Android Wear has barely been out a week and already we’re seeing some pretty cool stuff happen with both watches. Even without all the extra fun stuff that’s capable, both the Gear Live and the LG G Watch are awesome for their normal functionality that was possible with them last Thursday, which was basically just the notifications uses when connected to our phones. With a little know-how and some free time though, and of course the right tools and equipment, developer Doug Gregory was able to take the awesome functionality of an app like Tasker, and pair it with the pieces of his home that are already set up to receive automated commands and issue those commands using the voice functionality from the Gear Live. Awesome right?
He does a short but sweet video demonstration to show off the achievement, and we had to know that it would only be a matter of time before someone was able to get the home automation capabilities up and running, just like in the original Android Wear video where the girl on the bike opens her garage door using the LG G Watch. Doug has the Gear Live set up with various Tasker plugins which already work with Android Wear, and he also uses an Xposed module called Xposed Google Search API Module which means, that he also had to have root.
It goes without saying but he also had to have Tasker installed, and the plugins that he uses are Auto Notification, AutoVera, and AutoVoice. Doug was able to pair these apps and his Android devices including the Gear Live, with a starter pack from his own company that consists of 5 NFC tags, the MiCasaVerde Vera Lite home controller and two Z-Wave modules. Home automation with android is nothing new but now that we have Android Wear it almost feels like a whole new world is opening up. Instead of using your phone to do these sorts of tasks we’ll be able to use our smartwatches, making things that much easier and more convenient. Have a look at the video below to see the lights and the garage door being turned on/off and open/closed, it’s really quite cool.