In an interview, Daniel Rausch, vice president for smart home at Amazon, said the relationship<br />with Ikea would allow people to outfit a room with smart lighting for just “tens of dollars.”<br />Currently on Amazon, a smart lighting starter kit from Philips<br />that includes two bulbs and a hub that enables connecting wirelessly sells for a little less than $70.<br />By NICK WINGFIELDMAY 23, 2017<br />SEATTLE — Today, most people know Amazon’s Echo speaker as an easy way to play music using voice commands,<br />but the device and others like it are catching on as ways to control light switches, thermostats and other smart home appliances.<br />Now Amazon has a deal with one of the best known purveyors of home furnishings — Ikea<br />— to make Alexa, the voice assistant inside Echo, more integrated into homes.<br />Amazon has said there have been “tens of millions of Alexa devices” sold, including various<br />devices in Amazon’s Echo family of products and others from independent device makers.<br />While a lot of people use Echo to play music from Spotify or from radio stations, Mr. Rausch said smart home usage of the devices was growing rapidly<br />Through the integration with Amazon’s products, the bulbs will be wirelessly connected to Alexa so<br />people can instruct the assistant to turn the lights on or dim them in various rooms of a house.
