Brett

Alright.... That was pretty good larryllix. I should have seen that coming, well done.

So did anyone ever figure this one out? Seems like there is an interest for voice notifications from Alexa without having to ask alexa what I missed.

Ok Kingwr, I think I get it now. I'll do a little more homework. Thanks for clarifying that.

I use quite a few node servers. NodeLink DSC, Harmony, Nest, Hue, they all work fine. While it increases complexity, I think to connect with an API set like Alexa you really need that flexibility if you want to allow the full use of the available options: Quite a few interfaces are available via the AVS interface. Alerts Interface AudioPlayer Interface Bluetooth Interface Notifications Interface PlaybackController Interface Settings Interface Speaker Interface SpeechRecognizer Interface SpeechSynthesizer Interface System Interface

I would like to be able to ask alexa to speak the value of a variable. For example my ISY controls the solar heater valve for my pool and the current pool temperature is stored in an ISY variable. I would like to be able to ask alexa "what is the pool temp" and have it read back the value currently stored in the variable. It's also tied into the alarm system, so it would be nice to have voice alerts when doors open, etc. A text-to-speech function would be great from a notifications perspective. All kinds of events in the ISY could trigger a custom voice notification. If I want the house to welcome me home? RaspberryPi picks up the bluetooth on my cell phone as I enter the driveway and uses the ISYrest API to set a variable which starts a timer. If the front door opens within 2 min of the detection of my bluetooth mac address then it's safe to assume I am walking through the front door. This already turns on my lights and TV, etc.. but would be nice to have a custom welcome message. Like, Hi Brett. The pool is nice and warm, The kids have been gone for 2 hours, etc... We need this.

That's a lot of KPLs And I agree, if that's your thing, it does set Insteon apart. To each his own!

The beautiful thing about the ISY and home automation in general is the ability to have the system handle the lighting and entertainment for you. If you design it right you don't need switches or keypads. If you have triggers you can build programs to monitor and react to those triggers which gives the system intelligence. The ISY allows for extensive integration with other systems that become triggers. Motion sensors are the most basic and easy to deploy. Other options that I employ are: APIs from my BlueIris camera system. When a camera detects motion it sets a state variable that can trigger a program to turn on lights in that area for a period of time. Harmony Remote integration using polyglot. When I turn on my TV it sets the lighting scene based on the time of day and activity selected on the remote. DSC Alarm panel integration using NodeLink. The system knows when any exterior door is open. When it's after sunset and the back door is opened the system turns on the lights in the lanai and starts the pool pump and pool light. When the TV is turned off after a 10PM the system arms the DSC alarm panel. If the alarm is triggered the ISY sends an API call to BlueIris to begin continuous recording on all cameras until the alarm condition is disabled. REST interface. I have multiple RaspberryPis around the house that frequently "ping" the Bluetooth interface of our cell phones and set state variables in the ISY based on the response of the phones. The system knows who is home at any given time and can adjust to that persons preferences. When nobody is home, the system knows it and can shut things down automatically. When we arrive back at the house the system picks up the bluetooth as we pull into the driveway and turns the TV and lights back on. It also sets the nest thermostats back to cooling mode via the nest polyglot interface. Amazon Alexa. For the situations where you want to deviate from the program, just say what you want. As larryllix said in a previous post, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Enjoy...