Google Home issues resolved with automation bridge

[sarf77 9]

I managed to get GH working with Fibaro in australia for a short time. It was clunky and annoying having to say "hey google" "talk to fibaro" "turn on kitchen light" ... Just painful. It didnt heart me half the time (although it seems more my voice than anything as if I pitch up it hears me). Then..... it lost connection to Fibaro and wouldnt connect.

 

I installed an automation bridge in about ten minutes and it became awesome. Its fast and responsive. I am now using siri more as its almost instant and just hit the button to speak without having to say "siri" . GH has its place still for music etc but the voice commands on siri are better.

 

The big difference??? The automation bridge. Get on it. It makes it simple.

[nicopret 15]

Which automation bridge are you using?

[sarf77 9]

Hi Nicopret, Skaro technology is the manufacturer here in Aus.

[Akshay 0]

Hi Smarterelec, Can you please tell me how this Automation Bridge works? and Which OS has installed in this bridge?

Really forward to know about this Automation Bridge from Skaro technology!

 

Thanks

Edited June 28, 2018 by Akshay

[AtomicGrog 0]

It's a hardware device from what i can see. (https://www.skaro.com.au/) another $200 to the mix, for me not viable.. adding $200 to get a $80 device up and running is a bit whacked

[sarf77 9]

Hi Akshay,

 

Its essentially a ras PI that sits on your local network. As described when I spoke with the developer and distributor separately, it takes the commands that would normally be sent to the cloud and keeps them in house. This decreases the delay massively because its only bouncing around your local network. I run Google home, Alexa and ios through it for different evaluation purposes. It can also be used to create GUI s and I'm sure that fellas much smarter than me have other uses for it

[Akshay 0]

Hi Smarterelec

Ok, I understood I am also using the ras pi with HA Bridge, but my question is "Is it using the same HA  Bridge in Skaro Technology"?

Thanks for u fast replies.

[Guest fat]

The HA Bridge by Skaro is basically a reskinned version of the free HA Bridge by BWS Systems on a Pi in a nice case

 

It has a few tweaks to the software to make it look nice and to make it very user friendly

Edited August 2, 2018 by fat

[Akshay 0]

[Produno 15]

Can everything on the HC2 be controlled by Siri in this way?

[matt1981 37]

this is a a lot more than the "free HA Bridge by BWS Systems on a Pi in a nice case." its exactly what fibaro's integration "should have been".  it finds all your z-wave devices on your network without any coding.  your grandma that has no idea was a smartphone is, could set this thing up.  its stupid easy... ive had my bridge from @skarotech for roughly a year and its ridiculously easy to use and find devices.  it works with both android and iOS devices. it allows you to use "any" z-wave device and make it activate via voice. it treats it like a light so you can turn on the front door as i have and opens my door. i can turn on lights, etc the way google google was "supposed" to be used, unlike fibaro's lazy integration of using actions... 

 

[skarotech 5]

On 8/2/2018 at 3:35 PM, fat said:

The HA Bridge by Skaro is basically a reskinned version of the free HA Bridge by BWS Systems on a Pi in a nice case

 

It has a few tweaks to the software to make it look nice and to make it very user friendly

Hi Everyone,

 

We do not use HA-Bridge at all, the Google and Alexa integration is built using their native platforms and has been certified by both, which is why is fast and can support more than just lights. iOS Homekit however is still based on the opensource Homebridge but with custom components on top to provide the device type support, ie Garage Doors, HVAC, Temperature & Motion sensors.

 

The other feature it has, is that it can integrate other modules (Harmony Hub, Nanoleaf, Bose, Sonos, GlobalCache and working on more) doing all the hard work and even creating the VD for you in Fibaro with all the action objects.

 

Happy to answer any questions via PM.

 

[AutoFrank 369]

Does the skaro-bridge allow for a broader range of Alex a commands or is it limited to what's available on the HA bridge ( hue emulation)  turn on, turn off and set level ? 

[SBSD 3]

We have been using the Skaro Automationbridge for a while now and have it with some customers in Mumbai-Pune.. its fantastic and everything as what @matt1981 and @skarotech have mentioned above! Its made me and my customers love the smart home setup, all over again! Havent seen a setup enabled with Siri, Google Home & Alexa - at the same time and so easy & super efficiently!

(SBS Dimensions - India)

Mumbai/Pune

[email protected]

 

[mioiox 3]

@skarotech, I am not sure I get it right. I am wondering how it's working because I have issues (like many others) with Alexa timing out when sending commands to my HC2 ("Sorry, the device * is not available). And I want to know how will your device eliminate the root cause if it will still use the Amazon's cloud service and its connectivity to my home (since that seems to be the case with the native integration between Alexa and Fibaro).

 

Correct me if I am wrong, please - the automationbridge (AB) itself is not a controller, but it has interfaces to HC2 and many cloud services - Alexa, Homekit, Harmony, etc. Does the AB speak directly with their endpoints (that sit at home - e.g., Echo dots) or it is still going through the cloud services? Also, if it's not a controller, all my z-wave endpoints (e.g., fibaro dimmers) should still be added to my HC2 and all the automation logic will stay within the HC2, shouldn't they?

 

Looking forward to your answer!

[skarotech 5]

Hi @mioiox, my bridge also uses the Amazon cloud, there is no way any more to have a 'local only' connection between Alexa & devices. Without knowing the exact cause of your 'device not available' issue, I cannot say that the bridge will fix this, as it may be an internet connectivity issue. However in saying that to date I have had no issues with the Amazon cloud and connectivity like you mention, even with bridges all around the world and my base server here in Australia.

 

You are correct, the bridge is not a controller, but interfaces to HC2/HCL to publish its devices, and to integrate 3rd party devices.

 

The communication path is like this,

ECHO DOT <-> AMAZON <-> AUTOMATIONBRIDGE CLOUD <-> AUTOMATIONBRIDGE (LOCAL) <-> FIBARO

 

Response times are usually 2-3 seconds, for the entire process.

[mioiox 3]

Hi @skarotech, sorry for not answering earlier. This diagram is exactly the way I was thinking it works, thank you. It's great you didn't have any issues with delays so far and I can only hope that, in case they appear (which is a matter of time, I suspect - depending on the number of active users you have), you will act proactively and scale your cloud service/base server. Unlike other vendors here and there, cough  

 

May I just ask something additional, as it's not clear to me. How are my (HC2's) devices and scenes seen by Alexa? Some kind of mapping is created, I believe? But how is it updated when I add new device or scene?

 

Thanks again!

[sarf77 9]

On 12/13/2018 at 9:16 PM, mioiox said:

Hi @skarotech, sorry for not answering earlier. This diagram is exactly the way I was thinking it works, thank you. It's great you didn't have any issues with delays so far and I can only hope that, in case they appear (which is a matter of time, I suspect - depending on the number of active users you have), you will act proactively and scale your cloud service/base server. Unlike other vendors here and there, cough  

 

May I just ask something additional, as it's not clear to me. How are my (HC2's) devices and scenes seen by Alexa? Some kind of mapping is created, I believe? But how is it updated when I add new device or scene?

 

Thanks again!

 When you make device changes or scene changes you simply hit the refresh button in the bridge and it updates.

 

Google is good, Alexa is great but recently I'm trialing siri and its AWESOME. Fast .. very fast through the Automation bridge.

[FonsBrand 6]

On 12/9/2018 at 10:10 PM, skarotech said:

Hi @mioiox, my bridge also uses the Amazon cloud, there is no way any more to have a 'local only' connection between Alexa & devices. Without knowing the exact cause of your 'device not available' issue, I cannot say that the bridge will fix this, as it may be an internet connectivity issue. However in saying that to date I have had no issues with the Amazon cloud and connectivity like you mention, even with bridges all around the world and my base server here in Australia.

 

You are correct, the bridge is not a controller, but interfaces to HC2/HCL to publish its devices, and to integrate 3rd party devices.

 

The communication path is like this,

ECHO DOT <-> AMAZON <-> AUTOMATIONBRIDGE CLOUD <-> AUTOMATIONBRIDGE (LOCAL) <-> FIBARO

 

Response times are usually 2-3 seconds, for the entire process.

 

On the site you can only order from Australia and New Zeeland.

How can I order from The Netherlands?

 

Thx,

Fons

[krizso 1]

On 8/18/2018 at 11:26 PM, skarotech said:

Hi Everyone,

 

We do not use HA-Bridge at all, the Google and Alexa integration is built using their native platforms and has been certified by both, which is why is fast and can support more than just lights. iOS Homekit however is still based on the opensource Homebridge but with custom components on top to provide the device type support, ie Garage Doors, HVAC, Temperature & Motion sensors.

 

The other feature it has, is that it can integrate other modules (Harmony Hub, Nanoleaf, Bose, Sonos, GlobalCache and working on more) doing all the hard work and even creating the VD for you in Fibaro with all the action objects.

 

Happy to answer any questions via PM.

 

Hi!

 

@skarotech I'm using Fibaro HC2 as well and I have Google Home Assistant. I have just linked Fibaro Smart Home into Google Home app and it seems to be working, because Google has discovered all of my devices, and could control them.

But, when I say "OK Google talk to Fibaro" Google answers me "It looks like Fibaro account is not linked...".

So I couldn't start any scene via voice command with Google. 

 

So that's why I will start reading about HomeBridge solutions, but I would be more than happy if the native link worked properly.