AWS Alexa
Amazon’s cloud-based voice system Alexa powers tens of millions devices, including the Echo family, FireTV, Fire Tablet and third-party devices that have Alexa built in.
Alexa Design Patterns
Adaptability – Understands and processes the user’s words. Allow users to speak in their own words.
Personalization – Recalls user interaction. Individualize entire interaction.
Availability – Keep all options open. Make your menus smaller and make sure you have all options at the top.
Relatability is the ability to have a conversation with an actual person. Talk to them, not at themAlexa Interaction ModelWakeword
Echo devices are always listening, but they are in a dormant mode. It wakes up when it hears the phrase or work called the wakeword.
Amazon offers a variety of wakewords, including ‘Amazon,’ ‘Echo,’ or ‘Computer’. The default is ‘Alexa.
These words are reserved and cannot change beyond the four options provided by developers or users.
Skills
A skill is “an app for Alexa”, however they cannot be downloaded. They just need to enabled.
You can enable a skill either through the Alexa App, or by asking Alexa for it to be enabled
Alexa supports three types skill:Custom Skills – the most common skill and allows the most control over the user experience. This skill allows you to create almost any type of skill you want.
Smart Home Skills are specifically designed to control smart home appliances. This allows for less control over the user experience but is easier to develop.
Flash Briefing Skills – specifically to be compatible with Alexa’s native ability ‘Flash Briefing. Invocation Name
An “invocation name” is the phrase or word that triggers the skill.
Only custom skill requires an invocation name.
After the skill is activated, the invocation name can’t be changed
Invocation name Requirements must not infringe on the intellectual property rights an entity or person
Must be a combination of two or more works. Names of invocations that contain only one word are not permitted, unless they are unique to the brand/intellectual properties.
Names of people and places must not be included
If two-word invocation names are used, one of the words must not be a definite or indefinite article (“the”), “an” or preposition (“for”, “to”, “about,” “up,” “by,” “off,” “with”).
You must not include any Alexa skill launch words or connecting words. Launch phrases include “run,”” “start,”,”play,”,”resume,” and “use,” as well as “use,”,” and “load,” respectively.
The wake words “Alexa”, “Amazon,” or “Echo” must not be used.
Must contain only lower-case alphabetic characters, spaces in between words, and possessive abstrophes
You must spell characters as numbers, e.g. twenty one
Invocation names that contain acronyms or abbreviations can include periods. NASA as n.
Phonemes cannot be spelled out for e.g. A skill called “AWS Facts”, would require “AWS” to be represented as “a. w. s. NOT “ay double U ess.”
Do not confuse existing Alexa features.
Each supported language must be used
To ensure that users can use the skill, they should be distinct. Invocation names that are too generic may be rejected during the skill certification process, or result in lower discoverability.Intent
An intent is the goal of a user.
Defines an action that fulfills the user’s request
Intent name requirements can only contain alphabetical characters that are case-insensitive and underscores
Numbers cannot be included
Special characters cannot be included
SpacesUtterance cannot be included
Utterances are the particular p
