Universal Electronics (NASDAQ:UEIC) will be introducing a smart home platform at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Nevo Butler is a voice-enabled smart home hub with a built-in white label digital assistant intended to unify entertainment control (AV) and home automation (IoT) to enable interoperability across ecosystems. Built-in entertainment control capabilities and smart home hub features powered by the company's QuickSet Cloud are designed to address a range of the current installed base of devices in consumers' homes, as well as a range of use cases and new services in the smart home.
Features include:
- A branded digital assistant and compatibility with third-party digital assistants
- A far-field voice assistant for pay TV content discovery and control without the need to upgrade current equipment
- A managed, white label smart home hub with a built-in digital assistant to manage the installed base of devices
- In residential and hospitality segments, capabilities for converged services across entertainment, home safety and security and energy management
- Access to a growing ecosystem of devices through the "Works With QuickSet" program
- New service and monetization opportunities through Partner Service Marketplace
"With Nevo Butler, we are delivering on the promise of unifying experiences across devices in the home - the entertainment device where consumers spend nearly 5 hours a day - and other smart home devices and services," said Arsham Hatambeiki, SVP of product and technology for UEI. "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."
Nevo Butler supports a cloud-based natural language interface to enable conversational device interactions, but also adds offline pre-defined voice commands to ensure a reliable interface to smart home services, even when the Internet is down.
The platform is designed to be integrated into the existing service provider subscriber management systems, and is offered in channel-specific kits bundled with a range of certified devices that include safety and security sensors, energy management controllers, and IoT lighting products.