"“Ok Google, change the temperature to 72 degrees.”
- Thread starter NeverDie
- Start date
Dean Roddey
Senior Member
If you have an automation system, it can interact with anything under the automation system's control, if the automation system provides the correct integration.
wkearney99
Senior Member
Alexa has been able to interact with various thermostats, including Nest. And has been able to do it for a while. I've had it able to interact with my Honeywell thermostats for a while. I don't use it that often though, as schedules really handle everything pretty well.
Yep, Alexa and Nest play well together. In fact, Alexa and pretty much everything works well together (and Sonos coming soon - yes!!). Google remains a plan, not a product, as I understand it. But will be interesting to see their eventual stuff. Based on my voice recognition experience with their app on an iPhone vs Alexa, though, Alexa is going to be hard to beat. We are big fans in this household. One of those "It just works" situations, which buys huge WAF.
wkearney99
Senior Member
Madcodger said:
I'm willing to try everything to see what works.
My main concern regarding Google's entry is their larger corporate mission is all about ADVERTISING. Their product is YOU and your behaviors. That's something they profit from mightily. Not from selling you a product as a customer. No, it's selling YOU to THEIR customers. I really do not see the upside to having an advertising-driven company intruding into the home to this degree.
At least with amazon they're a merchant who's largely making their money reseller actual materials to you. YOU are their customer. Sure, there's a lot they learn in the process, but their focus is on selling things TO YOU, not selling you to others. To me that's a huge distinction.
So while I'll probably buy one of them just to see how it works, it'll likely end up on the disused pile along with my Chromecast dongles.
Dean Roddey
Senior Member
Not that Amazon doesn't have enormous amounts of information about most of us. Not sure what exactly they do with it. Maybe they just hang onto it while waiting for the right hacker to come along, I dunno.
wkearney99
Senior Member
Dean Roddey said:
Any company you're going to do business with is going to end up possessing some quantity of data about you.
The difference is Google is, at their very core, driven specifically by selling YOU to their customers. Not in any way by selling something to you, the individual. That's a might distasteful prospect when it comes to personal space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bXJ_obaiYQ
The biggest complaint I hear so far from HA enthusiats is
...which one do you want to say?
"Alexa. Turn on the bedroom light."
"OK Google, Turn on the bedroom light."
But neither of these advertising giants will allow users to change their main advertising gimmic and reaname their attention getting gadget nickname.
...which one do you want to say?
"Alexa. Turn on the bedroom light."
"OK Google, Turn on the bedroom light."
But neither of these advertising giants will allow users to change their main advertising gimmic and reaname their attention getting gadget nickname.
wkearney99
Senior Member
Part of it is about having a programmatically recognizable trigger. The devices can't be recognizing 100% of the time. There has to be something reasonably consistent that the hardware can be designed to detect. Otherwise we go back to the stone age of having to 'teach' the system.
Amazon's framework is nice though. I've got my own copy of the Homeseer skill set up so I can use "Alexa, tell the House..." where "the House" is the skill name. Nice alternative to having to use "Alexa, tell Homeseer..." That just wasn't going to cut it.
I'd hold out hope of Amazon offering other triggers looooong before anything would come from Google.
I tell ya, it's been darned convenient having voice control for lighting. It's baby steps though, as it's a bit of a challenge trying to name everything sensibly.
Amazon's framework is nice though. I've got my own copy of the Homeseer skill set up so I can use "Alexa, tell the House..." where "the House" is the skill name. Nice alternative to having to use "Alexa, tell Homeseer..." That just wasn't going to cut it.
I'd hold out hope of Amazon offering other triggers looooong before anything would come from Google.
I tell ya, it's been darned convenient having voice control for lighting. It's baby steps though, as it's a bit of a challenge trying to name everything sensibly.
wkearney99
Senior Member
Yes, if the device you want to control has a Smart Home Skill that's one way. If, however, you want to do something more or control a device in ways the Smart Home skill doesn't support, there's options.
This becomes an issue if you want to trigger scenes or activities that might involve more than just on/off kinds of interactions.
What missing from any of them is being able to ask for help, or a list of devices.
This becomes an issue if you want to trigger scenes or activities that might involve more than just on/off kinds of interactions.
What missing from any of them is being able to ask for help, or a list of devices.
I don't use the SmartHome skill. I use the ISY skill and I can control anything that is controllable from my ISY994i, whether it be scenes, devices or programs. This include thermostats, MiLights LED strips, LEDenet controllers, blinds, doorbells, notifications etc. The ISY Portal has a vocal to action table that allows me to use whatever words I want for whatever unit I want. This shows the complete list of controllable units.
ISY is actually HA while SmartHome is basically just remote control. Big difference in function.
Somebody has worked out a way to get programmed responses through the Alexa units but I haven't followed the method, as yet.
ISY is actually HA while SmartHome is basically just remote control. Big difference in function.
Somebody has worked out a way to get programmed responses through the Alexa units but I haven't followed the method, as yet.
Similar threads
