Goggle Assistant Adds Support for Passive Sensors

As I read this quite interesting, but the Dash buttons of Amazon, now discontinued, did a similar thing.    But this appears to do things with more general sensors.   Look to examine this in more detail with my own Assistant set up.    Pointers to people using this?

Google Assistant Adds Support for Passive Sensors, Laying Foundation for More Responsive Smart Homes      In Voicebot.ai  by Eric Hal Schwartz 

Google Assistant has added native support for new sensors, such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, according to an Android Police report. The updated Smart Home Device Type list now includes sensor-only devices, bringing new potential options to the voice assistant’s smart home integration.

Action and Sensing
The new additions to the sensor list make it possible for third-party device makers to integrate Google Assistant into sensor-only devices that can measure air quality, humidity, light, motion, water softness, and other elements. This direct inclusion makes it possible to ask Google Assistant directly about each of those conditions individually. Smoke and carbon monoxide are now their own category of sensor and there is also an update to the security system support allowing the voice assistant to report on each sensor’s status separately.

Google Assistant is built around actions initiated by users. When it comes to smart home devices, people have to ask for changes in temperature, lighting, and other home systems. They can be scheduled out, but it all begins with a verbal request. The updated support list lays out a potential road to passive alerts. The voice assistant could theoretically adjust the blinds based on how much light is coming in, tell you to switch out a water filter, or open a window when a smoke or carbon monoxide sensor is triggered.

Google’s Smarter Homes
The quiet expansion of Google Assistant’s support fits with Google’s ongoing smart home ambitions. The company boosted security for Google Nest smart home products last month and started requiring a Google account when connecting Google Nest products to other smart home devices as part of its effort to bring every smart home device under one software roof. .... "