Integration with Amazon Echo

Posted on
Sun May 03, 2015 7:43 pm
Dewster35 offline
Posts: 1030
Joined: Jul 06, 2010
Location: Petoskey, MI

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

This seems really interesting. Anyone else have anything to add now that it's been out for awhile?

Posted on
Fri May 22, 2015 4:15 pm
chrismenke offline
Posts: 9
Joined: Dec 27, 2013

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

One of my colleagues is contributing to this:

https://github.com/armzilla/amazon-echo-ha-bridge

Set up a fake Hue hub, listen for echo hue commands, forward to Indigo. I'll have an Echo on Tuesday to test it.

Posted on
Thu Jun 25, 2015 9:29 am
duanel offline
Posts: 21
Joined: Apr 09, 2012

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

Amazon just announced a toolkit of APIs for extending the capabilities of the Echo: Alexa Skills Kit (ASK): https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/alexa/alexa-skills-kit

This is probably our best option to create a full Indigo integration. Lambda skills are simple, internal-logic handlers (pre-scripted responses to questions, etc.). Web services allow external system integration, so that would be our best bet. More details about web service integrations are here: https://developer.amazon.com/public/solutions/alexa/alexa-skills-kit/docs/developing-an-alexa-skill-as-a-web-service

Posted on
Thu Jun 25, 2015 9:46 am
colovin offline
Posts: 173
Joined: Oct 27, 2009

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

This is great. I don't know anything about what it takes to create plugins, I don't have that skill set. If you need a video about it, I'm your guy :-) Hopefully some of the gifted computer coders on here will be able to do something with this because the Echo is really neat. I've gotten some WeMo modules to integrate with the Echo and that system is kind of interesting also. Would be nice if Indigo could talk to WeMo also if not with a plugin then through the Echo.

Indigo 7.1.1, OS 10.14.6, MacMini .3.2 GHz 6 Intel Core i7, 64 GB ram

Posted on
Thu Jun 25, 2015 10:01 am
greenhornet offline
Posts: 61
Joined: Jan 22, 2011

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

There has been so much progress between IFTTT and Echo that I've put any expectations for an Indigo plugin on hold. You can [almost] do anything you want with the Echo at this point by using IFTTT.

Posted on
Thu Jun 25, 2015 10:10 am
RogueProeliator offline
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Joined: Nov 13, 2012
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

This is probably our best option to create a full Indigo integration. Lambda skills are simple, internal-logic handlers (pre-scripted responses to questions, etc.). Web services allow external system integration, so that would be our best bet.

I took a very quick browse... the web service (or Lambda for that matter) seems pretty easy to implement - from the couple of functions I browsed the API is relatively straight forward and documented and the interaction looks, at first glance, to be reasonably easy to create.

One thing I did not see in any of the examples is how to identify the user -- I easily could have missed it, but would have to associate a user with an Indigo account (most likely a reflector since you are going to the outside for the conversation) and user credentials. Gathering the info could easily be done via a plugin, but associating the skill/command/conversation with that connectivity info when you speak is, quite obviously, a bit important! I'm sure it is in there, just have to find it...

Supporting a web service to their requirements will cost some money - but I see they have an Alexa Fund to help fund development and such; wonder if it is worth approaching them -- a long shot probably since the market is smaller with Indigo compared to some of their others but then again wouldn't need much money to run a web service...

Adam

Posted on
Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:35 am
colovin offline
Posts: 173
Joined: Oct 27, 2009

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

There has been so much progress between IFTTT and Echo that I've put any expectations for an Indigo plugin on hold. You can [almost] do anything you want with the Echo at this point by using IFTTT.


Can you put up an example of an IFTTT event?

Indigo 7.1.1, OS 10.14.6, MacMini .3.2 GHz 6 Intel Core i7, 64 GB ram

Posted on
Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:55 am
hdfreak offline
Posts: 19
Joined: Jan 01, 2015

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

Maybe I'm missing things on IFTTT, but the recipes I see are pretty worthless (i.e., make my Nest temperature one specific temp when anything is added to my Echo "to do" list).

Would love to see some more advanced integration into Indigo so that "turn off bedroom lights" or similar commands could be interpreted and sent to Insteon devices.

Posted on
Thu Jun 25, 2015 12:09 pm
chrismenke offline
Posts: 9
Joined: Dec 27, 2013

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

hdfreak wrote:
Maybe I'm missing things on IFTTT, but the recipes I see are pretty worthless (i.e., make my Nest temperature one specific temp when anything is added to my Echo "to do" list).

Would love to see some more advanced integration into Indigo so that "turn off bedroom lights" or similar commands could be interpreted and sent to Insteon devices.


Have a look at this.
https://github.com/armzilla/amazon-echo-ha-bridge

I'm currently doing exactly what you're asking and have been for weeks. You need to make some small tweaks to the code for better error handling, but I have "turn on" and "turn off" as my action words (like the Hue). Alexa, turn on the hallway light makes that happen. Alexa, turn on bedtime mode makes that happen. Alexa, turn on my wife is still not working.

Because web based calls to Indigo issue a 302 rather than a 200 you will need to add 302 to the success clause. Still some things issue Alexa's failure speech even though the action succeeds.

Documentation of adding variables via post is pretty poor, but once you get it it makes sense.

Posted on
Thu Jun 25, 2015 1:19 pm
Chameleon offline
Posts: 611
Joined: Oct 04, 2014

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

I'm waiting with bated breath for Amazon to release the Echo in the UK - there isn't much point importing one as it doesn't do that much over here yet. When it's released I'm looking forward to writing a plug in for it because I think it could be a real cool addition to my indigo set up.

Trouble is.... I'm waiting for Google - again! Just like I had to do for the NEST. Still time will cure all :D

BTW two things - you can join together the NEST Home plugin and Hue plugin to do some wonderful things. Also I agree the IFTTT integration isn't great at the moment - I just wish that IFTTT Maker was more secure = oh well :|

Mike

Posted on
Thu Jul 02, 2015 4:49 pm
hdfreak offline
Posts: 19
Joined: Jan 01, 2015

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

Matt/Jay,

Now that an official API has been released (along with 100 million in incentives for developers), do you see any possibility of an official Indigo plugin in our future?

Thanks for considering it.

(and I'm right down the way from you in San Antonio, so I'd be happy to loan you one if it helps with the development.)

Brian

Posted on
Fri Jul 03, 2015 9:25 am
jay (support) offline
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Location: Austin, Texas

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

The most we can say at this point is that it's interesting... ;)

Jay (Indigo Support)
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Posted on
Wed Jul 08, 2015 5:16 pm
wideglidejrp offline
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Posts: 555
Joined: Jan 15, 2012
Location: Danbury, CT

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

I got my Echo today and am quite impressed. It is a natural for Indigo. Add me to the list of those anxious to try it out. With the new Multisensor 6 and the Echo, technology is getting very powerful and useful. I am starting a new book on Home Automation later this summer and hope to be able to include a chapter about using Echo with Indigo.

John R Patrick
Author of
Home Attitude

Posted on
Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:23 pm
discgolfer1138 offline
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Posts: 45
Joined: Jul 28, 2011
Location: Golden, CO

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

I was able to successfully trick the echo into talking to Indigo using the amazon-echo-ha-bridge.
It is a java app that emulates a uPnP device hub and intercepts the communication coming from the echo.

I then set up a fake Hue device that pointed to Indigo's REST endpoints for the device I wanted to control.

Here is a link to the repo for amazon-echo-ha-bridge: https://github.com/armzilla/amazon-echo-ha-bridge

here is an example of the config JSON:

Code: Select all
{
"name" : "living room light",
"deviceType" : "switch",
  "onUrl" : "http://username:password@192.168.1.2:8176/devices/Living%20Room%20Switch?isOn=1&_method=put",
  "offUrl" : "http://username:password@192.168.1.2:8176/devices/Living%20Room%20Switch?isOn=0&_method=put"
}


Ultimately, I'd like to port the ha bridge to node.js as I hate Java. I already wrote a node.js module for communicating with Indigo, so it'll give me a chance to dust that off as well :)
(node js module is here: [url]https://github.com/discgolfer1138/indigo-client[url])

Indigo 6.1.0 | Mac Mini | OS 10.10.3 (Yosemite)
Fork Me on GitHub!

Posted on
Sat Jul 11, 2015 8:32 am
lmh@cox.net offline
Posts: 30
Joined: Mar 28, 2012

Re: Integration with Amazon Echo

I just got my Echo yesterday and would certainly welcome any way to integrate Indigo with it.

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