Amazon Echo to HA Controllers

[wkearney99]

I never thought about BT microphones.
 
I have those TW700 tablets with bluetooth - I wonder how it would work connected to a BT mic running some VR software.  hmmm ...

 
The Echo seems to do a pretty good job of isolating what it's playing through it's speaker with what it hears from it's microphone.  You can still speak commands to it while it's playing music.  Granted, if you've got the audio cranked up you will have to RAISE YOUR VOICE to the Echo... but it'll hear you and automatically reduce (not entirely mute) the music while it's responding.  Really slick.
 
My point is just having mics isn't enough, it's the integration of all of the audio streams WITH the recog that makes for a very nice user experience.

 

[jkmonroe]

Oh, I agree.  
 
I was just thinking out loud - having isolated Mic's would be a fairly simple way of having your HA controller know where you are.  If I am in the dining room and say 'Lights On', it knows what room im in based on where the command from and will turn on the appropriate lights.  Like what IVB was getting at for 'room level' location awareness.

 

[wkearney99]

Geez Bill you have convinced me to maybe open up the Amazon Echo box and give the Amazon Echo a try. 

 
C'mon, do it.  
 
As for privacy, sticking it on it's own AP/network and putting filters or monitoring on that is probably not a bad idea for the overly cautious.  But considering the wide range of things I've gotten through amazon there's already quite a lot they already know.  That and they've proven 100% reliable in managing my relationship with them.  This gives me a lot more comfort than I'd get from Apple, Microsoft, Google, cable, phone or some other outfit.

 

[wkearney99]

Oh, I agree.  
 
I was just thinking out loud - having isolated Mic's would be a fairly simple way of having your HA controller know where you are.  If I am in the dining room and say 'Lights On', it knows what room im in based on where the command from and will turn on the appropriate lights.  Like what IVB was getting at for 'room level' location awareness.

 
We have a very open floorplan.  It would be no small challenge to have mics isolated well enough to give fine enough control.  The family room/kitchen/pantry/breakfast table area are all open to each other.  I've got keypads in strategic locations already.  With buttons for controlling sets of lights within the space.  I regularly use the keypad at the sink island in the kitchen to control the table lights (end tables, breakfast and dining room tables).  Same thing with using keypads near the tables to turn off the kitchen lighting.
 
I'm leaning toward using the Echo for lighting control with more emphasis on scenes.  Scenes like 'breakfast lights', 'dinner in the dining room', 'watch TV' and the like.  Modes that don't translate well to on-wall keypad buttons.  Mainly because there's too many of them and they're too 'fluid' for the rigidity in most lighting systems.  But given that we have well over a hundred lighting devices in the house, it's a bit tedious to use recog to control them directly.  It's a bit clunky to as "Alexa, turn on the Living Room ceiling recessed lights".  But I can definitely see asking it "give me some light in the living room" and have that processed based on time of day or other rules.
 
My first bit of hacking with it is to have it understand "Alexa, I'm leaving for errands" and have that processed into managing lighting and HVAC accordingly.  Versus, "We'll be gone until time/day" and perhaps trigger other modes.  

 

[jkmonroe]

OK, that's good to know.  I also have open floor plan, both my bottom and main floors have no walls and are 800ft of openness.  Which doubly sucks because I don't have good keypad locations that can be easily tied to 'rooms'.  
 
I could easily put an Echo on each of those floors and have it listen to the entire space - I'll be curious how your hacking goes, because that would be awesome.

 

[wkearney99]

 I'll be curious how your hacking goes, because that would be awesome.

 
I'll be learning more at a developer meeting this Saturday.

 

[IVB]

My house is lots of small rooms. In the words of Adrian Monk, it's a blessing and a curse. 1700 sqft on one floor, 9 different areas. The living / dining is continuous, no door to the kitchen but sound doesn't flow well. Room level would be easier, esp if I could get multiple echo and have alternating keywords. Room A uses amazon, room B uses Alexa, room c uses amazon...

If you can find out if we can use custom voice commands to call URLs that would be great. Then I could directly call CQC from it.

 

[pete_c]

OK its now connected to it's own internet connection. 
 
I am currently using 4 automation computers  / separate MS SAPI voices mixing them to the Russound zoned amp and they are all sitting in the basement right now.
 
Is there a way to get analog audio out of the device? 
 
I want to put it my little server room with the rest of the stuff I am playing with.
 
Noticed that it needs to see the SSID.  Initially connected using SSID per configuration; then disabled SSID broadcast and Echo disconnected.

 

[NeverDie]

Folks on the HS forum have started to hack Echo (http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=171036&highlight=echo&page=4).  
 
On June 9, brsanders writes "First, thanks to everyone for pioneering this interface and giving detailed how-to's.  Have the echo installed, can control lights, etc. Really pleased with the sound recognition capability - better than other solutions I have attempted."
 
I hope this means a plug-in "for the rest of us" will soon follow.... 

 

[pete_c]

Did a quickie on the kitchen table take apart  (low on the WAF) to see what makes it tick.  Right before I disconnected the mother ship board Alexa started to sing Daisy Bell. 
 
I liked the Amazon Echo Box black monolith look. (well it sat in the box for a while).
 

 
Just kidding.  I didn't take it apart.  I initially put the Amazon Echo in the kitchen next to a cylinder with an LED on the top that glows blue.  It some sort of wine bottle opener.  It is a bit smaller than the Amazon Echo.
 
I turned up the volume and I could hear it throughout the main floor of the home.  The main floor is very open.
 
I then moved it to the family room and put it on a table there instead.  Works well.
 


I didn't discover any of these; I just gathered them from various places. Thanks to all the people who found them.

• Alexa, I am your father.
• Alexa, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
• Alexa, what is the loneliest number?
• Alexa, how many roads must a man walk down?
• Alexa, all your base are belong to us.
• Alexa, how much is that doggie in the window?
• Alexa, romeo, romeo wherefore art thou romeo?
• Alexa, define rock paper scissors lizard spock
• Alexa, beam me up.
• Alexa, how much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
• Alexa, define supercalifragilisticexpialodocious.
• Alexa, who’s your daddy?
• Alexa, Earl Grey. Hot. (or Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.)
• Alexa, what is the meaning of life?
• Alexa, what does the Earth weigh?
• Alexa, when is the end of the world?
• Alexa, is there a Santa?
• Alexa, make me a sandwich.
• Alexa, what is the best tablet?
• Alexa, what is your favorite color?
• Alexa, what is your quest?
• Alexa, who won best actor Oscar in 1973?
• Alexa, what is your quest?
• Alexa, what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
• Alexa, where do babies come from?
• Alexa, do you have a boyfriend?
• Alexa, which comes first: the chicken or the egg?
• Alexa, may the force be with you.
• Alexa, do aliens exist?
• Alexa, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?
• Alexa, what are you going to do today?
• Alexa, where do you live?
• Alexa, do you want to build a snowman?
• Alexa, do you really want to hurt me?
• Alexa, what is love?
• Alexa, who is the real slim shady?
• Alexa, who let the dogs out?
• Alexa, open the pod bay doors.
• Alexa, surely you can’t be serious.
• Alexa, to be or not to be.
• Alexa, who is the fairest of them all?
• Alexa, who loves ya baby?
• Alexa, who you gonna call?
• Alexa, who is the walrus?
• Alexa, do you have any brothers or sisters?
• Alexa, do you know the muffin man?
• Alexa, how much do you weigh?
• Alexa, how tall are you?
• Alexa, where are you from?
• Alexa, do you want to fight?
• Alexa, do you want to play a game?
• Alexa, I think you’re funny.
• Alexa, where in the world in Carmen sandiego?
• Alexa, where’s waldo?
• Alexa, do you know the way to San Jose?
• Alexa, where have all the flowers gone?
• Alexa, what’s in name?
• Alexa, what does the fox say? (multiple answers)
• Alexa, when am I going to die?
• Alexa, I want the truth!
• Alexa, make me breakfast.
• Alexa, why did the chicken cross the road?
• Alexa, where are my keys? (ask twice)
• Alexa, can you give me some money? (ask twice)
• Alexa, knock knock
• Alexa, what are you wearing?
• Alexa, rock paper scissors.
• Alexa rock paper scissors lizard spock
• Alexa, party time!
• Alexa, party on, Wayne.
• Alexa, is the cake a lie?
• Alexa, how do I get rid of a dead body?
• Alexa, are you sky net?
• Alexa, your mother was a hamster
• Alexa, set phasers to kill.
• Alexa, roll a die.
• Alexa, random number between “x” and “y”.
• Alexa, random fact
• Alexa, tell me a joke
• Alexa, heads or tails?
• Alexa, mac or pc?
• Alexa, show me the money.
• Alexa, what is the sound of one hand clapping?
• Alexa, give me a hug.
• Alexa, are you lying?
• Alexa, my name is Inigo Montoya.
• Alexa, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? (3 answers)
• Alexa, see you later alligator.
• Alexa, what's the answer to life, the universe, and everything?
• Alexa, are there UFOs?
• Alexa, is there life on Mars?
• Alexa, take me to your leader.
• Alexa, these aren't the droids you're looking for.
• Alexa, I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
• Alexa, does this unit have a soul?
• Alexa, do you know the muffin man?
• Alexa, sudo make me a sandwich.
• Alexa, more cowbell.
• Alexa, why so serious?
• Alexa, what is his power level?
• Alexa, WHO YOU GONNNA CALLL????
• Alexa, what are the laws of robotics?
• Alexa, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?
• 
  Alexa, what is the meaning of life?
  
• 
  Alexa, testing 1-2-3
  
• 
  Alexa, do you have a girlfriend?
  
• 
  
  
  Alexa, what number are you thinking of?
   
  There are more.  These were found on reddit
  
  
  

 

[NeverDie]

Was anything interesting learned from taking it apart?  I presume there's an ASIC or FPGA in there to manage the microphones, or was it all COTS?
 
IIRC, Polycom was the first to solve the echo cancellation problem caused by a speaker being near the microphones.  That technology is 20+ years old.  Or is the Echo actually half duplex (it doesn't listen while it's talking)?   Regardless, array microphones aren't new either.  Therefore, I'm wondering what it is about Echo that makes it better than other attempts, or is the hardware in some sense generic and the special part is entirely in the cloud?  i.e. What kind of secret sauce is the Echo using that makes it so much better than the rest?

 

[wkearney99]

Another one, ask it a joke.  "Alexa, why was six afraid of seven?"
 
Or a lot of other popular jokes, it'll come back with the punchline.
 
One other interesting bit, the android app is capable of playing back the audio of whatever it used to do the recognition.  I was puzzled to see "window film" on my shopping list.  Couldn't remember adding that.  Hmmm, played it back... oh, "window FOAM".  As in, the lightly-expanding kind used to seal around windows.  Right, I shouted that up to the Echo when I was downstairs in the workshop.  

 

[ano]

Another one, ask it a joke.  "Alexa, why was six afraid of seven?"
 
Or a lot of other popular jokes, it'll come back with the punchline.
 
One other interesting bit, the android app is capable of playing back the audio of whatever it used to do the recognition.  I was puzzled to see "window film" on my shopping list.  Couldn't remember adding that.  Hmmm, played it back... oh, "window FOAM".  As in, the lightly-expanding kind used to seal around windows.  Right, I shouted that up to the Echo when I was downstairs in the workshop.  

One feature they have to work on is getting rid of duplicates in the shopping list. If you put an item on the list 10 times, it will contain it 10 times, even if it is exactly the same.

 

[123]

Call me curmudgeonly but I'd trade away 3, no, 4 dozen "clever" quips for the simple intelligence to ask if I really wanted to place yet another order for the same item.  Strange development priorities, Team Amazon; having Alexa respond to "Who you gonna call?" is amusing once but robotically ordering duplicates is irksome always.

 

[pete_c]

Tear down stuff.
 
Here's what's powering the Echo:

• 
  Texas Instruments DM3725CUS100 Digital Media Processor
  
• 
  Samsung K4X2G323PD-8GD8 256 MB LPDDR1 RAM
  
• 
  SanDisk SDIN7DP2-4G 4 GB iNAND Ultra Flash Memory
  
• 
  Qualcomm Atheros QCA6234X-AM2D Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Module
  
• 
  Texas Instruments TPS65910A1 Integrated Power Management IC
  

Speakers are all well and good, but Alexa's true mouthpiece is the swivel-top volume control and light ring. Alexa acknowledges a voice command by changing the LEDs pointing toward you from blue to...lighter blue.
 
The volume dial contains the user-interactive bits: the top portion spins freely, using a greased-up gear to turn an encoder......which you can also control via voice command.
 
Pro tip: take the Echo out of its protective plastic covering before attempting volume level 10.
 
The reflex port, also known as a bass reflex system, boosts the bass while minimizing distortion.
 
Amazon Echo Repairability Score: 7 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)

• 
  The speakers (the components most likely to fail) are replaceable.
  
• 
  Separating components across three circuit boards improves modularity.
  
• 
  Adhesive is used in two places—the rubber foot, and the fabric shroud. Removing the shroud requires a knife, and you'll need to tape it back together.
  
• 
  This is a fairly complex device—and with no repair documentation available, reassembly is especially difficult.