Interface with Amazon Echo?

[jerlands]

There may not only be functional reasons but marketing reasons for pursuing the Amazon Certification.

 

 

Jon...

[benbennett]

Michel,

 

1) I would gladly donate to help support the cost of the certification process with amazon, even if amazon ultimately didn't certify the isy. 

 

 

2) Use the same command structure as the echo connected home, so if there is  final certification there isn't confusion. 

 

3)Feature request: multiple alias device names/or a format in the notes section to follow. 

 

  

[jerlands]

I'd like to see the word "Media" added to the list of devices.

 

 

 

Jon...

[Tungsten]

Agree with Jon, I use 'Media Room' for one of my areas

[barrygordon]

Looking at the Alexa App under settings connected home. The HUE hub is not listed. Only Insteon, Wink and Smartthings have entries. I suspect that Connected Home devices that require support from some manufacturer specific app in the cloud are the ones listed.  The Philips Hue (ergo, the Hue Emulator) does not. 

 

When the Echo searches for the "Connected Home" systems it does a uPnP search. It then looks at the description entries that are returned to ascertain which connected home system it is.  The Echo appears to also keeps a channel open for unsolicited uPnP messages to which it also responds in the same manner.

 

I have no idea what is required for certification of a connected home system but I suspect Amazon wants to ensure that it has appropriate commands in in its vocabulary (e.g. turn on, turn off, . . .). Perhaps Amazon will even expand that vocabulary if required by a newly certified home connected system. From what I can see Amazon does not seem to care what the friendly name of a device in a connected home system is, but I am sure there are some rules as to how many words etc.  For marketing purposes, the more system Amazon can state are compatible with the Echo, the more Echo's it will sell. I don't like the way Apple controls what can be run on an iPad and hope Amazon does not take the same approach.

[Guest Digger]

Ok tried it again for the heck of it. Alexa does not do a command unless I first say open Izzy.

 

But if I say open Izzy and then the command it works.

 

Looking in the app Pic attached Alexa heard me perfectly.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello everyone,

 

Thanks so very much for all the feedback and offer to help funding certification. This said, you have already paid for ISY Portal and it would not be fair to charge you again.

 

In the meantime:

1. Benoit and I decided that we'll add a Tool in the portal so that only a select few devices/programs will be included in the Skill and you can name them. This way a) changing names and spoken words take effect immediately (you don't have to ask Alexa to refresh devices) changes to the tool won't require firmware updates in ISY and c) it's more user friendly (getting away from Java/Admin Console) and d) the same paradigm can then be used later for IFTTT integration. I must admit that every time we decide to do anything in the portal, I get the hibby jibbies alas, at least in this case, I am convinced that it makes more sense to put this in the portal than it is in ISY/Admin Console

2. Alexa Skills Team contacted us and provided invaluable suggestions as far as how to structure the utterances. We'll have to go through recertification but the combination of your invaluable feedback and Alexa Team's recommendations I think we'll have a very fine tuned Skill

3. Heard back from Alexa Connected Home team ... they are having a discussion about our predicament and they will get back to us shortly ( I am optimistic)

 

Hi Digger,

 

You can NOT say "switch x on". It has to be "switch on X".

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[Guest Digger]

Hello everyone,

 

Thanks so very much for all the feedback and offer to help funding certification. This said, you have already paid for ISY Portal and it would not be fair to charge you again.

 

In the meantime:

1. Benoit and I decided that we'll add a Tool in the portal so that only a select few devices/programs will be included in the Skill and you can name them. This way a) changing names and spoken words take effect immediately (you don't have to ask Alexa to refresh devices) changes to the tool won't require firmware updates in ISY and c) it's more user friendly (getting away from Java/Admin Console) and d) the same paradigm can then be used later for IFTTT integration. I must admit that every time we decide to do anything in the portal, I get the hibby jibbies alas, at least in this case, I am convinced that it makes more sense to put this in the portal than it is in ISY/Admin Console

2. Alexa Skills Team contacted us and provided invaluable suggestions as far as how to structure the utterances. We'll have to go through recertification but the combination of your invaluable feedback and Alexa Team's recommendations I think we'll have a very fine tuned Skill

3. Heard back from Alexa Connected Home team ... they are having a discussion about our predicament and they will get back to us shortly ( I am optimistic)

 

Hi Digger,

 

You can NOT say "switch x on". It has to be "switch on X".

 

With kind regards,

Michel

But it works if I open the skill and say it. Your saying it's only working because the skill is open? That's why I have to reopen the skill each command?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[barrygordon]

According to the Alexa skill documentation you should not have to open the skill to send a command to the skill. The open call is used if your skill wants to provide a nice message or prompt. The basic call is an intent call which has the parameters parsed from the spoken string by the Amazon Alexa cloud processing.  I don't think others are having this problem so it sounds like something is wrong with your particular situation. There is also a close call which also has no parameters passed to it but allows you to put out a goodbye message or anything you want.

 

I have written my own private skill and I don't have the problem you allude to. I use the open to just say "This is Sarah, what is it you need me to do".  For a basic command I just say "Alexa, tell Sarah to xxxxxxxxx"  The xxxxxxxxx string is then parsed based upon the utterances and intents I have defined for my Sarah skill and sent to my skills end point independent of whether I have ever opened it or not.  

 

I have been programming for close to 60 years but I am sure that Benoit is more than competent.  Give the UDI team time to figure it all out, but feedback is really helpful.

[Guest Digger]

According to the Alexa skill documentation you should not have to open the skill to send a command to the skill. The open call is used if your skill wants to provide a nice message or prompt. The basic call is an intent call which has the parameters parsed from the spoken string by the Amazon Alexa cloud processing. I don't think others are having this problem so it sounds like something is wrong with your particular situation. There is also a close call which also has no parameters passed to it but allows you to put out a goodbye message or anything you want.

 

I have written my own private skill and I don't have the problem you allude to. I use the open to just say "This is Sarah, what is it you need me to do". For a basic command I just say "Alexa, tell Sarah to xxxxxxxxx" The xxxxxxxxx string is then parsed based upon the utterances and intents I have defined for my Sarah skill and sent to my skills end point independent of whether I have ever opened it or not.

 

I have been programming for close to 60 years but I am sure that Benoit is more than competent. Give the UDI team time to figure it all out, but feedback is really helpful.

I told Benoit I am fine waiting for the next version in a few weeks. I know it's working since I can turn lights on and off its just very tiresome to say Alexa open Izzy, Alexa tell Izyzy to xxxxx, Alexa open Izzy, Alexa tell Izzy to xxxxxx.

 

In time it should be fun

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stusviews]

Does not work:

Computer Ceiling

Computer Light

Computer Room Ceiling

Computer Room Light

Computer Fan

Computer Motor

Computer Room Fan

Computer Room Motor

 

Does work:

Computer Room

 

but I'd like to be able to control both the light and fan. The device being controlled is a FanLinc

[bmercier]

Does not work:

Computer Ceiling

Computer Light

Computer Room Ceiling

Computer Room Light

Computer Fan

Computer Motor

Computer Room Fan

Computer Room Motor

 

Does work:

Computer Room

 

but I'd like to be able to control both the light and fan. The device being controlled is a FanLinc

 

From all of those variations, those would work well in the next version:

Computer Light

Computer Room Light

Computer Fan

Computer Room Fan

Computer Room

 

In other words, not motor, not ceiling.

 

Would you consider it sufficient?

 

Benoit.

[imagamejunky]

Benoit.

In the next version will we be able to use the following?

Bar

Gameroom or Game Room

Nook

Master Bedroom

Landscape

Awning

 

Thanks

Junky

[bmercier]

Benoit.

In the next version will we be able to use the following?

Bar

Gameroom or Game Room

Nook

Master Bedroom

Landscape

Awning

 

Thanks

Junky

 

Yes.

 

I have incorporated all the suggestions from the forum.

 

In the case of the game room, it's only "game room" though, not "gameroom".

 

Benoit.

[bmercier]

We are progressing well.

 

I'm currently working on enhancing the device list before we resubmit to Amazon.

 

Please see this thread to review the device list and provide feedback:

http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/17632-device-list/?p=158852

 

I figured it would be best to have a separate thread focused on enhancing this list.

 

Benoit.

[stusviews]

From all of those variations, those would work well in the next version:

Computer Light

Computer Room Light

Computer Fan

Computer Room Fan

Computer Room

 

In other words, not motor, not ceiling.

 

Would you consider it sufficient?

 

Benoit.

 

Absolutely yes. Four rooms and three "areas" still awaiting testing. I'm not looking to control every device, just the "daily use" ones. BTW, not sure if I mentioned it but "sconces" is not accepted.

[ahwman]

We are progressing well.

 

I'm currently working on enhancing the device list before we resubmit to Amazon.

 

Please see this thread to review the device list and provide feedback:

http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/17632-device-list/?p=158852

 

I figured it would be best to have a separate thread focused on enhancing this list.

 

Benoit.

Thanks for all of your hard work and hope the next version will perform better for my needs. That said any idea when we might see connected home support. I'm just trying to get a sense of if we're months down the road or maybe just a few weeks?

 

Thanks again,

Chuck

[ahwman]

We are progressing well.

 

I'm currently working on enhancing the device list before we resubmit to Amazon.

 

Please see this thread to review the device list and provide feedback:

http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/17632-device-list/?p=158852

 

I figured it would be best to have a separate thread focused on enhancing this list.

 

Benoit.

 

Question: How will programs be called by the skill? The reason I ask is that my programs have very unique names and can't possibly be fully covered in this list. Example: I have programs which launch TV stations like "Discovery Channel", how would this be handled by the skill?

 

Chuck

[ahwman]

Michel, mwester,

 

I suggest you might want to take a serious look at the current version of the Hue Emulator (BWS Systems HA Bridge) and my Configuration program (AWS_Config). I believe it does just about all of the things you are looking for. The Configuration program acts as the link between the ISY and the Emulator, as the emulator in its raw form knows nothing about the ISY except its address.

 

The Configuration program acts as follows:

 

1) Reads the ISY to get all the information about Devices, Scenes, and Programs including the Notes/spoken fields for devices and scenes.

 

2) Provides a windows style drag and drop capability to select the nodes (devices, scene, programs) that is to be edited and then sent to the emulator as part of its (emulator) data base.

 

3) For each selected item it allows for the Spoken Field or the Device Name to be used to populate what I called the "Friendly Name". The friendly name is what is provided to the Echo for speech recognition purposes and may be edited to whatever the user desires. During the setup for the configuration system (a windows style ini file) the user can specify if the default friendly name is the spoken field or the device name.

 

4) It provides two default URLs (one for On, one for Off, with Dim capability in the On URL) for the Emulator to send to the ISY when this friendly name is recognized. It uses the Restful interface for all ISY communications properly setting up the User-id and password for authentication. Either of these URL's may be edited prior to sending them to the emulator. 

 

5) It allows for the Dim command for lights or the Set command for thermostats by having the emulator capture the number that is spoken in a DIM command or a SET command. It allows for the presence of a math formula to be included and executed by the emulator when the command is recognized. This formula is written as a function of "X" Where x is the number spoken. This allows for the case where a thermostat works in whole degrees or half degrees. It also allows for the spoken range to be 0-100 or 0-255 and the formula to do any necessary conversions.

 

6) It allows for the entry of a custom device where all the Emulator information (Friendly name and two URL's) are entered by the user. I use this to control my HA components that are not under ISY control (my Home theater under PC control, My pool under the control of an Autelis pool controller). It should be able to control a Global Cache system for the sending of IR commands under voice control, although I have not tried that yet. In my home all IR work is under the control of a PC connected to a Global Cache system to allow for much shorter messages to be sent (Component name, IR command Name). 

 

7) The entries on the Emulator can be edited at any time if things change.

 

I have been using this system for several months (development period) it is now quite stable and fairly popular among the ISY community. I have been using the same ISY configuration for at least a good month now.

 

Not of interest to the majority of the ISY community, it will also handle a Harmony Hub in the same manner as it handles the ISY populating the emulator as required.

 

Hello,

 

I have invested many hours trying to get the hue emulator to work on a Windows 7 VM to no success. I desperately want to get this working and have followed several guides but keep getting stuck. Since my Windiws VM is already running 24/7 as a Plex server it doesn't make sense for me to go the RPI route. Can you offer any help or detailed Windows guides?

 

I am so grateful for all of your help for the ISY community,

Chuck

[Scottmichaelj]

HuddaDudda,

 

I am pretty sure multiple emulators will work on Windows the same way they work on the RPi. Just start several of them during windows startup, each with a different port number, response port number, database name and log file name.

 

Why not get an RPi? About $40 gets you all the hardware you need and all the software is free. The long thread in this forum (the one that about 50+ pages)  has enough information to do it all.  Just requires a bit of time to read it all.

So how would I change the port number when it seems the emulator is listening on port 8080, 1900 and 50000? I am using the instructions from post #1 here: http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/14525-amazon-echo-and-isy/

 

I tried to run two of the jar HUE Emulator files but the second on closes. If I use your setup would that work better and if so how would I do different ports as you suggested?

[Big517]

Hello,

 

I have invested many hours trying to get the hue emulator to work on a Windows 7 VM to no success. I desperately want to get this working and have followed several guides but keep getting stuck. Since my Windiws VM is already running 24/7 as a Plex server it doesn't make sense for me to go the RPI route. Can you offer any help or detailed Windows guides?

 

I am so grateful for all of your help for the ISY community,

Chuck

I too have a windows server running 24/7 mainly for Plex. Ended up buying my first RPi because of the same issues you probably ran into. Just spend the $60 and you may find yourself porting some of your windows stuff over. Good investment, most importantly it works .

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Edited December 20, 2015 by Big517

[ahwman]

I too have a windows server running 24/7. Ended up buying my first RPi because of the same issues you probably run into. Just spend the $60 and you may find yourself porting some of your windows stuff over. Good investment, most importantly it works .

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I genuinely appreciate the input. That said, I have a few concerns with going he RPI route.

 

• It appears that the RPI has no enclosure but rather just a bare circuit board. Can you purchase it within an enclosure?

• I don't currently have an extra port available on my router, can it connect via wireless?

• How challenging is it to set up (many hours of configuring/finding software)?

 

Thanks so much,

Chuck

[ahwman]

I will try it out and see how it all works on W7. I don't want to buy/config more hardware when I already am running a server 24/7. Plus I am a noob with PI and don't feel like learning anything new.

I'm in your exact situation with a Windows 7 virtual machine running 24/7 and have spent several hours trying to get it working. I really don't want to invest in new hardware and another learning curve on a new platform if I can help it. Perhaps we can work together to figure this out?

 

Chuck

[bgrubb1]

You know, I don't normally comment on posts, but if you are not willing to invest and you don't want to learn anything new, this game probably isn't for you

[ahwman]

You know, I don't normally comment on posts, but if you are not willing to invest and you don't want to learn anything new, this game probably isn't for you

Now wait a minute here. Before you make bold assumptions, understand where I'm coming from here. Why would I invest in new hardware when I have a PC running 24/7, seems kind of wasteful doesn't it? Regarding learning anything new, those are your words not mine, I simply stated that I didn't want to have to learn a new platform just to get the emulator working. I'm all about constructive posts and frankly this doesn't strike me as constructive...

 

Chuck