Which way to go?

Voice control can be done using various combinations of hardware and software. No plug-and-play solution for exactly what you describe but there is a community member who has a project report doing pretty much exactly that. This is a very technical approach, though, and requires a lot of set up and maintenance.

I myself am quadriparetic, so voice is very important to me for home control but at the same time I want a very low maintenance solution. So I haven’t gone this route, but if you are comfortable maintaining multiple servers, you do have some choices.

Anyway, it’s an interesting project to read about!

Ave you had a chance to take a look at the voice command solutions thread? That’s where most of the discussion is. That thread covers all kinds of approaches, some technical, some much more plug-and-play. It also discusses most of the android options.

For those who don’t want to run multiple servers and have all of those issues, the simplest equivalent would be to wear a smart watch and use voice text to IFTTT You can do that from anywhere. As to what awake word is required to launch it, it’s going to vary based on the solution using. So that method doesn’t give you all the same custom options as running a ServerNet, but it’s quick and easy to set up.

I personally use a mix of voice control options. I mostly use Echo inside the house, and it’s great. We have a fairly open floor plan, and one echo easily covers four or five rooms plus we have a second one for the master bedroom suite. Then I use text from my watch for when I’m in the yard or someplace where it would be harder for the echo to hear me.

As always, different things work for different people. Some of this is aesthetics. It doesn’t bother me to use the same awake word for home control commands that I do for other things from my phone/watch. But that’s just me. :sunglasses:

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