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HELPSTATIONSIMPLIFYINGHOMEAUTOMATIONAMAZON ALEXA
http://www.amazon.com
Amazon is virtually giving away the Echo these
days, hoping to lock you into service
subscriptions and shopping deals. The
miniature Echo Dot can be bought for as little
as $70, and is still fully capable of home
automation with full access to all the features of
the Alexa voice assistant.
There are Alexa apps and voice controls for a
hugenumberofdevicesnow,andAlexanow
comeswithitsownbuilt-inautomationtool:
Routines.Routinescanbeaccessedonthe
Alexamobileappbytappingonthesidebarand
selectingRoutines.
Routinesareverysimplescriptscomprising
ofa triggerandoneormoreactions.Thetrigger
canbea time,a voicecommand,inputfroma
smartdevice(suchasa motionsensor)oreven
yourcurrentlocation.Theactioncanbeoneof
a myriadofoptions:sendingmessages,playing
music,havingAlexasaysomething,changing
devicessettingsandsoon.
Forhomeautomationpurposes,youcan
selectSmartHomeintheactionoptions,which
willbringupa listofdevicesonyourhome
network.AnythatAlexacancontrolshouldbe
listedhere,andyoucansettheoptionsthat
device(turnon,dim,startandsoon).
APPLEHOMEKIT
http://www.apple.com/au/ios/home/
Applewasa bitlatetotheparty,butit has
caughtupquickly.Apple’sHomeKittechnology
is capableofcontrollinga largeandgrowing
rangeofdevices,includingTVs,power
switches,lights,airconditioners,cameras,
doorbells,garagedoors,motionsensors,
speakersandmore.Youcanfinda fulllistof
supporteddevicesat thewebsiteabove.
Youdon’tneedanythingotherthananiPad
touseHomeKit,thoughif you’regoinginon
theecosystemyou’reprobablygoingtowanta
HomePod,whichis Apple’sanswertothe
GoogleHomeandAmazonEcho.
AttheheartofHomeKitis theHomeapp,
whichgivesyouaninstantviewofallthe
connectedsmartdevicesinyourhome,
allowingyoutoseetheirstatusandcontrol
themremotely.JustfireuptheapponyouriOS
deviceandtapAddAccessorytoattachnew
devicetoit.Youcanalsocreate“Scenes”– a set
ofpre-configuredconditionsforattached
accessories(suchasdimthebedroomlight,
turnthebedroomTVon).
TappingontheAutomationtabwilltakeyou
towheretherealmagichappens.Muchlike
Amazon’sRoutines,youcancreatea newscript
(calledan“Automation”intheapp)comprising
ofa triggeranda respondingScene.
It’sa veryusableappoverall,thoughnotas
powerfulorflexibleasAmazonorGoogle’s
Routines,anda simplewaytogetstartedon
homeautomation.GOOGLEASSISTANT
store.google.com/product/google_home
AvailableontheGoogleHomevoiceassistant
wellaslatermodelsofAndroidphones,
Google’sAssistantallowsfordirectcontrolof
homedevicesthroughanappinterface,aswell
asthecreationofhighlyflexibleroutinesto
automatethosedevices.It hastheaddedbenefit
ofworkingwitha verywiderangeofdevices,includingtheChromecast.It workswellwithapps
suchasSpotifyandaswellaswiththirdparty
automationtoolslikeIFTTT.
AlthoughnewversionsofAndroidhave
automationhooksbuiltintocertainfeatureslike
thecalendarandschedulingtools,yourgo-toapp
willbetheGoogleHomeapp,availablefor
downloadonAndroidandiOS.TheHomeapp,
likeAppleHome,letsyoucontroldevicesandset
routines.It’snotaselegantaseithertheAppleor
Amazonsolutions,butit is extremelyflexibleonce
yougeta grasponit.
InGoogleHome,yousetupyourdevicesfirst,
linkingthemtoyourGoogleaccount.Thenyou
cantaponRoutinestocreatenewroutines.If
you’redoingthisonanAndroiddeviceandhave
noGoogleHomevoiceassistant,youroptionsare
quitelimited– youcanreallyonlyusevoice
commandsasthetrigger.Butif youhavea Google
Homedevice,thenyoucansettriggersbasedon
timeorondevicestatusandinput(suchas
motionsensed).
Whenit comestoactions,GoogleHomehasa
hugeamountofflexibility,includingplaying
mediaoncapabledevices.Investthetime,and
GoogleHomecandosomeprettyamazing
things.THEOTHERS
Althoughthebigthreehavecometodominatethe
marketforconsumerautomation,thereareplenty
ofotheroptionsaswell.DevicemakersLogitech
(withHarmony)andSamsung(with
SmartThings)havetheirownplatformswith
someuniquesellingpoints– SmartThingsoffers
high-levelcontroloverheavyhomeappliances
likewashersandfridges,forexample.Thenthere
arecompanieslikeecobee,WinkandInsteonthat
offertheirownplatforms.
Meanwhile,therearethirdpartyautomation
appslikeIFTTT(IfThisThenThat)thatallow
youtosetupverycomplexsystemsif you’vea
mind,andwe’llbecoveringthosemuchmoreina
futureissue.Google Home has tons of trigger options. Tap ‘+’ to
add more.The HomePod is a bit of a latecomer, but when it comes
to smart home control it’s a strong player.You’ll need a Google Home device to get the most out of
Google Assistant.