Alexa is one of the best voice assistants in the world, but shouting commands their way isn’t always ideal. Luckily, Amazon has equipped the assistant with Whisper Mode – a feature that makes it easy to get the morning news or weather forecast without waking your partner or napping baby. Here’s a closer look at how Whisper Mode works on Alexa and why you might want to use it.
How to use Alexa’s Whisper Mode
Turning on whisper mode is pretty easy, but how exactly does it work? Also, does it work well as regular speech? We also had other questions, like is Alexa’s voice creepy when she whispers? Here’s how it works, why it works, and how to turn on whisper mode.
There are a few different ways to get Alexa to start speaking so quietly.
The first method is simple. Just say, “Alexa, turn on whisper mode.” Alexa will respond with a confirmation that whisper mode is enabled.
Activate whisper mode
Another way to get Alexa to have a quiet, nighttime conversation is to enable the whisper mode setting in the Amazon Alexa app. Here’s how.
Step 1: Open the Amazon Alexa app.
Step 2: Tap More tab located at the bottom right.
Step 3: Tap settings on the list.
Step 4: Scroll down and tap Voice responses stated under Alexa settings.
Step 5: Tap the switch next to it A way of whispering to enable this feature.
Rich Shibley/Digital Trends
How does whisper mode work?
For Alexa to use whisper mode, the smart speaker must be able to detect whether or not a person is whispering, understand the voice input, and respond in kind.
The problem is that when you whisper you are not using your voice.
“Whispered speech is mostly voiceless, meaning it doesn’t involve vocal cord vibrations, and has less energy in the lower frequency bands than regular speech,” Alexa Speech Group scientist Zeynab Raeesy explains on the Amazon Alexa Developers blog.
Whisper mode uses long-short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks, which are used in speech recognition. Alexa’s end-pointing process—how it detects when you’ve finished speaking a command and expects a response—is also important. Silence is also part of the whisper detection input.
In an effort to solve this non-voice problem, Alexa scientists examined the LSTM’s peak reliability data over pronunciation frames and then made changes for optimal performance. These developments allow Alexa to understand and respond to different volumes, even whispers.
In our experience, some Echo devices are better at detecting whispers than others. We found the Echo Dot’s standard performance to be excellent, although your mileage may vary depending on the product you use.
Rich Shibley/Digital Trends
Does it work well?
Alexa can recognize whispers just as well as normal voices, with one difference. You need to be close to the speaker if you’re whispering so that Alexa can understand what you’re saying. This is especially true if there are background sounds.
If Alexa doesn’t quite understand what you’re whispering to her, she’ll let you know by whispering back, “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
Fortunately, Alexa’s human voice means her whispers don’t jar or sound robotic.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn