Summary of Smart Kitchen Cube
Summary: An Alexa-integrated smart kitchen cube displays and manages timers without repeated voice queries, acting as a fancy egg-timer with added temperature-controlled cooking mode. It uses an Alexa skill linked to an Amazon Lambda and communicates via Particle Cloud to a Particle device flashed with provided firmware; instructions cover account linking, skill activation, and building the physical cube enclosure and circuitry.
Parts used in the Smart Kitchen Cube:
- Alexa-enabled Echo device (for voice control)
- Particle IoT device (Particle Photon or similar)
- Computer or smartphone to access particle.io and build.particle.io
- Access to Particle Cloud account (particle.io)
- Alexa account (alexa.amazon.com) and Alexa App
- Smart Kitchen Cube Alexa skill (or custom Alexa skill and Lambda)
- Wiring and electronic components for the cube circuit (breadboard, wires, connectors)
- Enclosure materials for building the cube case
- Arduino sketch/firmware provided in the project code section
Alexa controlled timers at a glimpse. A really fancy egg-timer with added temperature control.
Story
Idea
Both of us like to tinker with electronics and the latest hard- and software. While most projects never get out of “early-Alpha”, we wanted to create something with a prototype look&feel for quite a while now. Participating in The Alexa and Arduino Smart Home Challenge finally made us consider creating something worthy of publishing here.
Having used Alexa on a daily basis for controlling lights and music throughout our home, something that really bothered me was the timers we would regularly set for things like cooking and making tea. The initial request for setting up a timer was usually followed by a couple of “Alexa, how much time left on the tea-timer?” so we rather quickly had the idea of creating an additional device, that let you glimpse at your timers without having to interact with Alexa again. We basically wanted to create an egg-timer with a really fancy hard- and software stack. For additional fanciness, we added a temperature controlled cooking mode.
Concept
While there are other options, having Alexa communicate with an Amazon Lambda function is the quickest and easiest way to get started with development. You can either set up your own skill and lambda or activate our Smart Kitchen Cube skill from your Alexa App.
You can view and activate the skill here, or search for “Smart Kitchen Cube” in the Alexa App. For a quick start, we recommend trying our skill first and then switch to your own skill and lambda in case you want to tinker with the software-side of this project. For detailed instructions on how to duplicate our setup, refer to the last two chapters of this project to get started, then modify things to your need. But first off, the necessary steps to build your own cube and link it to our skill!
Particle Cloud
You will need an account with particle.io to link the skill to. So head over there and either register as a new user or sign in to your existing account. Then go to build.particle.io, click on settings (the gearwheel in the lower left) and take note of your access token. You will need the token in your Arduino sketch so the Arduino can communicate with the particle cloud. While you are at it, flash the particle you will use for the cube with the software provided in the code section. If you haven’t set up your particle yet, do so now via the particle app, it has great step-by-step instructions on how to do this.
Account Linking
With your Particle account you can already set up our skill, so head over to alexa.amazon.com, log in with the account you have your Echo connected to, click on the Skills tab and search for “smart kitchen cube”.
Click on the skill and then on “Enable”. A window will open where you have to login with your Particle account. Press “Ok” when it asks you for permission to link the account. As of now, the device discovery will not yield any results unless you have flashed our code to the particle, but once you did that and add a device, it will show up in the “Smart Home” section of the alexa.amazon.com website. Lets build a device and hook it up now!
Hardware – The Cube
As we wanted to build more than just a breadboard prototype, creating our cube was as much about constructing the case as it was about building the circuit.
Read more: Smart Kitchen Cube
- How does the Smart Kitchen Cube communicate with Alexa?
It uses an Alexa skill that communicates with an Amazon Lambda and the cube communicates via the Particle Cloud to the Particle device. - Can I use the provided Smart Kitchen Cube skill before making my own?
Yes, the article recommends trying the Smart Kitchen Cube skill first and then switching to your own skill and lambda if you want to tinker. - What cloud service is required for the cube to work?
The project requires an account with Particle Cloud (particle.io) to link the skill to the device. - Do I need to flash firmware to the Particle device?
Yes, you should flash the Particle device with the provided software from the code section so the device can be discovered and used. - How do I link my Particle account to the Alexa skill?
Enable the Smart Kitchen Cube skill in the Alexa App or via alexa.amazon.com, then log in with your Particle account when prompted to link accounts. - Will device discovery work before flashing the particle with the project code?
No, the device discovery will not yield results unless you have flashed the particle with the project's code. - What additional cooking feature does the cube provide?
The cube includes a temperature controlled cooking mode in addition to timer display functionality. - Where can I find detailed instructions to duplicate the setup?
The article says detailed instructions are in the last two chapters of the project to get started and modify as needed.
