Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Utah Taps Into Amazon Echo For Driver Training Tool

In what might be one of the most cutting edge applications to be deployed by a state government using technology, the State of Utah said it has launched a new application for Amazon Echo, the voice-activated home automation and personal assistance gadget from Amazon.com. The state said its Department of Public Safety and the Department of Technology Services has released a voice-activated, practice exam--aimed at new drivers--which uses Amazon Echo to help those drivers review the rules of the road. The departments said that the new app will quiz users on rules. For example, Alexa, the personality behind Amazon Echo, might ask, "When approached by an emergency vehicle, the driver must immediately..." and the user will need to respond with the correct answer, i.e. "Pull to the right and stop".