But why? What do you want to automate?
That's the part I never understood about this stuff. What is there to automate in the first place?
For me, the Amazon Echo is more about having a connection to the world without looking at a screen. Getting answers to random questions (or utilities like timers), latest traffic conditions for travel, weather, etc are all really great applications for a voice interface. If that could also be combined with a good communication platform (voice calls, text/email messaging, etc), it would be even better.
If I lived alone with no pets I'd love to be able to automate the temperature to save money when I wasn't home. But there are usually people in my house, and there are always pets there, so I have to keep it pretty temperate in there at all times.
Other automatable things (lights, lawn sprinklers) are so easily accomplished with simple analog timers that I really do not see the attraction in controlling them via an app. Maybe it's just the programmer in me thinking... at this point in my life, I'm very jaded when it comes to software.
Security is a big one, I guess. It would be nice to be able to monitor that remotely. Though honestly I already have a dog in the house which is probably more effective than 90% of the solutions on the market.
My big thing is whole-house streaming audio, and we've had that for years with Airplay and Sonos and now with Chromecast as well. So that's cool.
Have:
Adding things to my shopping list (via Alexa - currently in the kitchen and bathroom - two most frequent rooms where I'm like "hey I need more XXXX")
Changing the temperature (Nest via phone app and command line tool I wrote, and now Alexa just did a native integration)
Finding out my schedule for the day.
Finding out the weather forecast for the day.
Playing music (via Sonos or Alexa)
Locking front door when I'm going to bed.
Getting notified of movement or sound in the house while I away (Nest Cam and Smart Things)
......
Like the OP I'd love to have the voice control available in any room of the house. I'd love to have better security features (i.e. if I drive up my driveway at 3 AM turn on the outside lights, if a stranger drives up my driveway at 3 AM WAKE ME UP WITH AN ALARM). I'd love better voice controlled Sonos music selection. Composing emails, having handsfree phone or video calls, warming up the oven at a certain time, etc...
For adding to shopping list, check out Amazon Dash.
I don't wear a watch around the house, and I don't really like smart watches honestly - I like big heavy metal automatics. Likewise I enjoy being able to leave my phone on the charger somewhere else. I dunno. I mean long term dream would be integrating things like "smart" mirrors, semi-smart AI-esque assistants, and so on. Then again, I'm currently in a zero-tech house on the beach in Costa Rica, with a barely there internet connection, so it's not like any of this is that important...
* lights * alarm clock (setting, turning it off and on, 15 more minutes) * be able to turn on my xbox/fire tv and tell it I want to watch <x>, then it figures out how * taking the dog out when it's 1am and I just want to go to bed (okay this one might take a little longer).
E.g. Home automation: Every day at sunset, lower the blinds
E.g. Home control : You say "House, lower the blinds now".
But it's very rare that it goes beyond that; usually we hear the beep and one of us will yell "never mind!", and then the Echo will go silent. Sometimes it will cancel itself, too. I think that the always-listening part is less discriminating than the active voice recognition, and that it can re-parse the last couple of seconds and decide, in retrospect, that you didn't say "Alexa."
That said, I just recently said to my wife, "I wonder if Alexa knows 'sudo make me a sandwich'". The timing was such that it parsed "sudo make me a sandwich" and answered, "Well, if you ask like that, how can I refuse?" :)
We had a good laugh. Funny thing was, looking at the app later, it was actually parsed as "Pseudo make me a sandwich." I bet Google Now would have corrected it to sudo. :)
- A cheap device (DIY if possible) in the form factor of a small plug-in unit. Ideally the device itself should be practically "invisible" in each room, and won't require any special home wiring. This is definitely in the realm of possibility for a Raspberry Pi (or similar).
- A microphone for the device that works at least as well as the Echo's far-field mic. I have not been able to find any good options for this, apart from some obscure parts that are too expensive for me to test, let alone buy for every room.
- Software that allows for voice-activated operation. There's probably a suitable workaround for doing this with the Alexa Voice Service now, though it may require more CPU power than is available on the Raspberry Pi.
- Ideally, I could host the voice service myself and wouldn't have to worry about the privacy implications of going through someone like Amazon. I know there are several existing software packages that claim to do this, but none that I've found can match the quality of Echo/Alexa for everyday interaction.
- Audio feedback does not need to be high quality, but at least audible. A small speaker within the device is probably enough. For other areas of the house, it would be nice for the output to be connected to a bluetooth speaker in the room or a home audio system (if available).
The Echo Dot appears to be a pretty close match for this (though I haven't tried it) - at least in terms of functionality, but the form factor still seems a bit off. I'd rather have a self-contained plug-in unit than something that sits on a desk or table.
[1] Or most of the house anyway