Amazon (AMZN) has filed a patent for its virtual assistant Echo, designed to detect if a user is sick and then offer up suggestions to help the person feel better.
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The patent describes software used by the Amazon Echo device, also known as Alexa, to analyze speech and identify signs of illness, reports the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph, which viewed the filing.
An example in the patent shows a woman coughing and sniffling while she speaks to her Amazon Echo device. It first suggests some chicken soup to cure her cold, and then offers to order cough drops on Amazon and have them delivered within an hour.
The Amazon Echo communicates through Alexa, the name given to the female voice for the artificially intelligent smart speaker. She responds to questions and requests and lives in the Amazon cloud.
The Amazon patent filing also covers a skill to track emotions. Alexa would be able to detect boredom or fatigue in the user's voice and make suggestions of things to do.
Amazon's Health Care Expansion
Health care is an area that Amazon has been focusing on in recent years. In June Amazon announced the acquisition of PillPack, an online pharmacy the delivers prescriptions, for a reported price of just under $1 billion. Amazon also has plans to open primary care clinics at its Seattle headquarters.
Last month, Amazon announced new products that expand its line of Echo smart speakers and connections to smart-home devices. This included products for home safety.
Alexa was initially used for common things like playing music, keeping lists and answering questions. It since has become a smart-home utility. Amazon is spending millions on improving Alexa's list of applications, which it calls skills.
Shares of Amazon closed at 1,719.36 down 2%, during afternoon trading on the stock market today.
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The post Amazon Patent Could Help Alexa Know When You're Ill, Offer Help appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.
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