How to Use a Smart Home Device with a Disability - Smart plug and amazon alexa - Tips + tricks

(Kelly) This is changing my abilities to do things around the house. So exciting! We have an Amazon Echo and an Amazon Echo Dot And I can tell you, for someone who has disability, these devices are priceless. I would say that probably they're very fun and maybe sometimes even helpful for people who are able-bodied But for those of us who aren't, having these things can be extremely helpful especially when you pair it to a smart home device. It's a smart switch. The smart switch is right there. I plugged it into a power source so it's that white thing right there. And I want to be able to start my fan from being in bed Because I have really severe vertigo, and if I have a situation where I can't get out of bed and I can't walk, I'm gonna want a way to turn this fan on without asking for help. Basically, what happens is through my phone, I will be able to open up the app, turn the ON button for my fan, And it will start. Now this can be excellent if you're away from home, you want to turn on and off lights while you're gone. So that's really cool for the smart home device by itself. The reason I got smart switches is because not only can you access it from your phone, But because you can access it through Amazon Alexa. What's really cool is that with the Amazon Echo or the Amazon Echo Dot And then now there are other devices too. You can use your voice. So sometimes I'm in bed and I don't know what the time is. I don't feel well and Trying to look at a watch would make me feel sick, so I do this: Alexa. What's the time? (Alexa) It's 9:45 p.m (Kelly) It's 9:45 p.m I don't have to even lift up my head to find out what the time is. That's really excellent for a person who doesn't feel at all. Alexa comes with what they call skills. You can enable a skill and Alexa will be able to connect to, for example, your home devices. Not only, can you use the app on your phone, But you can also use the skill that's enabled on your Amazon Alexa. What's really cool for someone with disability is that I don't even have to pick up my phone to do it. I can just do it with my voice. I'm going to show you what it's like to do it from my phone. Basically it all does everything through Wi-Fi. The device has Wi-Fi in that plug. This is my Amazon Echo. This is just a wrap. This one has a speaker. It has seven microphones so when I talk it does this: Alexa? What's the score of the Cubs game? (Alexa) Currently, the Cubs are losing to the Dodgers four to two at the bottom of the seventh. (Kelly) Now when somebody delivers a d--, a package to my door, This will go to a yellow color, and it will alert me. And I, it says. It's basically a notification, and I'll tell it to tell me my notifications. It'll tell me that that a package arrived at the door. Oh my gosh There's tens of thousands of things it can do. The really important thing for somebody who has a disability is being able to interact with your home in a way that maybe you couldn't before. And, that is a really huge win as far as accessibility is concerned. The particular app is called a Wemo switch. And so I took a picture of my bedroom fan. And then this is to turn it ON and OFF. I'm going to press my button on the app. (FAN CLICKS ON) And it is going! This is amazing. (FAN CLICKS OFF) And then I turn it off and it stops. So I can do this from anywhere. For a person who has a disability, this is something that is incredible. Sometimes even opening my phone would be very challenging for me. Now what I'm going to do is enable the Amazon and have the Amazon turn the fan on. I went onto the Alexa app that connects to the Amazon devices. I enabled the Wemo skill on the Amazon Alexa. I am going to ask it to turn that fan on over there. So I'm just sitting bed, and I'm gonna say: Alexa, turn on my bedroom fan. (FAN CLICKS ON) (Alexa) OK. (Kelly) And there it goes. My bedroom fan is Starting to oscillate. Alexa, turn off my bedroom fan. (Alexa) OK (Kelly) And now It is off. In the Wemo app, I took a picture of the fan for the photo, And then I named it "bedroom fan." Then when the skill is enabled on Alexa all you have to do is connect it. It's super super simple. I know it's might seem complicated, But this had very minimal instructions. All I had to do was plug it into a socket. I followed the very simple directions of downloading the app for that product, which is called Wemo. I followed their installation instructions. They walk you through it. So then I also enabled it on the Alexa app, and it was super simple. And guys, this is so exciting! This is changing my abilities to do things around the house when I can't do anything. George and I are also going to get a smart thermostat so that I can control that as well from my bed. Now, obviously if I can stand up and go turn that fan on and if I can go stand up and go to that thermostat, I am going to do that. These apps aren't meant to enable people. If I have a good day, getting up and turning that fan on is actually vital for me to keep moving. But I can tell you that when you feel really miserable And you can't even get up safely to stand, That having the ability to turn that fan from the bed is priceless. It helps me with my independence because think about it I would have to ask somebody to come in and turn that fan on. And that's why it's amazing! We've had these switches for a while. I just thought that they would be too complicated to set up, Which is why I didn't do it yet. And both of them are incredibly easy. They both have apps that you can download to your smartphone. You can control them through there. And I feel very very thankful for technology. It makes things for those of us with disabilities so much easier than ever before. And I'm happy you guys are here. Thanks for watching guys!