Virtual Assistants: making our life easy!

Hello folks! In this post we will have a look at various virtual assistants present around us. Virtual assistant is a software application that performs various tasks for user. Now a days "Chat-bot" is the well known name which is small version of virtual assistant for websites.  Such applications improve the user experience considerably and can understand natural language (different from computer language) and prove to be starting point in the world of Artificial Intelligence. Lets have a look at some famous virtual assistants.

1. Google Assistant

This is developed by Google and primarily available in Android Smartphones, smart home devices and surprisingly a special edition of Google Assistant is available on Jio phone based on KaiOS. This technology is advanced version of 'Google Now', which was able to listen user and perform actions. Google assistant can detect natural voice of user and can give response. Also keyboard input is supported. Besides of performing tasks like setting alarms, change some settings it also can identify objects and collect information through camera of devices. It collects user voice samples for trusted voice and can perform authentication function like voice unlock. There are many useful functions that Google Assistant can do, you can find here. Google keeps on adding skills to the assistant which includes association with HDFC bank's 'Eva' chat-bot for handling banking related queries. 

2. Siri by Apple

Siri is the intelligent assistant present in Apple ecosystem. It uses natural language interface to take user commands. Siri adopts the user's language, type of search patterns, preferences with continuous use. It was originally developed by SRI international Artificial Intelligence Center and uses advanced machine learning algorithms to function. The speech recognition engine is developed by nuance Communications. 

Siri supports a wide range of user commands, including performing phone actions, checking basic information, perform basic math, searching the Internet, navigating areas, finding information on entertainment, and is able to engage with iOS apps.

3. Alexa by Amazon

Alexa is developed by Amazon, first used in Amazon Echo and Echo Dot developed by Amazon Lab126. Alexa can control several smart devices via home automation system. Also it can perform tasks like music playback, smart alarm, playing audio-books, making to do list. This assistant is also available on Google Play store for use on Android devices. Alexa can wake up with an hot word or push of activating button. Alexa has over 15k skills and can take multiple voice inputs.

4. Cortana by Microsoft

Cortana was developed by Microsoft for its windows OS range, Xbox One and also for Android, iOS and amazon Alexa Platforms.

Cortana can perform basic functions like setting reminder, recognize user voice, get search queries using bing search engine. Cortana can integrate with third party apps on windows 10 to perform additional tasks. Natural language processing engine was derived from Tellme Networks and is coupled with Satori, an semantic search database.

5. Bixby by Samsung

Bixby is developed by Samsung, and was introduced with their flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and S8+ in march 2017. Bixby was an kind of upgrade for their 'S Voice' smart assistant application introduced with Galaxy S III. Samsung wants to add Bixby to their range of electronic appliances, so in future we can see smart refrigerator, washing machine by Samsung. There ate three parts Bixby Voice, Bixby Vision, and Bixby Home.

Bixby Voice gets activated by user voice and perform voice commands. Bixby Vision comes with built in camera app and can detect objects in real time, its an augmented reality camera. Bixby Home can be activated by swiping on home screen and can perform some tasks like controlling smart gadgets etc.

6. Watson by IBM

Last but not the least, Watson, developed by big blue IBM and named after it's first CEO Thomas J. Watson. It is unlike simple virtual assistants as Alexa or Siri, but a question answering computer system capable of answering questions asked in natural language. IBM has released Watson APIs for other software application providers which includes natural language processing, sentiment analysis, speech tone recognition etc. These APIs can be used for development of chat-bots. Also Watson is useful in making decisions for various medical treatments. Watson uses IBM's DeepQA software and the Apache UIMA (Unstructured Information Management Architecture) framework. IBM also have provided many ways to train Watson through Watson Knowledge Studio. It is a next step towards AI that answers almost anything.

These are some famous smart assistant, that improve our experience while using devices and services. Some honarable mentions are 'M' by Facebook (discontinued from January 2018) and open source 'Mycroft' by Mycroft AI. All these virtual assistants are perfect example of how technology is evolving to make our life easy. 

Which one is you are using? Share your experiences in comment section.

Thanks for reading and have a nice time!