HouseBot Google Assistant / Google Home Control

HouseBot and Google Assistant / Google Home

Requirements

HouseBot Version 3.42 or newer.
A My HouseBot.com account

Setup

Install HouseBot version 3.42 or greater.
Create an account on the My HouseBot.com portal.
Follow the setup instructions on My HouseBot.com to enable your HouseBot application to connect to the portal.
Link your account to HouseBot from the Google Assistant.
- On your phone, start the Google Home app.
- Tap the + symbol in the top left corner
- Select Set up device
- Select the linking option under Works with Google
- Select HouseBot Connect from the list of Home Control providers.
- Log in using the same email and password used to setup the My HouseBot.com account.

Using HouseBot with Google Assistant

To address HouseBot, always start with Ok Google...

Google Assistant can control any HouseBot Device, Task^*, or Mode.

Speak very clearly so Google Assistant can understand every word. Also, it might be helpful to name your HouseBot Devices, Tasks^*, and Modes using words that are easier for Google Assistant to understand. If having problems, see Improving Google Assistant Recognition below.

If devices are added or deleted from HouseBot, tell Google Home to "Sync My Devices" to update the device list in Google Home.

TURN ON / OFF

Any HouseBot Device that has a Power State property will respond to Google Assistant ON/OFF commands. To change the Power State property of lighting devices (to turn the on or off), use the TURN ON and TURN OFF phrases.

Ok Google, turn on the foyer light.
Ok Google, turn off the Back Porch Light.
Ok Google, switch on the sprinklers.
Ok Google, turn on the projector.

DIMMING

To change the Dim Level property of lighting devices, ask Google Assistant to SET or DIM the Device by a percentage.

Ok Google, DIM the living room lamp to 50 percent.
Ok Google, SET the fan to 75 percent.
Ok Google, TURN the Lamp in the Hallway to 100 Percent.
Ok Google, CHANGE the Kitchen Light to 100 Percent.

BLINDS / CURTAINS

To Open or Close the Blind/Curtain State property of a device, ask Google Assistant to OPEN or CLOSE the Device. A percentage can also be specified if the Device has a Percentage Property setup.

Ok Google, CLOSE the Living Room Blinds.
Ok Google, OPEN the LIving Room Blinds to 50% down.
Ok Google, OPEN the Garage Door.
Ok Google, are my blinds open?

Modes

HouseBot Modes are confugured as Scenes in Google Assistant. To enable a Mode, ask Google Assistant to ACTIVATE or DEACTIVATE the Mode.

Ok Google, ACTIVATE party mode.
Ok Google, DEACTIVATE night mode.

(*)Tasks are controlled with the Execute Task HouseBot Device. For more information on this Device, see Execute Task Device below.

Execute Task Device

Google Assistant is good at turning things ON and OFF, but doesn't know how to EXECUTE something like a Task. One way to work around this and be able to execute your HouseBot Tasks is to use the new Execute Task Device. This Device will allow you to setup a Task for the ON action and OFF action of the Device. For example, if you have a Task to Play DVD and another to Shutdown Entertainment System, you can create an Execute Task Device and setup these two Tasks as the ON and OFF actions for the [DVD] Device. Then all you need to do is say:

Ok Google, turn on the DVD.
Ok Google, turn off the DVD.

Improving Google Assistant Recognition

Sometimes, due to the names that were chosen for Devices and Modes when setting up your HouseBot configuration, Google Assistant has a hard time matching the spoken name to the name configured in HouseBot. Sometimes it's just easier to speak a simpler term for something rather than a more verbose name that was used to create the item in HouseBot. For these cases, it is easy to setup an alias that will be used as the Device or Mode name instead. Aliases are simply alternate names for Devices and Modes that are returned to Google Assistant during the device discovery phase. The HouseBot online help has specific information on how to setup Aliases.