Liberty TechTalk: Meet Josh, our voice of the future
Welcome to Liberty TechTalk, a new series of blog posts focusing on cutting edge high-tech solutions pioneered by Liberty Coach and available in late model Elegant Lady coaches. In this edition we examine Josh.ai, the voice-controlled home automation system we’re implementing in both new and pre-owned coaches.
Voice-activated control systems have been available in the home and office for several years, but have been extremely rare equipment on coaches. These early systems, including Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, are “big-box” solutions with limited capabilities and compatibility with existing components. For coach owners, that makes them little more than an expensive novelty.
In contrast, Liberty’s Josh.AI system is designed to be customized to your specific needs. For starters, it works with a wide variety of the best-in-class devices and services, including the “smart” systems and services employed in our coaches. Moreover, the Josh system allows customization or replacement of stock “scenes” (command lists) with those of your own design. For instance, you can request that “Good Morning” opens the window shades by 25%, switches on a TV to a particular channel, and slowly increases the ambient lighting. “Stepping Out” can lock the door automatically 30 seconds after you exit the coach, turn off the lights and appliances, and close the shades automatically.
The customization process is handled by a Liberty Coach programmer working directly with the coach owner. Two full days of programmer availability is included in the purchase price; most coach owners prefer to use the bulk of that time after they’ve become accustomed to the basic scenes in order to tailor commands to their personal tastes and needs.
Moreover, unlike some systems that required a bulky computer taking up space in your coach, Josh.AI is completely integrated, and practically invisible. And again, no compromises are made in the selection of the components and accessories on the coach – they’re the same top-quality items featured on every Liberty model.
Finally, a word to our “legacy” coach owners. The Josh.ai system can be retrofitted onto many existing Liberty coaches, starting with our 2014 model year. And we’re committed to supporting your Josh.AI system for as long as you own your coach – like you, we’re in it for the long haul. Regular software updates are “pushed” to your coach – with your permission, of course – as new features are released, and reprogramming is available on request.
If you’re interested in learning more about Josh.AI, please feel free to reach out to us at 800-554-9877 or contact us with your specific questions.
