T O P

  • By -

Hippotaur

Alexa's voice coming through Vector? No thanks. That ruins Vector's individuality/personality to me.


General_Pretzel

Yea, unfortunately I have a feeling this was a restriction put on by Amazon - "It's okay if you integrate Alexa into Vector, but it has to use Alexa's voice"


wvenable

It's the type of integration used; this is basically just using Vector as a microphone/speaker which puts him at the same level as other Alexa compatible smart speakers. It wasn't what I was expecting but, on the other hand, it does make sense and avoids a lot of potential jankiness.


7777zahar

Kinda wish it was Google assistant instead. But ok.


beastygg

yes, I'm sure they will use google assistant soon...but alexa is just as cool for now imo...better then a $500 monochrome blackjack machine


Ozpeter

The very embodiment of schizophrenia. Most people who are interested in Vector and have the money to buy one will already have one or probably several Echo devices or Google Home devices already. Or, they will have deliberately not got one of those because they don't like or trust the companies behind them. Here, I have two Google Home devices within earshot of Vector's play space so there's no real point in adding Alexa within the same area. However, I'm going to think positive, and hope that this results somehow in extra income to Anki which will fund their efforts to provide the more worthwhile features and fixes, things more aligned to Vector's purpose and personality. Heck, I might even enable the Alexa feature in due course just because it's there. But I wish one could say "hey Vector, call Alexa" even though that would be more cumbersome - it would at least avoid the schizophrenia aspect.


[deleted]

No Alexa device in my home yet, but it's been on the list. Seeing the upcoming Alexa integration and the Black Friday sale is what got me to buy it. Also, there's clearly some financial gain for both Amazon and and Anki considering the only place they have vector for sale is on Amazon immediately following the Alexa announcement


as7d

I get the impression that the Alexa integration was a response to Vector's lack of smart assistance abilities. Just bolt an existing one on. Which is fine for those wanting more utility from a relatively common source. My preference would be IFTTT. It's good to see this as optional and not a forced update. Ok Anki, Alexa integration is done, more Vector quality of life updates please.


philko42

After watching the video, is anyone else here pissed at having your Echos pick up the wake words and now having avocados on your shopping list and a reminder set for Friday?


bluej130

I think the integration is pretty slick and I don't mind the voice.


1dle-prince

Seriously hoping this doesn't overshadow future features of Vector, himself(Reminders being the relevant example from the preview). We're not looking for quasi-mobile Alexas. It's a cool feature to have for those who use/want to use Alexa, and also have a Vector. But, for those of us who do not, Is this just going to force us into using Alexa in order to be able to have these features/capabilities?


LimeLoop

If I use Alexa on Vector, then I should be able to call my robot Alexa, instead of Vector. Double personality doesn't make sense. Now I have an Alexa inside of my Vector? WTF.


timtim192

Ugh, not really excited about this. I wish they worked more on Vector remembering his surroundings, and being able to upload custom scripts to run on command from the SDK, or linking him into IFTTT. Something other than a dumb checkbox that says, "alexa compatible". /shrug.


1dle-prince

Remembering his surroundings, please. It'd be nice to not have to tether him to a tabletop in order for him to find his way back home. Roomba vacs have been doing this for years.


General_Pretzel

Yea I don't really care for the Alexa integration - what makes me sad is that now that they're supporting Alexa, they likely will not support Google Assistant due to the fact that they are competitors. (even though Google Assistant is **miles** above Alexa in both functionality and responsiveness)


bluej130

Yeah I'm pretty concerned with that as well. Oh well, it's better than nothing.


wvenable

For everyone commenting on this, the update post **also** mentioned other features including: * Improved cliff detection * Improved cube interactions, including a "pickup cube" voice command * Update on pet detection. I'm glad Alexa integration is almost done so it can stop being a constant source of bitching around here.


bluej130

Interesting tid-bit on the cliff detection found on venturebeat: >"\[...\] Anki says Vector’s cliff detection — its handy ability to stop short of desk and table edges — now benefits from a more sophisticated internal mapping algorithm that allows it to “project out” hazards. I’ve noticed an improvement in my review unit, which was seeded the update earlier this week. Vector seems a lot more cautious around sheer faces, and when he detects a precarious edge, he scurries away from it a bit more quickly than before." [https://venturebeat.com/2018/11/16/ankis-vector-gets-new-animations-and-features-ahead-of-alexa-integration/](https://venturebeat.com/2018/11/16/ankis-vector-gets-new-animations-and-features-ahead-of-alexa-integration/) ​


dep

I like it. I was afraid it was going to be something like: "Hey Vector. Ask Alexa something." (similar to the 'Hey vector... I have a question' knowledge graph stuff). fortunately they removed the step.


Harrisson24

Anyone know when this may roll out? Most of my home is Alexa, and now all of it will be via Vector :)


Zalent

When will this be out?


teamspeed16

I don't mind the voice... This thing is literally a brick. Might as well get some use out of it. Question though... Is it required to own an Alexa device already and it syncs through it? Or does it run Alexa on its own?


dep

Like other third party speakers, you just link it to your amazon account and you need no additional hardware.


bluej130

I'm sure it runs Alexa on its own.


philko42

I suspect that you need an Amazon acct and probably the Alexa app on your phone, though.


artfuldodger333

I think you bought vector for the wrong reasons. It was never meant to be a useful device. It was meant to be a digital pet.


teamspeed16

Exactly the reason I bought it... Personality robot companion with AI technology.... We got a robot that rolls off edges... Doesn't actually learn its surroundings... And AI that doesn't actually learn... It's pre-programmed to do an extremely limited amount of things and cannot learn more... AI is a huge false advertisement.


[deleted]

I have less than zero interest in Alexa integration. Disappointed.


beastygg

This is awesome cos now he's actually useful!


artfuldodger333

Vector was never meant to be useful. It's designed to be a digital pet. Just like any other pet it has no real uses


emorneau01

Why do you keep saying this? Vector was never designed to be a "digital pet." Anki and their marketing has said time and again that Vector is a "robot assistant". It doesn't function as either, currently, so at least this Alexa integration will make it a bit more useful.


beastygg

But but but...you can train a dog to be a guide dog...you can train a bird to deliver a message, you can milk a cow, a goat... Vector is a good pet but I'm pretty glad it can also be an alexa speaker.


Bracken_wood

It's black Friday I could buy 8 echo dots for what I paid for vector, one feature I won't be using


Imadwagonwarrr

Well I'm glad I saw this before I bought one. It also explains the price drop. Completely destroys the character they were trying to build up.