Strategy in TECH...
On Monday, Snap One revealed that it had filed a lawsuit against two other well-known, if smaller, brands, alleging patent infringement and a range of illicit and unethical business practices that it claims violated existing contractual agreements. The defendants in this matter are Josh.ai and AVA.
The allegations, if true, are really quite surprising.
OK, let me say upfront, I’m pretty sure the good folks at Josh.ai would take exception to the headline of this post. They might even have some harsh words for me. Most likely, they would argue they’ve always been about control. But in my view, they’ve been all about a subset of control – voice control (as well as AI or artificial intelligence).
This week, however, that all changed.
Ever since Crestron launched Crestron Home it became obvious that there had been a sea change in the company’s go-forward strategy. The new Home operating system was easier to program and deploy, more visually attractive for end-users, and more clearly differentiated from their more robust high-end programming solutions. But also, the company’s style of operation changed as well, from doing it all in-house to opening itself up to partnerships.
Now we learn of two more in a long line of technology partnerships as the company continues to evolve and propel Crestron Home down the path to becoming the dominant smart home OS in the industry. The new partnerships are with Josh.ai and Somfy, both well-regarded technology players in the custom integration channel.
On Tuesday, specialty voice control supplier Josh.ai held an event they called their “keynote” which turned out to be a very professionally produced video presentation of a significant product launch for the company. In this presentation, the company Founder and CEO Alex Capecelatro shared his thoughts on smart home technologies, including the thought that smaller is better when it comes to smart home devices.
And with that, Capecelatro introduced their new Nano and Core products.
AudioControl and Josh.ai announced last week that they were partnering with an integration that will allow integrators to offer their clients a better voice-enabled home entertainment control experience. A perfect blend of the high-quality electronics from AudioControl, coupled with the natural language and privacy protecting voice automation technology of Josh.ai, means clients can simply say their commands to their system and have their system respond in new powerful ways.
Josh.ai announced today that they have a new multilevel partnership with Sonance that includes new integrations with Sonance amplifiers and a new TRUFIG flush mount for the Josh Micro device. The company says this new partnership allows their technology “to seamlessly fit into any architectural aesthetic.”
Josh.ai announced this morning that it has partnered with Savant to bring their more intuitive voice command system to one of the leading control systems in custom integration. While there are many advantages to this partnership, a big one is bringing the seamless integration of voice commands to Savant’s renowned user-centric ‘scene’ feature.
Josh.ai, the high-end voice control solution that created quite a buzz at last year’s CEDIA show, announced today that it is launching its first hardware product, Josh Micro. Josh Micro includes a home control processor, far-field microphone array, and a superior user interface in a small package that “fits in the palm of your hand.” It also disconnects Josh.ai from the need to talk into your smartphone…or to a nearby Amazon Echo.
