[APP][Pro] Amazon - Alexa

Damn @Jamie with the work you’re doing you’re forcing me into buying an Echo (or two, three…) :joy:

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Join us @DaneedeKruyff

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Nice work!
I use the EU Server. Only one Dot is working. If I mark more than one at the beginning just one will be added.
If I want to add another, he couldn’t find more Dots.

Everything else works like a charm.
Thanks :slight_smile:

Ordered a Dot 2, we’re limited here in Holland on what Echo’s we can order unfortunately. If I like it I’ll probably gonna try to get my hands on a Spot :slight_smile:

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@DaneedeKruyff is it possible to have the speeches of heimdall e.g. „one door is open“ before setting the mode over @Jamie Alexa app?
So we can listen to a state of heimdall on one of our echo dots instead of homey?

So i would hear a eventually attention speech of heimdall on my bedroom echo dot.

That would be the best of the best!

Would this be possible you brilliant guys @Jamie and @DaneedeKruyff ?

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The ability to activate Alexa Scenes and Smart home devices directly from Homey flows is coming :soon:

What can you do right now is

  1. Create a virtual device.
  2. Create a flow which make announces to your Alexa device when virtual device triggered.
  3. Add the virtual device to Alexa - so you can now turn it on using Alexa
  4. For bonus points - Create an Alexa Routine to trigger the virtual - .

“Alexa Good Night” or “Alexa, is the house secure”
“Sorry you have left the laundry window open”

PS -> Its here where the Alexa Phrases Flows can come in handy, if the house is secure when you ask “Is the house secure” then use the “Alexa Phrase Confirm”.

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@The_Be there seems to be an issue with the echo dot (gen3) when adding multiple devices, if you are able to delete the device, then attempt to re-add them and if it fails to send me the log ill be able to look at it in more detail.

Thanks

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Wait. That “text” tag. Does that mean that Alexa can say what homey just wanted to say? Btw. Those voices. They are homey voices right? Those 27? :o

Come join the Alexa cult!!

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Yes, using the text tag you can make Alexa say what Homey is saying.

All of the Homey voices are available! I also added an extra 19 too which includes Male/Female Japanese, male/Female Spanish, Male/Female Italian, 3 French, 3 German voices, as well as an additional 5 US voices and a Male Indian English :slight_smile: (Pretty sure Salli = Sally).


The plan is to make the ‘first’ voice find out what voice Homey is using automatically for you. Unfortunately how we code Homey apps hasn’t been kept up to date with the beta WebAPI, I doubt Athom will fix this no matter how ask I nice - but i’ll try. – Failing that ill allow it to be set somewhere in the App settings - so at least its set and forget.


For now we are just cleaning up and testing, before going to beta. After which the alpha will be updated with the ability to control Alexa Smart home devices. But I might make a poll to see what people are interested in, todo lists, notifications, dnd, alarms, reminders etc.

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Hi @PhilS,

That’s an interesting one, I think that would be possible but would have to think it out and discuss that with @Jamie.
I guess his app could provide an API endpoint (per speaker perhaps) that accepts a string that would be spoken. Any other Homey app could speak to that API to have its text spoken through an Echo device instead of Homey itself. It would require a setting in the app to select an Echo speaker (which one? an API endpoint providing available Echo’s would be needed) and text would still be the defined texts in the app. (Just brainstorming here)

For the short term it would be simpler to make a flow based on an action card from Heimdall or ‘intercept’ text and send that to an Echo. (Then again, I have no Echo yet and haven’t seen @Jamie’s app in real life so I’m just speculating here :slight_smile: )

There are a couple of use cases.

  1. Alexa Arm the house - (already possible using a virtual device and alexa routine).
  2. Alexa speaking/announcing the "Let Homey Tell you When) -(already possible intercepting using a flow
  3. Ask alexa if you house is secure - Which would output the "pre-arming check.
  4. Allowing other developers access to speak through your alexa devices.

Creating API endpoints in the Alexa app which allow access to the (current) flow actions, so other apps can access Alexa does make sense. I am a fan of Field of Dreams, however investing time creating such a solution only is worth it if it is used :stuck_out_tongue:

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i think a first step would be as @DaneedeKruyff thought to use a action card of the heimdall app.
and the step further with the api endpoints etc. only as a future release.

was just a thought by me. i hear sometimes homey speaking at midnight that one door is not closed or something else when heimdall is arming. but i cannot understand it right because i am in the bedroom at this time. so would be great if i could hear it directly in the bedroom.

but again, this could be possible with an action card of heimdall.

but maybe there are other related thought what would be possible :wink:

Just a heads up to the alpha users, I will be releasing a new update in about 24 hours which will break your devices and require that the app be re-installed.

The update will include some stability fixes as I am excited to announce that the volume slider in homey will now update as the volume is physically changed on your alexa device. But ill go into more detail as to why that is so cool and what it means when the alpha is released.

For now just consider this a warning,

Thanks

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Thumbs up @Jamie

@Jamie are you GOD?

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1.4.0 has been released.

As mentioned this will require that all devices be removed and the connection reset.

As to why the volume updating is so cool, we are now getting updates from the device as they happen, this is not restricted to the volume. It could (for example) be use to create flows when Alexa hears something particular.

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Are you saying it can pick up spoken commands without the need of the Homey Skill?

Thats correct, however its not as useful as you might think. For example “Alexa, why is Jamie so cool?” - while I could then trigger a flow - or active a device or even respond with some speech - however Alexa would still come back with “I dont under stand, but I am always learning” or perhaps try and find a song called “Jamie so cool”.

You could use use it so that a flow is triggered when a real command is found. ‘Alexa whats the weather’ - changes the lights to red when its raining or something. "Alexa open distant thunderstorms’ lets you know if your Perimeter secure and turn off al the lights - then starts the original command :slight_smile:

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Very very cool Jamie. Good job.
Have Amazon allowed you access to display images on the spot and show devices?
This would be a nice future update if possible. Even better if you could display a interactive button/s to control devices like the spot does if you have just triggered a device with it.
But all in all, I can’t wait to try this out. Good work.