Introducing a Virtual Assistant to the Lab: A Voice User Interface for the Intuitive Control of Laboratory Instruments.

The introduction of smart virtual assistants (VAs) and corresponding smart devices brought a new degree of freedom to our everyday lives. Voice-controlled and Internet-connected devices allow intuitive device controlling and monitoring from all around the globe and define a new era of human-machine interaction. Although VAs are especially successful in home automation, they also show great potential as artificial intelligence-driven laboratory assistants.