General
Using smart home devices
This course will show you some of the things you can do with a smart device, and how smart technology can make your life easier. You’ll find out about voice control, listening to internet radio, organising your day, and even more!
Transcript
Welcome to 'A day in the life of a smart home'. A smart home can make everyday tasks quicker and more convenient. In this video, we'll follow along with Jacinta to see how some common smart devices and voice assistant technology helps her through the day. In her smart home, Jacinta has an internet connection with a Wi-Fi network and several smart devices. She set these up using her Google Account and the Google Home app on her mobile phone. To make things really easy, she controls her devices with voice commands, using the handy Google Assistant.
In the morning, Jacinta likes to listen to the radio. So she says to Google Assistant on her smart speaker, "OK Google, play ABC local radio". As soon as Google Assistant hears the "OK Google" activation phrase, it starts recording her voice. The recording is then processed on the internet by the Google Assistant service, which responds almost immediately by playing the radio on Jacinta's speaker. While the radio is playing on the smart speaker, Jacinta asks, "OK Google, what's my day like?". Google Assistant lowers the volume on the radio so it can hear Jacinta's request.
First, Google Assistant reminds Jacinta of the time, day of the week, and date. Then it gives her the current temperature and a brief summary of the weather for the day: sunny, and with a top of 31, very nice. Google Assistant then connects Jacinta to a 90-second news summary from the ABC. Google Assistant chooses news from the ABC because it knows she likes that station. Finally, Google Assistant reminds Jacinta that she has a catch-up scheduled with her friend Susie for coffee at the local cafe.
Later at the cafe, Jacinta uses Google Assistant on her mobile phone to settle a disagreement with Susie, "OK Google, when is National Lamington Day?" Google Assistant tells them it's the 21st of July. Jacinta's mobile phone shows a website with some more information they can read. Inspired, Jacinta uses Google Assistant on her mobile phone to record a reminder to make lamingtons tomorrow. Because she uses the same Google Account for her mobile phone and her smart devices, Jacinta will receive the reminder from her smart speaker in the morning too. Back at home, Jacinta tells her smart speaker to call her brother in New Zealand. Because his smart speaker uses Google Assistant too, they can have a long chat over the internet for free.
After dinner, Jacinta uses her smart TV to help find something to watch, "OK Google, play 7:30 on iView. The ABC iView app opens on the screen and shows recent episodes as thumbnail images, ready for her to choose one to watch. Once the show is over, Jacinta prepares for bed. To light the way, she says to her smart speaker, "OK Google, turn on the hall lamp." While the lamp is an old favourite, Jacinta has plugged it into a smart switch, so it can be part of her modern smart home. Jacinta also tells her smart speaker to set an alarm for the morning, "OK Google, set an alarm for tomorrow at seven a.m." Tomorrow, the alarm will sound on her mobile phone, which she keeps by her bed. With handy voice assistant technology and smart devices, Jacinta has found great ways to help remember, learn, and do everything she needs to each day.
1
What can I do with smart home devices?
4 min
2
Controlling devices with your voice
4 min
3
Listen to internet radio with a smart speaker
5 min
4
Organise your day with Google Assistant
4 min
5
Doing more with Google Assistant
5 min