Enable Named Timers and Reminders

Named Timers and Reminders are part of the Alerts feature of the Alexa Voice Service (AVS). The Named Timers feature allows Alexa users to set and manage multiple timers at a time by giving an identifying name to each timer. Reminders are alerts that Alexa plays at a time specified by a user. To learn more about Alerts, see About Alexa Voice Service (AVS) Alerts.

The following utterances show how a user might set a named timer or a reminder:

• "Alexa, set a cooking timer for 10 minutes."
• "Alexa, set a reminder to call mom at 2 P.M. on Saturday."
• "Alexa, remind me to take out the trash on Tuesday at 8 A.M."

Best practices for Named Timers and Reminders

Although enabling Named Timers or Reminders doesn't impact the AVS Interaction Model for a device, make sure that you understand how and when to deliver assets to the user.

• The device should send all lifecycle events to AVS when appropriate, such as a SetAlertSucceeded event when a user sets a reminder locally, or an AlertStopped event when a user stops an actively playing reminder. For complete details, see the Alerts reference.
• Have the device download and store any assets locally. The device is then able to play the locally downloaded asset at the scheduledTime.
• If the Dialog channel is active, and you receive a SetAlert directive that includes the assets object, the device must play the locally stored audio file in short alert mode as long as the Dialog channel remains active.
• If the Dialog channel is inactive, and you receive a SetAlert directive that includes the assets object, the device must play the assets in the assetPlayOrder.

Implement support for named timers and reminders

The SetAlert directive supports the Alerts feature for Named Timers and Reminders, which allows AVS to send parameters to the device with instructions for sequenced playback of audio files and text-to-speech (TTS).

AVS delivers assets to a device in the payload of the directive as an unordered set. Each asset contains an assetId and url. The device should download and cache Alert assets for delivery to the user at the scheduledTime. The payload includes instructions for play order (assetPlayOrder), the number of times to play the sequence of assets (loopCount), and the duration between the start of each loop (loopPauseInMilliSeconds).

To implement support for named timers and reminders

1. Update your code to support the following payload parameters:
   • assets
     • assetId
     • url
   • assetPlayOrder
   • backgroundAlertAsset
   • loopCount
   • loopPauseInMilliSeconds
2. Update your code to support the REMINDER value for type.
3. Make sure the device is able to download and cache the assets sent by AVS and deliver those assets to the user at the scheduledTime.
4. Make sure that your implementation on the device follows the best practices outlined in Alerts Overview.

Enable Reminders

Before your device can receive Reminders, enable the Named Timers and Reminders capability in the AVS developer console.

To enable Named Timers and Reminders capability in the AVS developer console

1. Log in to the AVS developer console with your Amazon developer credentials:

   AVS developer console.

2. Navigate to Products, and create a new product or Edit an existing product, and follow the prompts to enter or update the appropriate information for your device.
3. Under Product Details, in the Capabilities section, select Named Timers and Reminders to enable these features.

Example Reminder

The following example extends the SetAlert directive to support reminders:

View the example.+

{
    "directive": {
        "header": {
            "namespace": "Alerts",
            "name": "SetAlert",
            "messageId": "alpha-num3ric-str1ng-h3r3",
            "dialogRequestId": "str1n6-h3r3"
        },
        "payload": {
            "token": "375ffbb1-d746-36ed-83d6-da71b17c4355",
            // Provides the alert type, for example, a REMINDER.
            "type": "REMINDER",
            "scheduledTime": "2017-04-18T20:00:00.000-07:00",
            // An unordered set of assets the device should play
            // at the scheduledTime.
            "assets": [
                {
                    // Text-to-speech
                    "assetId": "d4bc19e8-7e26-3f33-b921-57bed8c77478",
                    "url": "https://example.com/resource_1.mp3"
                },
                {
                    // Audio cue
                    "assetId": "c4bc19e8-7e26-3f33-b921-57bed8c77891",
                    "url": "https://example.com/resource_2.mp3"
                },
                {
                    // backgroundAlertAsset
                    "assetId": "ffcc7012-dec2-312d-b02c-a8c39b2cdc2a",
                    "url": "https://example.com/resource_3.mp3"
                },                
            ],
            // The order that the assets included in the assets object
            // must be played. Notice, in this example, the second object
            // which is the audio cue, plays first, followed by the
            // TTS.
            "assetPlayOrder": ["c4bc19e8-7e26-3f33-b921-57bed8c77891", "d4bc19e8-7e26-3f33-b921-57bed8c77478"],
            // The asset the device must use when the Alerts channel is
            // in the background.  
            "backgroundAlertAsset": "ffcc7012-dec2-312d-b02c-a8c39b2cdc2a",  
            // Instructs the device to loop through the assetPlayOrder 2 times.
            "loopCount": 2,
            // Instructs the device that the time between the start of each asset loop should be 6000 ms.
            "loopPauseInMilliSeconds": 6000
        }
    }
}

SetAlert directive

The SetAlert directive instructs the device to set a timer, alarm, or reminder for a specific duration or time. A device might receive the SetAlert directive either when a user makes a speech request to set an alert, or when a user re-enables an already-set alert through the Amazon Alexa app.

{
    "directive": {
        "header": {
            "namespace": "Alerts",
            "name": "SetAlert",
            "messageId": "{{STRING}}",
            "dialogRequestId": "{{STRING}}"
        },
        "payload": {
            "token": "{{STRING}}",
            "type": "{{STRING}}",
            "scheduledTime": "{{STRING}}",
            "assets": [
                {
                    "assetId": "{{STRING}}",
                    "url": "{{STRING}}"
                },
                {
                    "assetId": "{{STRING}}",
                    "url": "{{STRING}}"
                }
            ],
            "assetPlayOrder": ["{{STRING}}", "{{STRING}}", ... ],
            "backgroundAlertAsset": "{{STRING}}",
            "loopCount": {{LONG}},
            "loopPauseInMilliSeconds": {{LONG}}
       }
    }
}

Header parameters

Payload parameters

Resources

• Functional Design Guide
• AVS API Overview
• Forum and Knowledge Base

Last updated: Dec 15, 2020