Building Cloud-Connected Device Types

Cloud connected devices use a 3rd party service to accomplish device communication. An example of such a device is the Ecobee thermostat.

When developing a device handler for a cloud connected device, you must create a service manager SmartApp that will handle authenticating with the 3rd party service, communicating with the device, and reacting to any device changes that occur.

This guide overviews the concept of the service manager/device handler architecture and also gives an example of both the service manager and device handler creation.

Table of Contents:

• Division of Labor
  • Service-Manager Responsibilities
  • Device Handler Responsibilities
  • How It All Works
• Building the Service Manager
  • Authentication using OAuth
  • Discovery
  • Handling Adds, Changes, Deletes
• Building the Device Handler
  • The Parse Method
  • Sending Commands to the Third-Party Cloud
  • Receiving Events from the Third-Party Cloud
  • Generating Events at the Request of the Service Manager