“Alexa, what’s the time?”

The last few years have brought a lot of development in technology. And with it, new ways that this technology can be used to help people with a sight impairment. Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, and the Amazon devices that it powers, is a great example.

For the everyday bits that you might want to know, Alexa can be fantastic. It’s great as a talking clock, telling you the time, and letting you set alarms and reminders just by asking. It can also be great for getting information you want in your everyday life. Just say ‘Alexa, what’s the weather like?’ or ‘Alexa, tell me the news’ and it’ll give you a breakdown of the day’s forecast. It can also give you a summary of the day’s goings-on from BBC News.

If you prefer to get your news from the radio, just ask Alexa to play whichever station you prefer, and it’ll be able to find most of them through TuneIn Radio. However, if you’d rather have some more control over what you’re listening to, it can play music you’ve bought from Amazon, Amazon Prime Music (included with a Prime subscription) or Amazon Music Unlimited. You can also link your Apple Music account to your Alexa just as easily!

“Alexa, open RNIB Talking Books”

And it’s not just music you can listen to! There are thousands of audiobooks that you can access on your device through the Royal National Institute for the Blind’s Talking Books. As long as you’ve got a RNIB Reading Services membership, all you have to do is say ‘Alexa, open RNIB Talking Books’, and you’ll get access to their library of over 34,000 books for adults and children.

Need help with recipes? With services like BBC Good Food, Recipe Keeper, and Cookpad, your device can search for meals, tell you what ingredients you need, and read out all the step-by-step instructions to make something delicious! Just ask it to set a timer, to make sure nothing gets burned!

If you want to make your device even more useful, you can also buy smart plugs from Amazon, which can be controlled with your voice through your Alexa device. These can be great for switching device on and off – much easier than having to find a physical switch. There are even digital thermostats, that can let you control your heating with your device – so much can be set up to be controlled with Alexa.

If you want more information about how Alexa can help you, contact our Assistive Technology teams.