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    Short Commands & Virtual Device

    I just picked up a SEL controller for Christmas and hooked up a few switches in my house to use it. I can control them all flawlessly from the web interface, the app and even the JSON api.

    Now I'd like to use my voice. I would like to keep the commands as simple as possible, so not saying "tell Homeseer" is a must. It seems like the easiest way to do this and fire events are through Virtual Devices.

    So I've got a few added, All Lights, Kitchen Area, even one to turn Chromecast On (although I don't have any IR blasters so it's just dimming some lights for now).

    It seems like I'm about to create a ton of virtual devices and events to go along with them. Which I suppose isn't necessarily a bad thing. Is this the best way to be handling voice automation? Can I automate adding/removing devices and events?

    I saw the script from Jon00 but it looks like that requires the "tell Homeseer" prefix that I don't want to use.

    #2
    Hi holmes,

    Welcome to the forums. Is your "CA" location Canada or California? Just checking as I'm in NorCal.

    I'm in a similar situation in that I've just deployed 6 x echo dots this past weekend and I'm just starting to "train" the family on how to use them. My wife for the most part has been supportive of the effort with one exception. When I told her not to worry... Alexa was fully programmable my wife responded "she better be because I'm not". I think virtual devices is the best way to get short commands along with events to manage things but I'm not sure if event actions or scripts are the best way to do what I want.

    Things that I'm working on are A/V related but I'll be working on lighting scenes soon after.

    Here's my task list:

    - Turn on kitchen|backyard speakers
    - Turn off kitchen|backyard speakers
    - Set kitchen|backyard volume to <value>
    - Play xxx in kitchen|backyard (this is the toughest one so far)

    These tasks are currently controlled with an HSTouch screen but it's not as convenient as voice control.

    Let me know what kind of things you want to do and I'll come up with some suggestions.

    --Ken
    "if I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." --Sir Isaac Newton (1675)

    Comment


      #3
      Virtual Devices

      I am interesting in a step by step process to setting up a virtual device that will trigger an event. IE turning audio on and off.

      Comment


        #4
        The "tell Homeseer" part does suck, but the home automation API that doesn't require you to say that is very limited. You can turn lights on and off, thats about it.

        You can change the name of homeseer to whatever you want (like Jarvis if you so dare), so it would be "Tell Jarvis", there are instructions floating somewhere on this forum for the custom homeseer skill.

        Also with Jon's scripts, you can code responses back (I posted a video in the thread about the scripts to show this in action) and have a conversation that makes it more robust, as well as run events just based off whatever you want to say... Alexa, tell homeseer to close the garage door... Alexa, tell homeseer its cold in here... as examples without having to say run event blah blah.

        The cool thing about once you get the scripts setup, just have it look for trigger words, not the whole phrase you are expecting. Your wife will tell alexa in a different way than you do to turn on the kitchen lights and this will help greatly in adoption of the technology. Personally I have different scripts for different functions, example being the lights. I use a trigger word of "kitchen" to jump start the script... and then it passes the phrase said and then I look for on/off words, and act accordingly. So you could say Alexa, tell homeseer to turn off the kitchen lights... and your wife could say Tell Homeseer I want the kitchen lights off you dummy... and the action would be the same. This also allows you to be a little more natural with what you are saying. You can use virtual devices to control events, but does it really seem cool to say "Alexa, turn off garage door" to close it? Let alone, this pretty much makes sure you have to know the complete list of phrases without any deviation in what is said... which will get complicated to remember as your system and usage grows.

        Comment


          #5
          Hi Holmes, (and greetings to kenm from San Carlos, CA (Nor Cal)

          Yes, Jon00's script still relies on "Tell Homeseer/Ask Homeseer" but it really makes setting triggers to run scripts and operating devices much easier. I strongly encourage you to give it a go.

          - Jim -
          My home is smarter than your honor roll student.

          Comment


            #6
            Hi all,

            I'm from Cali as well (Walnut Creek).

            I'm Echo-less so this isn't really a big deal for now. I plan on going Google Home in the future, so don't really want to waste time/money setting up Alexa just to tear it all down.

            The big things I'd like to be able to do via voice:
            • Watch [cable/chromecast] in [outside/family room/office/kitchen]
            • Manage lights
            • Run arbitrary events.


            For me I'd be happy if I could just map voice commands to custom events. So sounds like I'll have to use Jon00's script.

            I wonder what clever name I can call the house that won't seem too forced.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by holmes View Post
              Hi all,

              I'm from Cali as well (Walnut Creek).

              I'm Echo-less so this isn't really a big deal for now. I plan on going Google Home in the future, so don't really want to waste time/money setting up Alexa just to tear it all down.

              The big things I'd like to be able to do via voice:
              • Watch [cable/chromecast] in [outside/family room/office/kitchen]
              • Manage lights
              • Run arbitrary events.


              For me I'd be happy if I could just map voice commands to custom events. So sounds like I'll have to use Jon00's script.

              I wonder what clever name I can call the house that won't seem too forced.
              FYI, his scripts are strictly for Echo, they won't work with built in VR of Homeseer or Google Home.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by billbingaman View Post
                I am interesting in a step by step process to setting up a virtual device that will trigger an event. IE turning audio on and off.
                Hi Bill,

                I'll start a new thread on this topic and post a link to it in this thread. Using virtual devices to trigger events is more generic than just for the Echo.

                EDIT: Here's the link https://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=186377

                Ken
                Last edited by kenm; January 4, 2017, 03:29 PM.
                "if I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." --Sir Isaac Newton (1675)

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by waynehead99 View Post
                  The "tell Homeseer" part does suck, but the home automation API that doesn't require you to say that is very limited. You can turn lights on and off, thats about it..
                  The API is a lot more flexible than that. With dimmable virtual devices that trigger events, you can do just about anything. I have a virtual device called Channel for my TV, which I control with GCIR and XBMC plugins. With the right events that activate the GCIR and XBMC devices, I can tell Alexa to turn the TV on/off, mute the sound, control the volume, and change the channels. With a virtual device for my A/V receiver and the GCIR plugin, I can select audio/video source, control volume, select zones, etc.

                  It's all in how you set up the virtual device and the events that you want to trigger. You may be limited in what voice commands you can use, but you should be able to control just about anything this way.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by waynehead99 View Post
                    The "tell Homeseer" part does suck, but the home automation API that doesn't require you to say that is very limited. You can turn lights on and off, thats about it.
                    Originally posted by will.i.am View Post
                    The API is a lot more flexible than that. With dimmable virtual devices that trigger events, you can do just about anything. I have a virtual device called Channel for my TV, which I control with GCIR and XBMC plugins. With the right events that activate the GCIR and XBMC devices, I can tell Alexa to turn the TV on/off, mute the sound, control the volume, and change the channels. With a virtual device for my A/V receiver and the GCIR plugin, I can select audio/video source, control volume, select zones, etc.

                    It's all in how you set up the virtual device and the events that you want to trigger. You may be limited in what voice commands you can use, but you should be able to control just about anything this way.
                    There are many more commands with the Connected Home API. User AgileHumor posted a list here:
                    https://forums.homeseer.com/showpost...72&postcount=4
                    HS4Pro on a Raspberry Pi4
                    54 Z-Wave Nodes / 21 Zigbee Devices / 108 Events / 767 Devices
                    Plugins: Z-Wave / Zigbee Plus / EasyTrigger / AK Weather / OMNI

                    HSTouch Clients: 1 Android

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by will.i.am View Post
                      The API is a lot more flexible than that. With dimmable virtual devices that trigger events, you can do just about anything. I have a virtual device called Channel for my TV, which I control with GCIR and XBMC plugins. With the right events that activate the GCIR and XBMC devices, I can tell Alexa to turn the TV on/off, mute the sound, control the volume, and change the channels. With a virtual device for my A/V receiver and the GCIR plugin, I can select audio/video source, control volume, select zones, etc.

                      It's all in how you set up the virtual device and the events that you want to trigger. You may be limited in what voice commands you can use, but you should be able to control just about anything this way.
                      Hi Will,

                      Can you provide more details on how you control A/V sources with a virtual device? Do you just "set" the device to a value that translates to a source or do you have someway of naming the sources and using voice to set those names?

                      Thanks,
                      Ken
                      "if I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." --Sir Isaac Newton (1675)

                      Comment

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