* Important * - On 5-Apr, we announced the Smart Home Skill API, the public, self-service version of the Alexa Lighting API, which was introduced as a beta in August 2015. As part of the beta program, we worked with companies including Nest, Ecobee, Sensi, Samsung SmartThings, and Wink in order to gather developer feedback, while extending Alexa’s smart home capabilities to work with their devices. If you’d like to build a smart home skill, learn more about the Smart Home Skill API here.

• Understanding the Smart Home Skill API
• Steps to Build a Smart Home Skill
• Smart Home Skill API Reference
   

The Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) is a collection of self-service APIs and tools that make it fast and easy for you to add skills to Alexa. Alexa is the cloud-based voice service that powers Amazon Echo, a new category of device designed around your voice.  

We have been receiving a lot of requests for an easy way to extend Alexa’s built-in lighting skill to control more lighting and switch devices, and today we’re excited to announce the launch of the Alexa Lighting API. This new API allows commercial developers, hobbyists, and connected home enthusiasts who can code in Java or JavaScript to teach Alexa how to control their cloud-controlled devices in just a few hours. No experience with speech recognition or natural language understanding is required—Alexa does all the work to hear, understand, and process the spoken requests.

Teach Alexa to Control Lighting Devices

With the Alexa Lighting API, any enthusiast with Java or JavaScript coding skills can easily extend Alexa’s built-in lighting capabilities. Below are examples of supported phrases:

Discover: “Alexa, discover my devices”

Turn On: “Alexa, turn on the kitchen light”

Turn Off: “Alexa, turn off the kitchen light”

Brighten:  “Alexa, brighten the kitchen light”

Dim: “Alexa, dim the kitchen light”

Set: “Alexa, set the kitchen light to 50%”

Enabling Your Lighting Skill

As a developer you can follow the instructions in the Alexa Lighting API Developer Documentation to enable your skill adapters for your own personal use.  We’ve created a showcase in the Alexa Connected Home Developer Forum where enthusiast developers can share their skill adapters with others. 

Commercial home automation companies who want to distribute their completed lighting skills via Alexa to their customers should contact alexa-coho-submissions@amazon.com. 

Commercial Developers Are Already Extending Alexa’s Lighting Skills

Several companies have already taught Alexa how to control their lighting products. In addition to Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, and Wink devices, Alexa now works with Samsung SmartThings to integrate with select lights and switches. Customers can simply speak to turn devices on and off as well as dim and brighten lights.

• Samsung SmartThings, which lets you easily monitor, control, and secure your home from anywhere in the world, now works with Alexa. “We integrated a variety of products that work with the SmartThings open platform to work with Alexa,” said Dora Hsu, Chief Platform Officer, SmartThings. “Using Alexa’s Lighting APIs, we were able to write, test, and deploy in a matter of days. It couldn't have been easier, and we are excited for customers to try out what we've created for them.”

• Wink, the quick and simple way to connect you and the products you rely on in the home, is using the Alexa Lighting API. “It was easy to use the new API to connect our cloud-controlled devices with Alexa,” said Nathan Smith, CTO at Wink. “We were able to write, connect and quickly test the end-to-end experience ourselves—and it took hours, not days. Relying on AWS Lambda for hosting also reduces our operational load and addresses the need for scaling. Now Wink customers can simply ask Alexa when they want to turn their lights on and off.”

• Belkin WeMo, a family of simple and customizable products that allow you to control home electronics from anywhere, integrated their switches and plugs with Alexa. “Working with Amazon Echo is a prime example of how WeMo delivers on its promise of being the most approachable entry point to the connected home,” said Peter Taylor, director of product management at WeMo. “Our customers love the ability to control WeMo devices with their voice, eliminating the need to always have a phone handy and giving other family members access at the same time. Telling Alexa to turn off the lights or turn on the fan is convenient, simple and just plain fun.”

• Philips Hue, which gives you unparalleled control over your connected lighting even when you're away from home, can also be controlled with Alexa. “Echo creates an even easier way to control Philips Hue lights in your home—simply by using your voice,” said Wout Verhagen, Director at Philips Lighting Home Systems. “By integrating with Alexa, you can turn your Philips Hue lights on, off or even dim them, to ensure you have the ideal light setting for a moment, mood or occasion. This adds a completely new dimension to experiencing our lights at home; we love how easy it is for consumers to use.”

Get Started Today

To get started with the Alexa Lighting API, start here. Check out these resources to learn more:

Read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Alexa Lighting API
Download the Alexa Lighting API Developer Documentation
Download the Alexa Lighting API Lambda Integration Documentation
Visit the Alexa Connected Home Developer Forums
Order an Amazon Echo - Amazon.com Page
Learn about the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK)
Learn about Alexa Voice Service (AVS)
Learn about the Alexa Fund

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