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Multiple New Alexa Features: Voice Announcements, Motion, Water, Door Sensors and More!


InsteonNut

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Posted

Hi Folks,

I'm happy to announce that with today's MobiLinc Connect feature upgrade, you can now have Alexa speak anything!
https://mobilinc.com/features/echo/

Paired with the MobiLinc IFTTT channel (https://ifttt.com/mobilinc) and the sky's the limit on what you can have Alexa announce.

MobiLinc Connect now supports the following new Alexa features:

  • Motion and Contact Sensors
    • INSTEON Motion sensors.
    • INSTEON Door sensors.
    • INSTEON Water Leak sensors.
    • IO Linc Relay/Sensors.
    • Programs in a folder called "Sensors".
    • Variables with "Sensor" in the name of the variable.
    • ELK Zones.
  • Alexa Routines triggered by the above sensor list can:
    • Have your Echo devices speak any custom text when triggered by a sensor.
    • Play Music and Volume Control.
    • Send Notifications.
    • Speak today and tomorrow's calendar.
    • Announce news, traffic, and weather.
    • Trigger another Smart Home device, group, or scene.
  • Devices, Scenes, Programs, Variables added/deleted/changed in your ISY will automatically be added or removed from Alexa with Firmware 5.x
    • If your ISY is firmware 5.x, as you add, edit, remove Spoken names from your devices and scenes, MobiLinc Connect will keep Alexa updated in real-time. No need to say "Alexa, discover devices" after making device or scene changes.
    • If your ISY is firmware 5.x, Variables with "Sensor" in the name are auto-added to Alexa after clicking "Save" on the Variables tab in the Admin Console.

With today's feature upgrade, you can now have Alexa announce anything based on a sensor trigger! Some examples are:

  • Announce at home when you leave work (trigger off your MobiLinc geo-fence variable).
  • Announce when motion is detected.
  • Announce when a door or ELK zone is triggered.
  • Announce when the garage door opens or closes (IO Linc sensor as a trigger).
  • Turn on other lights inside or outside when motion is detected.
  • Turn a RemoteLinc or KeypadLinc into a music controller for Alexa.
    • In your ISY, create a program in your "Sensors" folder that triggers on the RemoteLinc or KeypadLinc turning ON.
    • In the Alexa app, trigger a routine on your program running to play a music station, artist, or adjust volume.
  • Connect ANYTHING in IFTTT to Alexa using the MobiLinc IFTTT Channel.
    • Example: Announce Dinner is Ready when the oven timer completes.
      • In IFTTT, trigger on your GE Oven's timer THEN have MobiLinc run a program in your "Sensor" folder
      • In the Alexa app, trigger on your IFTTT/GE program to announce to the whole house "Dinner is Ready!"
    • Announce when the laundry has finished the wash or dry cycle.
    • The sky is the limit here. Anything in IFTTT you can make a custom Alexa voice announcement pairing the MobiLinc IFTTT channel with a program. 

Tell us below what you've got Alexa chatting about in your house OR ask me how I would solve your Alexa Voice needs!

Wes

Firmware 4.x notes:

  • Changes to spoken names for devices and scenes you will need to click "Save" on the Programs tab to start the sync process back to MobiLinc Connect. New/removed/changed spoken names are auto-sent to Alexa.
  • When adding/removing "Sensor" from a variable, click "Save" on the Variable Page and then click "Save" on the Programs tab to start the sync process back to MobiLinc Connect. Wait 5 minutes or until the ISY lights stop blinking and then say "Alexa, discover devices."  

Program Suggestions:

When using a program as a sensor, to "reset" the program sensor, add a "wait for 3 seconds" and then run the opposite state of the program to reset it to allow the program to trigger again.

Variable Notes:

A variable value of "0" is considered "closed" by Alexa.
A variable value of anything other than "0" is considered "opened" by Alexa.

US Support only. Amazon has not yet rolled out Sensor/Motion support for Canada yet. As soon as Amazon turns this on for Canadian users, this feature is in place and ready. Canadian users with a US Amazon account will work.

Posted
12 minutes ago, danncas said:

I like to know more. I can allready control sll my insteon devices via echo. With my mobilic pro app and my isy. How is this different

This is your devices controlling Alexa.

Posted
19 hours ago, larryllix said:

This is your devices controlling Alexa.

??? I dont understand your reply. I like to find out more though. I like to have alexa annouce thinks. I like to set up my standard garage door open to open remotely via iphone and echo. Also anouce the status 

Posted

Hi Danncas,

You can use MobiLinc to open the garage door by tapping the garage door icon in the MobiLinc app. I'm assuming your garage door is using an IO Linc from SmartHome.

For Alexa announcing garage door status, assign a spoken name to the Garage Door Sensor and click "Save" on the Programs tab. Wait 5 minutes and then say "Alexa, discover devices." Go to Routines in the Alexa app to create a new routine that is triggered based on your IO Linc Sensor changing values.

Wes

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

Hi @aresserman@gmail.com

The flow looks like this:

- Follow the posts directions on adding a sensor to Alexa either as a program or a variable.

On 10/12/2018 at 1:01 PM, InsteonNut said:
  • Programs in a folder called "Sensors".
  • Variables with "Sensor" in the name of the variable.

- After saving your updates back to MobiLinc Connect (tap "Save" on the Program tab) In the Alexa app, confirm you see your sensor listed under "All Devices"
- In the IFTTT app, create a new Applet between your IFTTT service and MobiLinc.
- Set the MobiLinc action to run your sensor program OR set the sensor variable to a 1. (Remember to reset the variable with another IFTTT trigger or with an ISY program that resets when run.)
- Test your applet to make sure the program or variable is responding to the IFTTT trigger.
- In the Alexa app, create a new Routine that triggers on the sensor.
- For the Routine action, set the "Alexa say" or "Announcement" option and enter in your custom phrase you want Alexa to say.

Wes

  • 1 month later...
Posted

I have found the "Routines" addition to Alexa one of the more useful things they have come up with in a while. One vexing aspect though is the fact you can only get a voice announcement in a routine to a single speaker/device...or is there some way to work around this? I have speaker groups, including one for all speakers, but cannot access this in routines. Any one found a way to skin this cat?

Chris

Posted

Hi @glacier991

You should be able to keep adding custom spoken phrases to the routine to essentially add in each Echo you want to have to speak your phrase. Or, there's an Alexa Announce option that announces your phrase to all Echos on your account.

Wes

Posted
I have found the "Routines" addition to Alexa one of the more useful things they have come up with in a while. One vexing aspect though is the fact you can only get a voice announcement in a routine to a single speaker/device...or is there some way to work around this? I have speaker groups, including one for all speakers, but cannot access this in routines. Any one found a way to skin this cat?
Chris
In the Routines setup screens there is usually an option to echo responses to the unit that hears the request.

Strangely enough this option disappears for some Routines. I don't know why or how to correct that.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

Posted
8 hours ago, InsteonNut said:

Hi @glacier991

You should be able to keep adding custom spoken phrases to the routine to essentially add in each Echo you want to have to speak your phrase. Or, there's an Alexa Announce option that announces your phrase to all Echos on your account.

Wes

Ah! That was the answer to my problem. I did not make the connection that I could use a ISY event to trigger an "announcement"! Thank you!

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