Cubic. Making of the AI Butler
Launching the second stage
Successful pilot
On June 15, 2016, we released the “Cubic.ai for Philips Hue” app on Google Play store. It was an App with a single ability — to control Philips Hue lights via voice. But with this one feature we wanted to bring natural language voice control experience to a new level.
And we believe we did it. We’ve got nice reviews from our users and Philips Hue representatives. But the most important thing for us is that around 10% of our users use the App daily. We have a beautiful result for a pilot app with a single feature and one integration. Now it is time to make the next step and use the most important things we’ve learned, to build the Cubic.ai app gen 2.
Second stage — “From Philips Hue manager to AI Butler”
AI Butler as we see it is an ultimate assistant to control our homes. It unites once scattered smart home devices into one system and provides you with full control over it. By full control we mean a combination of the 3 elements:
- Conversational voice interface — The key component of the project. With our pilot app, we’ve already brought the experience of voice control to the new level. We will extend our findings to control more devices and even set up automated routines and schedules with natural language.
- Dashboard — In addition to the voice interface, Cubic will have a graphical in-app dashboard. It will not be separated from the voice interface but instead combined with context. So, if you say “I’m cold,” Cubic will raise the temperature and show you the widget that you could further adjust it with your finger.
- Automation — Real smart home is much more than switching light with voice commands it is intelligence and automation. With natural language and dashboard, you will be able to set up rules, schedules, and routines for Cubic and it will work automatically.
The Cubic.ai app gen. 2 will have all three of the control elements. Dashboard and automation functions will be limited for some time after release, but we will develop them continuously.
From bestsellers to IoT platforms
We have already integrated control over Philips Hue and Nest smart thermostat in separate pilot apps. Right after the release, Cubic.ai app will have both integrations. Shortly after them, we will add integrations with a set of popular stand-alone smart home devices which would be able to combine into the fully featured smart home together. So by the end of 2016 we plan to combine the following systems under the Cubic’s control:
- Philips Hue — done
- Nest smart thermostat — done
- Connected sockets and switches
- Video doorbell
- Smart door lock
To support more devices, we will look for the IoT platform (which will handle the integration part) so we would be able to focus on the AI and user experience.
Please feel free to share your ideas on platforms we can use and the exact device brands we should integrate! For example, if you had a great experience with a certain smart lock, video doorbell, etc., don’t hesitate to reach out! Keep in mind that Cubic.ai can work as the interface layer on the top of almost any IoT system or platform.
Personality and Functions outside smart home control
A lot of our backers and testers ask for more personality in our Cubic and more intelligent assistant services beyond the smart home control and we know how important it is. We believe that AI Butler is more than just an app — Cubic is inspired by Iron Man’s Jarvis after all! So in the Cubic.ai app, you will see the first elements of personality built with insights we’ve found with the help of our community. Functions such as calendar will be added to the Cubic app later and for the first time, these features like these will be built around the idea of in-home use.
Cubic.ai app gen 2 will be released late September/early October now that we have all the data and technology needed to accomplish this task. Meanwhile, we hope you can help us test the pilot app for Nest which will be released for Android early next week!
Stay tuned for news about Hardware and AI next week and feel free to reach out to us support@cubic.ai
Cheers!
Cubic.ai team
