I was looking for a solution to get my Fibaro HC3 to trigger an Alexa routine, it appears that only devices such as a contact or a motion sensor can be used as an Alexa routine trigger.
Then I watched a YouTube video by Brian from “Automate Your Life” where he makes a virtual device to interface between SmartThings and Alexa, in SmartThings it’s called a “Device handler” which I presume is similar to a Fibaro QuickApp. This consisted of a switch combined with a contact, when the switch is triggered the contact closes, this contact can be used to trigger an Alexa routine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=BqJ3cHHcNyc&feature=youtu.be
As I don’t know much about virtual devices in Fibaro controllers I thought maybe I can do the same with a physical device, such a Smart Implant FGBS-222 which incorporates switches and contacts. Out of the box triggering an input causes the output switch to change state, what I needed was the other way around.
In the setup I disconnected the inputs from the outputs then hard wired the inputs to the outputs so when the output relay switch is turned on from within HC3 the input is pulled to ground.
It works ! the input contact is now visible in Alexa routines as a trigger, now I can use a scene to turn on the output relay switch and this in turn activates the input contact and the Alexa routine.
The possibilities created by this are endless only limited by your imagination, from getting Alexa to read out messages to controlling other devices which Alexa has access to but Fibaro does not.
BUT
Smart Implant devices are expensive currently £35 on Amazon here in the UK
SO
All you programmers out there, is it possible to make a QuickApp with the same functionality ?