Virtual Sensors for Alexa Announcements?

[mikecoscia]

Alexa can make announcements using motion and contact sensors. With smarthings I used a virtual sensor and webcore to play announcements when my wife arrived home. When the front door opened (door contact) after she arrived (smartthings arrival sensor) the virtual sensor would open and play the announcement. It would then close to prevent further announcements if she happened to go outside without leaving the house.

What would be the best method of doing this in Home Assistant? I am currently tracking her presence with the unfi platform.

[ReneTode]

interesting.
so it is possible to create a sensor somehow that Alexa sees and acts on.
to bad that i havent seen anything like that in HA untill now.

do you know how smartthings has created the option to make a virtual sensor?

[HA_fanatic]

Any headway here? Hi @ReneTode I’ve seen your suggestions on using the sh script to control Alexa. Curious if you or @mikecoscia have used contact sensors in HA exposed to Alexa? I have this other thread going. It actually stems from this OP post since but mine was an actual z wave sensor that when opened or closed it would invoke a routine. However what was neat is that Alexa could directly read the state of the contact sensor so it was all native to Alexa.

[HA_fanatic]

Using HA cloud and exposing a Z wave contact sensor to use in alexa routines not working

I use to have smartthings with an Ecolink Z wave garage door tilt sensor that I used with Alexa to announce when the garage door was opened / closed. However, as I have been transitioning to HA I moved the Ecolink to HA and exposed it to the Alexa skill for HA as a category of CONTACT_SENSOR according to this. However, there are two things that are happening after I did this. I can’t seem to see my garage door contact sensor as an available sensor for a routine. Why is this? Has anyone tried …

[wmaker (Tommy Long)]

I use Haaska to expose HA devices to Alexa. You can also use Nabu Casa instead of Haaska. Not all device types/sensors are supported by Alexa, in which case I use input booleans which are supported by Alexa, and then use automations to drive the state of the input boolean.
Once exposed to Alexa, you can use Alexa Routines.

[HypnoToad]

Use an input_boolean:

Input Boolean

This allows you to create a virtual switch that can be on or off based on your automations.

[ReneTode]

@HA_fanatic

However what was neat is that Alexa could directly read the state of the contact sensor so it was all native to Alexa

i try to avoid things that are native to alexa.
my home automation completely runs through HA, so i dont want anything automated outside it.

i still use the sh script (to start things on alexa or use TTS), combined with emulated hue (als with a virtual light, so alexa can give commands, when i say something to her).

so there are 2 ways i use it:

1. i say something to alexa, HA (or actually appdaemon) notices that and acts upon that and sends TTS to alexa
2. something happens in my home (motion for example), HA detects that and the i send TTS to alexa.