Brainstorming: how to open gate from motorbike?

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1

Hi all,
I’ve been searching on the web for an idea on this topic, but I cannot find a suitable solution. So I reached to you all with a dilemma.

Use case: I’d like to open the gate (already connected to HA) while riding my byke.

Usefull info:

  • I have an iPhone and an Apple Watch
  • I have a BT helmet headset (but I cannot use Siri since the iPhone is a company phone and they restricted the usage of Siri when locked)
  • I have a BMW bike with BT connection to the iPhone. I can use the TFT to initiate phone call
  • I have a Telegram bot configured (I checked if I could “call” the bot to then call a webhook but it looks not possible)
  • I have a Fritzbox modem (integrated in HA) but I no longer have a land-line with an active phone number

Regarding ideas based on localization: they would be fine, but i need to be sure that they trigger the opening of the gate only if I’m entering the zone while connected to the BMW BT. Still don’t know how to to that.

I looked for solution based on me doing a phone call to open the gate. I cannot call my land line, since I don’t have one anymore. I tried Twilio, but since the number is US based and I live in Italy, it will cost me money any time I tried to open the gate. Not working then. I tried to look for services based on web phone call (telegram, teams, whatsapp) and then hook them to the webhook, but I couldn’t find any. It always work the other way around (from HA to phone call).

How would you solve this problem?

Thanks you all!

2

FritzBox serves device trackers, so maybe use that when your phone enters the home wifi?

3

My gate is not that close to the WiFi area, and even if it were I would have then to find a way to identify if I’m riding the bike or just walking in.

4

create an automation on the iphone that triggers when it connects Bluetooth to your bike/helmet that sets a helper toggle sensor in HA. then when you are within a range of the gate and that toggle sensor is on…

1 Like
5

This is very similar to what I use - works well.

6

I thought about this, and I believe you are referring to use Shortcuts on iphone to be sure that the BT is connected actually to the helmet.
I should also take care of a sort of “timeout”, like “after one hour reset the helper” so the second automation isn’t triggered unexpectedly the next day.

But that timeout limits the functionality to be like only within an our, I would still missing the possibility to do the same manually.

7

do an automation from the iphone to turn off your helper when the bluethooth disconnects.

8

That would help, and I’d also need an automation to reset the helper when leaving the home zone (just in case, like in the morning the helper would become true when leaving but I want to avoid any problem if the gps for some reason it shows me again as at home).

But still feel like it’s not 100% error proof…