Unlocking Intuitive Voice Commands

IMAGINE IF YOU CONTROLLED YOUR HOME JUST BY SPEAKING.

Using a service like Amazon Alexa, you can link voice commands directly to your smart home's actions.

And we’re here to help you make the experience feel natural, intuitive, and genuinely helpful.

LINKING THE ALEXA APP IS EASY AND YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF.

• Firstly, you'll need an Alexa device - like the Echo Dot

• You can also easily just use your smart phone

• Simply set up the device, then open the Alexa app

• Select Smart Home from the menu

• Search for the Control4 Smart Home Skill and select Enable.

• Enter your Control4 account information to link your account to Alexa

• Select Accept to continue

• Select Discover Devices and Alexa will discover your devices (lights etc.)

That's it! Once discovered, your smart devices already have out-of -the-box, pre-programmed, voice controls that you can now use.

Try something like: "Alexa, turn off Dining Lights"

EASY, YES. BUT NATURAL? NO.

When building a smart home, our focus is to embrace technology and use it simplify our way of living. But let's face it, walking around saying things like: "Turn on, night time lights off scene" is unnatural, clunky and just, well, embarrassing.

(Even writing that sentence made my browser throw up red flags for incorrect sentence use).

Our goal is to move beyond the out-of-the-box commands.

That’s not how people talk and it’s not how your smart home should feel.

SO HOW DO WE FIX IT?

It's actually a really simple trick (or dare I say hack).

We first work out the intention behind the voice command:

• In this example, Wendy wants to use a simple voice command each night before bed to shut the whole hose down until morning.

She already has this feature setup in the form of a button on her Control4 or touch screen.

When pressed, the system will:

• Softly dim all the lights to off

• Close blinds

• turn of media devices (TVs, Music)

• lock the doors

• and arm the perimeter of the home

Wendy calls this scene: "Goodnight"

So the Alexa app, intuitively accesses this command without any further programming. Wendy could simply say: "Alexa, turn on goodnight" and the routine would begin.

But let's do it better!

Within the Alexa app, you can create custom phases that Alexa will listen out for and then execute specific commands. These are called "Routines".

So instead, Wendy says:

“Alexa, we’re going to bed.”

Alexa replies with a warm good night, then sets in motion Wendy's evening routine - the goodnight scene.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

So because already has access to this custom scene via Wendy's Control4 system. The hard work is already done. Wendy is simply making the link between it and a custom voice command/phrase. This gives you a whole new way of interacting with your AI assistant, much more natural, more like an actual conversation rather that a robotic command.

SO I'VE CUSTOMISED MY PHRASE. NOW ITS PERFECT, RIGHT?

To be honest, it’s not always perfectly smooth. Even though you've customised the voice command, sometimes it feels like the device misunderstood you or is acting on its own.

But rest assured—it’s not.

What’s really happening is that it’s doing its best to interpret the countless ways we speak, matching them against the phrases it’s been trained on. Since everyone speaks differently (and even our own speech varies throughout the day), it’s a tough challenge to get it exactly right every time.

HOW TO ENSURE SUCCESS

So when our pronunciation shifts, Alexa can have a hard time keeping up.

With a few quick adjustments in the Alexa app, we tailor Wendy’s voice commands phonetically to align more closely with her natural speech patterns.

Before, Wendy would say: “Alexa, we’re going to bed.”

—spoken clearly, by the book, and most of the time Alexa would understand.

After, she actually says: “Alexa, wair goin' ta bed” (much closer to how Wendy actually sounds)

—and Alexa gets it. Every time.

By adapting Alexa to how she actually sounds, not just how she's supposed to speak, we make sure her smart home responds accurately - every time.

Not just when her pronunciation is perfect.

WANT MORE INSPIRATION?

The possibilities here are endless! Imagine, speaking any arrangement of words that can be linked to your smart homes features.

Her's some other interesting ways our customers are using voice commands:

"Alexa, what was that?"

(said after hearing am usual noise outside)

• turns on exterior security lights

• cameras are now capturing more detail with the additional light

"Alexa, I'm out of here"

(said on the way out the door)

• shuts the house down (turns off lights, blinds, AC)

• arms the alarm system

• opens the garage door

"Alexa, I'm a little cold"

(this one's obvious)

• heating system turns of and sets to you "comfort" preset

• blinds close to trap the heat in

Want to set this up in your own home? Get in touch and we’ll make it happen.

Customize Alexa, control your home—just say the word.