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Ideas & Feature Requests
API Calls to external services
So I mounted a monitor on one of the walls near my kitchen to use Action Tiles.
How cool would it be if we could write our own API calls with expected return values?
For instance, I know we can call out to "Media" and return maps, gifs, video, etc. How about calling out a a weather service (think openweathermap.org) using our own API keys, we could retrieve weather information for whatever timeframe we specify.
I was home alone watching a movie, I walked over to my kitchen and I knew I had put in a Pizzahut order, but it was taking so long. My first reaction was to look at that monitor, not sure why, but I know that if I had a tile where I could enter a webhook, I would totally use it for this and a bunch of other things...
Any thoughts?
Customer support service by UserEcho
Hi Luis,
We get this Feature Request from time to time in various forms, where the most simple request is "Does ActionTiles work with Vera / Iris / Wink / Control4 / Nest"?
Here's one example: https://support.actiontiles.com/communities/12/topics/2595-compatibility-with-other-platforms
I haven't found an existing Topic that is a close-enough match to warrant a merge (yet); so, yes ... we are aware of the value and vast potential uses for an API to/from ActionTiles.
Our standard answer continues to be: SmartThings is an integration platform itself. They have released (to Beta) a major new API into the SmartThings Cloud, and that will encourage more and more device builders and other services to integrate. We want to ensure that ActionTiles is ready to interface to SmartThings new APIs and grow right along with them.
Offering our own distinct API is "70% redundant" (well, more or less); so it is hard to decide to put much effort into it right now.
Thanks,
...Terry.
Has anyone requested for external apps to make calls to AT though? I had trouble sleeping last night and thought, hmm, what if I can make a webcall to AT to bring forward a panel depending on time of day, on rotation, or by voice command.
Alexa, show me the cameras, ... show me the weather :)
Hands-free Alexa is now available on Fire HD Tablets (8" and 10") and will trigger some visual Apps like Weather. If hands-free control of ActionTiles is a popular idea, then we might build an Alexa Skill ourselves for this (an excellent opportunity for value-add and a reasonable fee).
APIs into an ActionTiles Panel certainly open up an entire world of possibilities, but adds significant security vulnerability paths too. Such risks add to the complexity and keep this idea as a lower priority item.
To add to this, we could use this ability to trigger webcore pistons, node red, iftt. ECT, ECT.. While creating your own API calls may not be for everyone it would fill almost all of the current gaps in AT for a lot of users.
providing the capability to do external API calls would open a range of new possibilities to ActionTiles, we need to make sure to continue to innovate and be on the edge of technology, lets remember that having an smart home gives us that responsibility. From my perspective i would like to see this enable to allow me to integrate a lot of custom ideas like local server monitoring, cloud computer integration (personal).