Amazon Alexa to bridge smart homes, Ford cars

The Amazon and Ford partnership that aims to link smart homes and cars, which was announced at this year’s CES, is nearing fruition with the last stage of testing underway. Once completed, certain Ford car models will be able to communicate with smart homes and vice versa by integrating Amazon’s Alexa.

Soon, users will just need to voice out instructions to Alexa or any Alexa-compatible home device to lock, open and operate the car from the home. They will also be able to adjust lighting, security and entertainment preferences, and manage smart appliances inside the house from their vehicles. This will also be possible via a voice recognition button on the steering wheel. Security authentication such as codes will also be needed to make sure the operator is an authorized user.

The technology is set to be rolled out by the end of this year and the companies are also working to make it available in more car models by 2017. Amazon and Ford are not the only big names collaborating to get a bigger piece of the smart living markets. LG and Volkswagen is another pair that is working on a “connected” car platform that has the same objectives. Amazon, though, might reap the most benefits out of this and be the nearest to the goal of being the center of the smart home experience for it has again made its already ubiquitous Alexa even more ubiquitous than before.