Victoria Neal Undergraduate Dissertation 2017/18

To build an Alexa Skill for the Amazon Echo

Supervised by R.K.Moore

Abstract

Speech is a natural method of communication for humans; a device that simulates human speech is therefore a continuation of this process that has evolved over thousands of years. Virtual assistants aid in completing tasks and answering questions through conversational dialog from user speech, and are readily available in smart phones, computers and as independent devices. Having applications in almost every industry.

This project consisted of designing and building an Alexa skill for the Amazon Echo. The skill, called Recipe Hub, makes the process of cooking more efficient by selecting recipes through speech recognition of user input. The instructions of a recipe are read to the user as they cook, utilising the power of virtual assistant in the kitchen. The project has been implemented using the Amazon Echo Dot and other Amazon Web Services. The final skill has been completed using Node.js and the recipes are stored in an Amazon Relational Database Service.