Building upon its voice control capabilities, Lutron has announced the integration of its residential products and voice control from Google Assistant. The lighting and shade control provider’s voice control support covers technology such as Google Home, Pixel phone, Android phones with embedded Google Assistant, and Android Wear platforms.
“There’s a lot of ways for consumers to access the Google Assistant now, and we’re happy to announce that Lutron lighting control will now be part of that,” Neil Orchowski, product development manager & strategic alliances for Lutron, tells CE Pro.
The Google Assistant voice command functionality will be accessible for use with Lutron’s Caséta Wireless system products effective immediately, and become applicable to its HomeWorks QS and RadioRA 2 lighting control systems in June.
Siri, Alexa, Google Are Covered, But No Google Shade Support Yet
Lutron had previously embraced voice control via Siri (Apple HomeKit) and Amazon Alexa (for Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Amazon Fire TV). The company showed off its Alexa abilities for HomeWorks QS and RadioRA 2 during CEDIA 2016 in Dallas last September, following the integration of Alexa for Caséta Wireless earlier last year.
At the outset the voice-activated Google Assistant technology will not work for Lutron’s automated shade systems, notes Orchowski, but that integration capability appears likely to follow suit.
“Voice control for shades is always something were looking to do, it’s just a matter of how we do it on this platform,” he says. “If you look at other voice control platforms that we’ve launched already, with Siri you can control shades directly — say, ‘Hey Siri, open the shades,’ and that works. With Alexa we’ve built shades into scene control, and with Google Assistant that’s still TBD and we hope to have some news for you in the future.”
Lutron worked with Google on the integration, as part of the Pennsylvania-based company’s efforts collaborating with its “strategic alliances,” according to Orchowski.
“As part of that each one of these involves working with the other company directly to make sure 1) we have the technical information to make the integration work and 2) to make sure [there’s a] quality solution that we’ve tested in the end that customers are going to love,” he says.
Like any control interface, the success and amount of mileage the user gets with the voice control application will vary from customer to customer so it will behoove integrators to understand the needs for a residence. Aligning the voice commands with how rooms are configured for a Lutron system will enable users to better achieve results, notes Orchowski.
“I think voice control is really dependent on the person, the situation and the use case that they are in,” he says. “So you may be walking in the front door and you’re carrying a bunch of groceries and you want to turn on the lights you can say, ‘OK Google, put on the pantry lights,’ and your lights will turn on. Or ‘OK Google, turn off the lights,’ and have all the lights go off.
“The way you name your lights within a Lutron system, that’s what then basically gets imported into Google Assistant to trigger that. You would want to use names that you can remember, or typically call that room, so it’s really straightforward from a voice control perspective.”
Early Adopters, Aging-in-Placers Likely to Use Voice Commands
Among those use cases, Orchowski says, are not only tech-savvy consumers who may be into cool new voice control technology, but other demographics that Lutron dealers can address such as seniors who are maintaining aging-at-home lifestyles that benefit from automation.
“Really it’s dependent on how customer adopts voice control into their life,” he says. “Lutron has seen voice control become part of the life at home — it ranges from that walking through the front door, walking into a room type use case; to the aging-in-place market where, for mobility reasons, using your voice is a lot more convenient and in some cases necessary to be able to control your lighting.”
Voice-activated commands via Google Assistant can cover the usual lighting control requests to set the house or particular rooms and areas to the appropriate conditions: you can say turn on the lights, turn off the lights, set the lights to a certain level, brighten the lights, dim the lights, “and that’s what you’ll see coming out of the gate here,” says Orchowski.
Does this mean integrators should plan on being able to throw in a Google Home device with every Lutron system as an attachment sale?
“Will a dealer install this in every home? That’s up to the homeowner. As voice control and Google Home and the Google Assistant become more prominent in general to the marketplace, consumers are going to be asking for it, and we definitely know that a lot of consumers want a professional to help them with these things,” Orchowski says.
“It really fits right in and shows where the connected home, the smart home is going, as we mesh together the great experience that the professional installer provides, whether that’s coming through the CEDIA channel or electrical contractor, and marrying that with some of the great consumer-focused technology that’s out there as well.”
See the full Lutron press release on the next page » {pagebreak}
PRESS RELEASE: Lutron Announces Alliance with Google Home to Power Home Lighting Systems Using Voice-Activated Google Assistant
Coopersburg, PA (embargoed until further notice from Lutron) – Lutron Electronics today announced a new integration with Google Home that allows homeowners to easily control their Lutron Caséta Wireless, RadioRA 2 and HomeWorks QS lighting systems using the Google Assistant, offering greater flexibility and peace of mind. Now –with a few words– you can have hands-free assistance controlling lights in your connected home, whether you’re in your living room relaxing on the couch, or out of town on vacation.
“Lutron continues to work with best-in-class companies to enhance our customers’ connected home experience. This latest integration with the Google Assistant reinforces Lutron’s leadership in the connected home space,” said Ed Blair, Senior Vice-President at Lutron Electronics. “With Google Home’s voice-powered Google Assistant, customers can interact with and direct their connected homes easier than ever, and for today’s busy families, this service is invaluable.”
Google Home, a voice-enabled speaker powered by the Google Assistant, allows you to take advantage of Google’s rich history in search by asking it any range of questions; you can also stream music and manage everyday tasks – and now, with Lutron’s new alliance, you can easily control lighting throughout the house. Getting your home party-ready when you have your hands full preparing dinner is as simple as saying, “Ok, Google, play my party playlist” and follow it up by “Ok, Google, dim the family room lights.” Your connected home will do the rest. In addition to controlling lights anywhere in the house with a simple request to the Google Assistant, you can ask Google if a particular light is on. The Google Assistant will respond and react in real time, allowing homeowners to control lights anywhere in the house.
In addition to Google Home, the Google Assistant is accessible on Pixel (a phone by Google, and the first with the Google Assistant built in), select Android phones and Android Wear. With this on-the-go control, you can calm your worries of leaving the lights on and ask, “Ok, Google, are my lights on?”
When returning home, telling the Google Assistant “Ok, Google, turn on the living room lights” means you can have a bright home waiting for you when you arrive at night. And making your home look lived in even when you’re away on vacation is simple; just say the word, and the Google Assistant on Google Home will automatically adjust Lutron lights per your command.
The Google Assistant will work with Lutron’s Caseta Wireless system (available today) via the Smart Bridge, and the RadioRA 2 and HomeWorks QS (available in June) via the Lutron Connect Bridge. Visit CasetaWireless.com/GoogleAssistant, Lutron.com/RadioRA2, and Lutron.com/HomeWorksQS for more information.
Where to Buy Caséta Wireless
Priced from $99, Caséta Wireless kits are available on Amazon.com, The Apple Store® and Apple.com, BestBuy.com® and Best Buy® stores, HomeDepot.com and The Home Depot® stores, Lowes.com and Lowe’s Home Improvement centers, Magnolia® Design Centers, select Magnolia Home Theater stores, and from local electricians, lighting showrooms, electrical distributors and home technology professionals. The free Lutron App for Caséta Wireless is available on Google Play® and iTunes®. Visit www.casetawireless.com for more information.
Where to Buy RadioRA 2 and HomeWorks QS
RadioRA 2 and HomeWorks QS are available from authorized dealers in the U.S. and Canada, as well as authorized dealers in select regions of Central and South America. Some components are also available in Europe. Visit www.lutron.com/wheretobuy to locate an authorized dealer.
Caséta Wireless, RadioRA 2 and HomeWorks QS enables dimming of incandescent, halogen, dimmable CFL and dimmable LED bulbs – visit the Lutron LED Control Center of Excellence for more information about compatible bulbs.
