Can’t hear that phone ring? Smart home to the rescue! – Stacey on IoT
On a recent Net of Points Podcast, we took a voicemail from Brian on our podcast hotline. His mom is an assisted living facility and doesn’t generally hear her telephone ring so he’s hunting for a option to that difficulty. Brian questioned if there’s some type of gadget he could link to his mother’s television that would show text on the display screen when her cellphone rings or when he texts her. We never know of a person but we do have some alternate solutions that could perform just as effectively.
It assists that Brian’s mom is already acquainted with Amazon Alexa. When residing at property, she utilised Alexa to voice regulate lights that should not attain, for illustration. So our believed is to incorporate that familiarity with Alexa in this condition. Even while the assisted living facility delivers and controls the wireless network, Brian’s mother really should be in a position to get an Echo unit related.
Assuming that’s the situation, a handful of notification selections are offered for when Brian calls his mother. The initially would be to set up a intelligent bulb around the tv, considering that his mother watches Television most of the time. Alexa performs with a range of bulbs that use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee and our suggestion is to use a Bluetooth bulb in this case. That would remove the want to established up a second product on the managed Wi-Fi community.
We’d propose a Philips Hue bulb due to the fact it does function with Bluetooth and gives the possibility in the long term to increase a Hue Bridge for Zigbee use. A essential white Hue intelligent bulb prices about $16 but if Brian preferred to truly get his mom’s interest, a coloured bulb may possibly be the greater, and a lot more expensive, choice. Assume to pay back all over $50 for a coloration Hue bulb, even though you can occasionally find them on sale for around $40.
This strategy wouldn’t be automatic, nevertheless. Brian would require to be on the exact same account as his mom’s Echo product. Then he would have to use his Alexa application to light up or flash the bulb.
Whilst Brian said his mom’s hearing is not great, he could also use his have Echo or Alexa app to “drop in” and discuss to his mom by way of her Echo. Once again, he would need to have to be on the Amazon Alexa account for his mom’s device.
But this way, he could access out to her via voice and her Echo would mild up as a sign. From there, he could just continue the discussion or inform his mom to decide up the mobile phone as he calls her.
A 3rd alternative would be for Brian to subscribe to the Amazon Together company, which is $19.99 for every month. This company is precisely for the sort of problem Brian’s mother is in. It will allow caregivers or household customers a way to supply distant care and keep track of people through an Echo. It might be overkill for this specific scenario, but Brian could remotely light up the “I’m seeking to get in touch with you” bulb without having remaining on the exact Amazon Alexa account as his mom.
Though Brian’s mom has an Iphone, there is a straightforward answer for those with Android telephones. Courtesy of one particular of our podcast listeners, Matt, we observed out about the Notifications for Android Tv application in the Google Enjoy Retailer. This application can force any or all photograph notifications to an Android Television set from an Android mobile phone.
To hear Brian’s question in entire, as perfectly as our discussion on the topic, tune in to the Online of Items Podcast under:
