Smart home universal control and sensing technologies provider Universal Electronics is to introduce a new platform for the connected home.
To be debuted at CES 2019, Nevo Butler comprises an end-to-end voice-enabled smart home hub with a built-in white label digital assistant that is designed to unify the entertainment control (AV) and home automation (IoT) to enhance the in-home experience, enabling interoperability across fragmented ecosystems. Built-in entertainment control capabilities and smart home hub features are said to make the device capable of addressing a range of the current installed base of devices in consumers’ homes, addressing a range of use cases and ‘innovative’ new services in the smart home.
As a far-field voice assistant, the platform also enables service providers to bring voice assistant capabilities for content discovery and control to their existing pay-TV households without the need to upgrade current equipment, and unlike other solutions, not limited to connected entertainment devices. It also allows them to remain in control of the consumer experience through a branded digital assistant, while offering compatibility with third party digital assistants and expanding compatibility of these platforms with the current installed base of entertainment devices.
Nevo Butler also comes pre-integrated with nevo.ai digital assistant offered as a white label service to deliver branded and customised experiences, and is capable of supporting other voice assistants in the platform to address the growing consumer demand for choice and access to domain specific assistants and services.
“With Nevo Butler, we are delivering on the promise of unifying experiences across devices in the home - the entertainment device where consumers spend nearly five hours a day – and other smart home devices and services” said Arsham Hatambeiki, SVP of product and technology for Universal Electronics. “This solution puts brands back at the forefront of the consumer experience, enabling consumers to interact with products and services without going through a single, global service and brings with it the confidence of device compatibility and interoperability.”