Is Amazon playing nicely with Google? A new API for package detection and third party cameras on Alexa suggest so

If there’s one barrier to a cohesive smart home, it’s the lack of compatibility between brands. Google, Apple and Amazon have all been guilty of this. Thankfully, Amazon has added a new Object Detection Sensor API and opened the feature to third parties.

According to the Amazon developer site, the feature brings detection, notification and all within the Alexa app:

Alexa Object Detection Sensor API is now available to developers. This feature will allow device makers to increase engagement in THREE key ways. Find out what they are here: https://t.co/L89vZxxAac pic.twitter.com/HYcvODhxCe

— Alexa Developers (@alexadevs) May 2, 2022

This new API will allow camera manufacturers that have Works with Alexa device and computer vision technology built into their camera to notify Alexa when their camera detects a person or a package. Once customers enable this feature in Alexa app, they can receive real-time announcements on connected Echo devices, automatically receive live video feeds on connected Echo Show, Fire TV and Fire Tablet devices, and receive mobile notifications from the Alexa mobile app when their supported camera or video doorbell detects a person or package.

Further noting that Ring, Google and Abode are partnering with Amazon to bring the features to a broader customer base. The package detection will work on certain Ring doorbells as a starting point, then on Abodes hardware.

Even better, if you have an Echo smart display you can stream those cameras to your smart screen thanks to the recently updated Alexa skill. So in short, Google cameras can all be live-streamed to your Echo smart screens and some will work on a Fire TV stick. It would be nice to think that the back-scratching will be reciprocated by Google, but ultimately this is probably what a Matter driven smart home world will look like.