and CEO of iMCO. “Being able to offer CoWatch on Amazon.com only four short months after our initial crowdfunding campaign is a testament to the product’s unique design and functionality as well as the success of our strategic partnerships with Cronologics and work with the Alexa team.”

With the Alexa integration, users can simply push-to-talk and quickly hear the news, get the weather, check the traffic, order a pizza, control their smart home, check their calendars, add items to a shopping list, track their Amazon orders, and more just by using their voice.

“The Alexa Voice Service makes it easy for companies like CoWatch to integrate Alexa into their devices,” said Aaron Brown, Director, Alexa. “We are impressed by the design and functionality of the smartwatch and excited to be working with CoWatch to offer customers a seamless Alexa experience in a compact wearable device.”

“The design of the watch combined with an operating system that was built from the ground up to focus on the wearable device rather than the phone, is a perfect balance of both form and function,” said Cronologics’ Co-Founder and CEO, Leor Stern.

In addition to its unique connectivity with Alexa, the sleekly designed CoWatch tracks your activity, offers up to 32 hours of battery life under normal use with an always-on display in 400×400 pixel high-resolution and fracture-resistant touch screen. CoWatch is powered by Ingenic dual-core 1.2GHz & 300MHz mobile processor created for smart wearables, and equipped by 1GB memory & 8GB storage, the highest capacity in the smartwatch market.

As part of today’s launch, customers can now pre-order two CoWatch color options on Amazon.com (estimated availability for shipping on September 25): Mineral Silver with matching stainless steel band at $279, and Carbon Black with matching stainless steel band at $299. Leather straps with three color options: Ink Black, Charcoal Gray and Dark Coffee Brown are also available to purchase and exchangeable with the metal band. More than 20 watch faces will be available at launch and more to add every month so CoWatch users can choose any design to fit any occasions. In addition to selectable watch faces, the ceramic decoration ring around the stainless steel watch case is also customizable in various graphics to fit any style.

About iMCO

Innovation | Modern | Concentration | Obligation, iMCO focuses on innovative, fashionable products designed and developed in an effort to perfect your everyday mobile life. iMCO entered into the smart wearable market with its 1st generation smart bracelet, the NB, in 2014. Released in 2015, the 2nd generation smart bracelet, DBL, was capable of heart-rate monitoring, along with many other features. CoWatch smart watch was successfully launched through an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign in April 2016. By offering smart wearables, including fitness bands and smart watches, as well as, mobile accessories such as power bank, car charger, and Bluetooth wireless speakers, iMCO is fully committed and well positioned to “perfect your mobile life”.

About Cronologics Corporation

Cronologics Corporation is a wearable technology company founded by GoogleTM and AndroidTM veterans in Silicon Valley. The Cronologics platform is a complete software solution for smart watches, with a highly customizable, brand-friendly architecture offering a simple, quick, and intuitive user experience designed specifically for watches. The Cronologics team has extensive experience building some of the largest and most successful computing platforms in the world, such as Android, Cyanogen, Facebook, Google Maps, and YouTube.

CRONOLOGICS is a Trademark of Cronologics Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

###

For product ../../../blog/tag/demo.csss, or to speak with one of the CoWatch founders, please contact:

Media Contacts:

Eric Jin
[email protected]

Leor Stern
[email protected]

Natalie Hereth
[email protected]

Alexa Skills

By on September 17, 2016 in Amazon Alexa

 

Alexa is Amazon’s intelligent cloud-based voice service; a virtual assistant, a learning tool, a know-it-all you can love. CoWatch was the first smart watch with Alexa Voice Service (AVS) integration. Think Jarvis from Iron Man, but better and real; now we can all be as lucky as Tony Stark.

 


CoWatch users can ask Alexa to play music, answer questions, get news and traffic information, control smart home products, play games, read bedtime stories, tell corny jokes, and the list list goes on and on and on.

Former Senior Vice President of Amazon, David Limp, gives an Alexa overview to Fortune Magazine.

Skills are voice-driven capabilities that enhance the functionality of your Alexa device. You can enable skills that allow your CoWatch to give you a guided 1 minute meditation, add an event to your calendar, or track your Amazon packages. There is even a skill that helps you master your mixology for seasonal cocktails!

 

To use an Alexa skill, enable the skill in the Alexa app, and then make your request based on the example phrases shown in the app.

If you know the exact name of the skill you want, you can say, “Enable [skill name] skill.” You can also search for and enable skills in the Alexa app:

  1. Open the Alexa app.
  2. Open the left navigation panel, and then select skills.
  3. Use the search bar to enter keywords or select categories to browse through.
  4. When you see a skill you want to use, select enable skill.

After you enable a skill, you can ask Alexa to open and use it. For example, say, “Alexa, open [skill name].” There may be different or additional instructions for using the skill. You can refer to the skill’s detail page in the app to learn more, or say, “Alexa, [skill name] help.” When you no longer want to use a skill, select disable or say, “disable [skill name] skill.”

Tip: You can rate and review skills. To review a skill, scroll down to the reviews section on the detail page for a skill, and then select write a review.

 

The Alexa App was recently redesigned so you can view skills by category or see what’s popular and trending. Alexa now has more than 1,500 skills that let you do everything from order a pizza to check your credit card balance.

Plus, once you’ve found a skill you want to try, you can now enable it right away using just your voice. Try it with these popular skills:

  • “Alexa, enable the Jeopardy! skill.”
  • “Alexa, play Jeopardy!”

To learn more about Alexa skills, go to Enable Alexa Skills.

If you are a developer interested in learning to code for Alexa, check out the Amazon Developer Alexa resources online. There are skill templates, tutorials, on-demand training webinars and weekly office hours available to anyone who wants to learn how to code skills for Alexa.

Both the CoWatch Companion App and the Alexa App are available in the iTunes App Store and in the Google Play Store.  All you need is an Amazon Prime account to login and start activating Alexa Skills.

This post was adapted from information available on Alexa.Amazon.com, Amazon Device Support and Developer.Amazon.com.

CoWatch Video

By on September 9, 2016 in Video

Introducing CoWatch: The First Smartwatch Powered by Alexa

By on September 9, 2016 in Amazon Alexa

Reblogged from: developer.amazon.com

We are very excited to introduce you to CoWatch - the world’s first ‘Alexa-enabled’ smartwatch built using the Alexa Voice Service API. Boasting a modern watch design, and a high-res touch screen, CoWatch is a companion smartwatch device with built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and is the first wearable/smartwatch built on top of the Cronologics OS platform.

What is Cronologics?

Cronologics is a startup founded by Android and Google veterans providing a software (OS) platform for wearable devices like smartwatches. Cronologics is a refreshing new entrant to the wearable OS platform market with the differentiating factor being their ability to offer an independent, customizable solution for wearable device makers, and a simple, intuitive user experience for end users.

CoWatch + Alexa

Alexa is CoWatch’s primary voice assistant with a tap-to-talk  implementation. You can have voice enabled interactions through Alexa, much the same way you’ve come to expect from any other popular Alexa enabled devices like the Echo Tap, and Fire TV.

Here are some of the voice activated things you can do on the CoWatch by asking Alexa -

Answer questions, report traffic and weather, call a cab, and control your connected Smart Home - Insteon, Lutron, SmartThings, Wink, WeMo and many more – all with your voice. You can also re-order items from Amazon Prime by speaking to Alexa.

“Alexa, what’s the weather today?”

“Alexa, what’s on my schedule?”

“Alexa, ask Uber to get me a ride”

“Alexa, what time is it in Dubai?”

“Alexa, turn house lights on”

In addition, you will also have access to the full catalog of Alexa skills built by third-party developers using the Alexa Skills Kit.

Want one?

Starting today, CoWatch is available for pre-orders through Indiegogo, one of the largest global crowdfunding and fund raising websites for new and innovative product concepts.

Get Started with Alexa Voice Service

It’s so exciting to see Alexa being integrated into wearable devices like the CoWatch, and take the voice experience to a new level.

“I’ve been in love with Alexa since the first day I set up my Echo, and was amazed to find what a useful companion Alexa can be on your wrist. We use Alexa on our CoWatch every day to order supplies from Amazon, check calendars, quickly get information like weather/traffic, and more. We even use Alexa to turn our office lights on and off from our wrists. The Alexa Voice Services (AVS) team at Amazon has been a very enthusiastic and supportive partner in helping Cronologics and CoWatch launch the 1st Alexa-enabled smartwatch” – Leor Stern, Co-founder & CEO at Cronologics.

If you’re a device maker and your connected product has a microphone and a speaker, the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) enables you to add voice-powered experiences to your connected devices. It enables your customers to simply talk to their Alexa-enabled products to play music, answer questions, get news/local information, control smart home products, and more.

Here are some additional resources to help you get started:

  • Get started with Alexa Voice Service (AVS).
  • Here’s a Java client reference implementation that ../../../blog/tag/demo.cssnstrates Alexa Voice Service’s core capabilities and provides sample code to help you implement your own solution.
  • Interested in building your own Alexa enabled device using a Raspberry Pi? Check out this guide on GitHub.

Reblogged from: developer.amazon.com

Indiegogo Launch Video

By on April 18, 2016 in Video

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