Amazon introduces free sound effects for Alexa skill developers

Alexa, the digital assistant of Amazon’s smart speaker has added a host of sound effects that can be used by developers for various Alexa skills . These sound effects have been introduced in the Alexa Skills Kit Sound Library. [caption id=“attachment_3990889” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Amazon Alexa. Amazon[/caption] According to Amazon, there are 14 categories into which the sound effects are divided. These include Ambience, Animals, Cartoons, Battle, Foley, Human sounds, SciFi, Transportation among others. These sounds can be used with the skills. Amazon has given an SSML code in the blog post. The code includes an audio tag where developers can add the given new sounds. Now **Amazon Alexa** has 12,000 skills. These skills are basically a collection of self-service commands that can be used by Alexa to be executed. These skills allow Alexa to play music, set alarms and time, shop on Amazon and provide information as well. With the introduction of these sounds, Alexa will have an animated and enhanced audio experience. Since a lot of under 13-year-olds also interact with Alexa, the addition of sound effects to Alexa Skills should make it more fun for children as well. This is especially useful in case of trivia, quizzes, and adventure games. In 2017, **Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Plus** were introduced in India.