• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 20, 2021

Netflix will add a voice assistant provided by SoundHound to Da Vinci Reference Design Kit (RDK). The deal means that smart TV set-top manufacturers won’t need to create their own voice assistant. Now they can integrate Netflix’s software with SoundHound’s voice AI to enable hands-free search and control of streaming content and connected smart home devices.

James Hom, co-founder and vice president of products at SoundHound, believes that rising consumer demand for convenience and ease of use has created more opportunities to bring the power of voice AI to products.

Those watching content on Netflix will have the option to ask to run specific shows or movies, as well as specific actors and release dates. Viewers also can skip through the content by requesting playback with natural language such as requesting the platform to replay a line in a movie or television show. 

SoundHound claims it's technology can handle food orders and other commerce, as well as sync with smart lights and other devices, turning the TV into smart display.

The technology operates off the RDK, an open-source platform that integrates into Internet of Things devices, and set-top TV boxes. RDK Management’s survey in May estimated more than 80 million devices were using the platform globally, according to one source. Netflix’s new RDK addition with SoundHound’s voice AI will give viewers the option to control their TV using casual language and sentence fragments.

The SoundHound and Netflix solution is expected to reach a significant number of consumers as the RDK platform continues to gain wide adoption for video set-tops, broadband gateways, and IoT devices. In May 2021, adoption of the platform surpassed 80 million device deployments worldwide, according to RDK Management.