Why You Can Trust CNET Alexa can now recognize objects
A new Show and Tell feature on Echo Show devices can recognize some objects.
If facial recognition concerns were on your radar, get ready to worry about soup cans, too. Amazon today announced a new feature for its Echo Show devices. The feature, called Show and Tell, is focused on recognizing household pantry items when you hold them in front of the camera.
The new functionality was developed by Amazon's Alexa for Everyone team in cooperation with the Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired as a way to help blind and low-vision users identify objects. Amazon says the Echo Show uses computer vision and machine learning to recognize the objects.
There's no word on exactly how many objects Alexa is able to recognize. Show and Tell is available now in the US on first and second-generation Echo Show devices: Ask, "Alexa, what am I holding?"
This new feature announcement comes just days before Amazon's fall product event, happening in Seattle on Wednesday.
