At CES, New Digital Assistants Restart Smart Home Race - Bloomberg

Also see Alexa, Take the Wheel: Ford Models to Put Amazon in Driver Seat (Bloomberg) and Coming From Automakers: Voice Control That Understands You Better (NYT)

"Behind the scenes at CES, these tech behemoths will fight to get their voice-based systems into televisions, cable boxes and every home appliance, not just smartphones and PCs. Analysts expect several dozen announcements around voice-systems at this week's event in Las Vegas, including new functions for internet-connected devices and cars. Ford Motor Co. unveiled an integration with Alexa on Wednesday.

Then there are the specialized assistants, ranging from the Bonjour clock, which Gerard said will arrive later this year, to a personal home robot from startup Jibo -- a compact, futuristic device designed to recognize human emotions, said company Chief Executive Officer Steve Chambers."

At CES, New Digital Assistants Restart Smart Home Race - Bloomberg