Future generations of Amazon‘s (NSDQ:AMZN) Alexa virtual assistant may be able to determine when its users are ill and provide medication recommendations, according to a new report from The Telegraph.
The online retail giant has reportedly patented a new version of Alexa designed to analyze speech and identify signs of illness, according to the report.
An example of use includes Alexa offering cough drops, alongside chicken soup, to a user who is coughing and sniffling while using the device, according to The Telegraph. The system could also be used to make advertisements to people for their appropriate ailments, which would be automatically detected.
The patent also includes a method of tracking emotional state, and could be used for targeted advertisements based on moods, according to The Telegraph.
In April, Amazon’s business division dropped plans to sell and distribute pharmaceutical products to hospitals, according to a report from CNBC.
