Trigger Alexa show voice by motion detector

[tporada]

I use a 2842-222 MS to make an entry light brighter upon motion detection during evening hours. I would like to use it to also trigger my Alexa show voice to announce "guest at front door" or something similar when it detects movement. Can't figure out how to send Alexa a command to say something however.

I can go the other way and have Alexa turn on various lights via the portal and have this working fine.

I could use some thoughts on the matter.

 

ISY994i w/Z-Wave v 4.75

[DaveStLou]

15 minutes ago, tporada said:

I use a 2842-222 MS to make an entry light brighter upon motion detection during evening hours. I would like to use it to also trigger my Alexa show voice to announce "guest at front door" or something similar when it detects movement. Can't figure out how to send Alexa a command to say something however.

I can go the other way and have Alexa turn on various lights via the portal and have this working fine.

I could use some thoughts on the matter.

ISY994i w/Z-Wave v 4.75

There's an article on the wiki using Alexa routines: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY_Portal_Amazon_Echo_Integration_V3#ISY_Can_Talk_To_You.21_.28Alexa_Routines.29

[phlojo]

Hi,  i was able to achieve more or less the same scenarios using the following approach:

• In ISY i set up a state variable called AlertMotionOutisde.  Via various programs I have it change its value from 1 to 2 and to 3.  Depending on conditions.  Example if motion detected on this side of the house or the other...
• In ISY portal I added this variable multiple times as a Motion Sensor.  Every time with a different "Detected" value.  So when it is detected as 2 is different that 1 and 3 and so one..
• In Alexa, when you discover the devices, each one of these variables is detected as a different Motion Sensor.  Which means that you can build an Alexa routine from it.
• So when Alexa detects motion from MotioinOutsideLeft (which in reality is AlertMotionOutside with value 2 in ISY) i have Alexa speak "Motion Detected on the Left Side of the House" and so on and so forth...

I know this isn't a step-by-step but I hope this helps!

[tporada]

Thanks DaveStLou and phlojo. I think your inputs will get me to where I want to be. Right now my Alexa shows my 'spoken' but the motion sensor shows 'on' which it technically is. The variable usage should get me to the right place.

 

Thanks.

[tmorse305]

When using routines in this manner remember that Amazon enforces a 30 second debounce period when a sensor changes state.  This can make it appear that the routine is not working correctly.  For example if you have a routine that announces when motion is detected, when that routine is triggered it will not re-trigger for 30 seconds even if the sensor changes state again.  Further, if a trigger occurs during the debounce period and then goes away before the debounce period ends, the routine will never be triggered.  Make sure your variable value that triggers the routine stays at the trigger value for longer than 30 seconds if you expect to have triggers close together (< 30 secs)

[tporada]

Hmmm...If there is/could be a 30 second wait/debounce period, that doesn't seem like a very useful situation for an alert. Might be a fun thing to do but not very useful.  To use as an alert for someone coming to your front door for instance. heck in 30 seconds they would have already rung the doorbell and I would have answered the door.

Will redirect my curiosity and creative efforts else whereor now.

Thanks all.

 

 

[jfai]

The 30 s is enforced for sensor value changes. If someone triggers the motion sensor/camera, there is no delay, unless the last state change of that sensor was less than 30 s ago. Most sensors have a debounce period built in, either in the control electronics or the firmware. The debounce period varies depending on sensor purpose from several milliseconds to 10s of seconds, e.g., motion sensors. Amazon's delay is at the higher end of the range, but it's still workable for most smart home applications.

[upstatemike]

I was using a single state variable for multiple motion detector inputs by having each sensor set the variable to a different value. This was used to have each room greet me as I enter. It worked as long as I did not move too fast between rooms but the enforced timeout prevented me from walking quickly from room to room and have it keep up. I went to dedicated state variables for each room and now it works perfectly. If things gets too chatty I use the suppress feature within the Alexa routine to dial it back.