Development of an Industrial Safety System Based on Voice Assistant

Currently, there are limitations in the human–machine interfaces (HMIs) used in industry, either due to the characteristics of users’ cognitive abilities or interfaces, which hinder communication and interaction between humans and equipment. For this reason, this work presents an alternative interaction model based on a voice assistant, Alexa, which promotes more natural, intuitive, direct, and understandable communication. The purpose of this work is the development of an industrial safety system for a controlled electric motor based on Alexa voice assistant, which allows the monitoring of its operating parameters, such as phase current, housing temperature, and rotor vibration, as well as making it possible to control ignition and shut down and change the rotation of the motor with a prior password, as a safety measure. Commercial smart devices and Arduino-compatible modules were used to achieve this, providing them with the Internet of Things (IoT) feature. In addition, several software platforms, such as Blynk, Tuya Smart, Node Red, and Voiceflow, are used to perform data transmission, device management, and programming of the Alexa skill, oriented to the execution of the security and run system. This shows the potential capacity of voice assistants in the industry to deliver information more naturally to humans and obtain optimal notifications. However, problems were evidenced, such as the influence of noise in the environment when communicating with the assistant, the vocalization of words, low voice tones, and accents typical of the language, that will increase the security level of the system and prevent potential identity theft.