The History of Voice Control

They say that life imitates art. In the 1960s, shows like Star Trek envisioned an era of smarter computers, intergalactic space travel, and the personal communicator - like our smartphones. That decade also saw the debut of Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction classic “2001: A Space Odyssey," featuring HAL, the talking computer. Fast forwarding half a century later, we now see that HAL predicted the future of today's voice assistants: Siri, Alexa, and Google. Did you know that the name HAL was a play on the initials IBM, the predominant computing company of that era? Did you know that IBM also pioneered the first speech recognition machine in 1962? Perhaps that’s why Arthur C. Clarke named it HAL. While HAL turned out to be a bit of a control freak, fortunately, today's voice assistants are here to do our bidding.

In the past four years since the introduction of the Amazon Echo smart speaker and Alexa, voice control technology and adoption has raced ahead at an astounding pace. The integration of your life in digital form onto computers, smartphones, and the cloud has allowed these voice assistants to become digital butlers. Through voice commands, you can ask about your package deliveries, an update on your schedule for the day, basic math questions, if a flight is on time, call an Uber - and much more.

Since Twilight Solutions is a smart home integration company in the heart of Silicon Valley, naturally, we have an interest in voice control for smart home automation. A host of intelligent devices have been introduced or integrated for smart home control with the leading voice assistant ecosystems from Amazon, Google, and Apple. There is also one more that was recently introduced - Josh.AI - that is specifically designed for smart home control. What are the differences? Read on to learn more.

Light plays a critical role in our lives, whether we realize it or not. Light can set the mood, make a space feel inviting, and even help our mind and bodies function better. Conversely, because so much our lives are now spent indoors, the wrong lighting can have an equally negative result. Twilight Solutions is passionate about creating environments through lighting that are focused on your wellbeing.

One of the secrets to restoring a healthy glow to both yourself and your home is with tunable lighting fixtures. Using the most advanced technology, tunable lighting helps you live a healthier, happier life by bringing natural light to every space in your home. Digital lighting fixtures also make your home more energy efficient and let you add more of your own style which are added bonuses for homeowners and homebuilders alike. Today we’ll go through everything LED lighting fixtures have to offer residents and builders in the San Francisco Bay Area.

SEE ALSO: Check out our interactive smart home demo!

These days large-scale video walls are all around us. We see them in public places, in our conference rooms, and even at the movies. But another digital revolution is just around the corner and art lovers all over California will enjoy it in their own spaces.

There is no doubt about it, there are a variety of unique applications for video walls outside of showing the latest episode of Game of Thrones or the Warriors game. Sophisticated homeowners are seeing the benefits of merging technology and art. Want to learn more about the trends that will change the way you see your walls? Keep reading below.

Home security is a difficult topic to think about. After all, everyone wants a secure home, and no one like to think of a potential threat to your safety. But, never fear, a little preparation will go a long way for you and your family. If you’re ready to update your home’s security system for 2019, you came to the right place.

Automation technology helps you stay safe by linking the home security system with other devices in your home, giving you greater protection as well as control. Want to learn about some devices that can give your home security system a boost? Read on to learn more.