Smart Technology

Smart Technology

Abstract

Technology companies have been using smart technology to come up with devices and products that address a more extensive range of consumer needs. The technology of voice assistants is one of the major applications of smart technology, and the main goal has been to make the technology widely accessible and usable by consumers. Smart technology appears to have moved into a new era with the developments around the development of new smart devices. Typically, voice assistant technology is efficient for people with visual disabilities and should, therefore, be specialized towards the needs of such people. Voice assistants should be customized to fit such needs and to help the individuals in carrying out such activities. Generally, the voice assistant technology should stop focusing on the common challenges and instead focus on coming up with devices that solve the most pressing needs, such as offering assistance to people with disabilities. Smart technology is efficient in addressing challenges that have been facing people in their interaction with technology.

Smart Technology

The primary goal of a producer is to address the interests of as many consumers as possible. The first idea that should be focused by a producer is the taste and preference of the target market. Smart technology has been in operation for as long as technology has been in use. Technology companies have been using smart technology to come up with devices and products that address a more extensive range of consumer needs. The development of technology takes into consideration the inclusivity and accessibility aspect because technology is subject to high risks of becoming obsolete. Consumers will prefer products that are accessible and interactive. Smart technology also involves the introduction of artificial intelligence to improve user interaction as well as to improve on the previous inanimate technology that was accompanied by extreme analog interaction. The technology of voice assistants is one of the major applications of smart technology, and the main goal has been to make the technology widely accessible and usable by consumers.

Inclusive design is a strategy used by producers to make a product accessible and usable by as many users as possible. Voice assistants have played a crucial role in achieving the inclusive design goal (Neuhofer, Buhalis & Ladkin, 2015). However, the role of voice assistants has not been pure to improve inclusivity for more than two decades that they have been in use. The first phase of voice assistant devices was made to improve the service delivery by various companies. Generally, companies were coming up with strategies to save on costs associated with the use of human agents. Therefore, voice assistant devices were seen as an effective alternative that would change the way companies interact with their clients. For example, the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) was developed to serve the purpose of replacing human agents. Therefore, voice assistants began from the initial attempts to come up with alternative strategies to beat the cost. Moreover, smart technology has moved into a new phase, where artificial intelligence has been incorporated to improve the inclusive design of voice assistant technology further.

Smart technology appears to have moved into a new era with the developments around the development of new smart devices. Smart technology used not only on mobile phone technology but in the broader field of technology (Foroudi, Gupta, Sivarajah, & Broderick, 2018). Technologies such as Google Assistant and Amazon Echo are some of the fields where smart technology has been embraced to come up with a better inclusive design. The Voice User Interface has been keen to employ the application of various Artificial Intelligence-powered techniques that have contributed immensely towards the development of voice recognition and natural language processing. Initially, smart technology was limited to speakers that would set timers to play music at specified times. However, technology has been enhanced, and more complex tasks can be assigned to smart devices. Currently, voice assistant technology has grown to a level where some devices can turn on household appliances, cook, and even provide entertainment. Therefore, the number of consumers of smart technology and specifically voice assistant technology has grown considerably from few companies to individuals at a household level. Moreover, the future of smart technology appears to be based on reaching the people who need the technology most, and the move has already been set.

The accessibility and usability of smart technology have greatly improved over recent years. The average user has been offered a frictionless and more natural user experience. Smart technology has been successfully incorporated into millions of devices where communication has been improved significantly (Lee, Kim, Hwang & Jin, 2016). For example, smart technology has been incorporated into watches, headphones, and speakers to enhance timekeeping and entertainment. Also, smart technology has appeared effective in controlling household appliances as well as managing communication by helping in emailing and texting services. Generally, technology has become embraced by a broader range of consumers, and the trend appears positive. Moreover, smart technology has been in constant development, like any other form of technology, and inventions are observed on a daily basis.

Voice assistants are similar to other forms of technology in that they keep on changing. The risk of a technological intervention to become obsolete forces producers to keep on making changes that meet the new demands coming up with the advancement of technology (Emerick, Logan, Bates & Wahl, 2015). The various changes in voice assistant technology have brought about several forms of voice assistants. First, intelligent personal assistants have been developed where software solves the basic needs of the consumer by searching for solutions online and replying with a relevant solution. Secondly, smart assistants have been invented where devices are programmed to perform particular tasks after receiving a wake-up call that is made in the form of a sound. Also, voice assistants are made where the consumer is expected to speak to the device, which later recognizes the voice of the user and proceeds to carry out a series of tasks. Generally, the field of smart technology has grown vast, and developments have continued to come up on a daily basis.

Implications on Target Population

The target population for smart technology has grown significantly over the past few years. Initially, smart technology was saved for big companies that were on the race to cut on production costs. Smart technology was specifically designed to perform the duties of human agents who were being blamed for being costly compared to the responsibilities assigned to them (Marinova, Ruyter, Huang, Meuter & Challagalla, 2017). Voice assistants were seen as an alternative for agents who were also lacking in the ability to be controlled easily since personal traits were evident in the workplace. Also, the initial stages of voice assistant introduction were characterized by b significant drawbacks that turned away potential users. For example, the Cortana and Google Assistant did not provide the quality of services expected by consumers due to the low-level artificial intelligence employed during their initial inception. Generally, voice assistants were viewed as a failing attempt, although the producers held on to the belief the technology would eventually pick up. Besides, voice assistant technology was not exceptional and needed sufficient time to develop like any other form of technology. Ultimately, voice assistant technology has grown, and the user network has widened in recent years.

Voice assistant technology is used by a wide range of users. Everyone who can access technology is in a position to use voice assistants. Generally, the reception rate of voice assistants has become positive over the years, with people trusting the quality of services offered by voice assistants (Darby, 2018). The activities that require the intervention of voice assistants have increased significantly after people realized the effectiveness of the technology. Also, voice assistant technology is no longer discriminative as it used to be, and everyone is in a position to make use of the technology. Besides, the increasing interest of consumers has brought a new wake for producers with companies racing to take advantage of the growing demand for voice assistants. Moreover, research on voice assistants has changed the entire perception concerning life, and most activities have become more efficient, owing to the positive impact of voice assistant technology.

The experience with smart technology has moved to a new level. People have embraced the effectiveness associated with voice assistants. For example, technology plays a significant role in finding directions, especially for car drivers (Mekhalfi et al. 2016). Generally, a driver is supposed to remain focused on controlling the vehicle. However, the need to follow a particular direction becomes a challenge when the direction has to be found online. Therefore, the introduction of artificial intelligence to enable voice assistant technology for cars is widely used. Also, the entertainment sector has not been left behind. An individual would not hesitate to embrace a technology that will make their choice of entertainment content without unnecessary movements. The introduction of smart speakers has solved the challenge of ineffective entertainment patterns, and voice assistants can now be used to operate entertainment devices. Also, the research on voice assistants has brought out significant improvements in the field of household appliances. Voice assistants have been used to run household appliances such as pressure cookers and washing machines for their owners. Generally, voice assistants provide much-needed experience in the field of technology.

Proposed Changes

The voice assistant technology has, for a long time, considered the interests of the entire population. Generally, the developments in the voice assistant technology have been motivated by the customer needs and the desire to make life better than it has been over the previous years (Andò, Lombardo & Marletta, 2015). However, voice assistant technology would play a more significant role if humanity was to be embraced. For example, the world has struggled to keep the needs of the disabled on the check, and voice assistant technology would be an effective solution. Generally, disabilities render people unable to carry out routine duties and appear as a burden to their assistants who are distracted from carrying out other productive activities. Typically, voice assistant technology is efficient for people with visual disabilities and should, therefore, be specialized towards the needs of such people.

People with visual disabilities face several challenges, while carrying out their daily activities. For example, a visually disabled person may face significant challenges when choosing a compact disk to load to the player. Therefore, voice assistants should be customized to fit such needs and to help the individuals in carrying out such activities. Generally, the voice assistant technology should stop focusing on the common challenges and instead focus on coming up with devices that solve the most pressing needs, such as offering assistance to people with disabilities. Also, the technology should come up with strategies to help the people who are unable to access the internet due to various factors by providing software that allows users to access the internet without having to own a Smartphone. Generally, voice assistant technology can play a crucial role in coming up with solutions to the already-existing problems.

References

Andò, B., Lombardo, C. O., & Marletta, V. (2015). Smart homecare technologies for the visually             impaired: recent advances. Smart Homecare Technol. TeleHealth, 3, 9-16.

Darby, S. J. (2018). Smart technology in the home: time for more clarity. Building Research &      Information, 46(1), 140-147.

Emerick, C. T., Logan, J. R., Bates, R. A., & Wahl, J. (2015). U.S. Patent No. 9,171,543. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Foroudi, P., Gupta, S., Sivarajah, U., & Broderick, A. (2018). Investigating the effects of smart   technology on customer dynamics and customer experience. Computers in Human            Behavior, 80, 271-282.

Lee, M., Kim, T., Hwang, K. W., & Jin, M. (2016). U.S. Patent No. 9,240,182. Washington, DC:             U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Marinova, D., de Ruyter, K., Huang, M. H., Meuter, M. L., & Challagalla, G. (2017). Getting       smart: Learning from technology-empowered frontline interactions. Journal of Service         Research, 20(1), 29-42.

Mekhalfi, M. L., Melgani, F., Zeggada, A., De Natale, F. G., Salem, M. A. M., & Khamis, A.       (2016). Recovering the sight to blind people in indoor environments with smart             technologies. Expert Systems with Applications, 46, 129-138.

Neuhofer, B., Buhalis, D., & Ladkin, A. (2015). Smart technologies for personalized         experiences: a case study in the hospitality domain. Electronic Markets, 25(3), 243-254.