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@knoop7 knoop7 released this 29 Jun 12:19
· 1 commit to master since this release
0.5.6
cbd0be6

0.5.6 Video Calls, Bluetooth Alerts & Mod Platform

New Features

Video Calls

Ava's intercom now supports live video during voice calls. When two Ava devices are on a call, the front camera streams low-bandwidth video (~480p, 8fps) over the local network — no internet needed, no cloud involved.

How it works:

  • Start a voice call to another Ava device as usual
  • Video starts automatically when both devices have a camera
  • Tap the screen to show/hide call controls
  • Audio stays on the existing Opus codec — video is a separate lightweight track

Use cases:

  • Check on the kids from the kitchen tablet to the bedroom device
  • Front-door device to living-room device — see who's calling before walking over
  • Elderly care — video check-in without installing a separate app

Where to find it: Settings → Extensions → Voice Messages

Bluetooth Presence Alerts

Thanks to @AJolly for the inspiration! You mentioned using BLE beacons to track items like a backpack and get alerts when they move too far away. Ava now supports this natively.

Mac_2026-06-29 17 54 16

What's new:

  • Assign a custom alert sound to each tracked Bluetooth device — pick from system ringtones or your own audio files
  • Choose trigger: alert when device comes near, or when it goes out of range
  • Adjustable RSSI threshold and away delay — fine-tune what "too far" means for your space
  • High-resolution RSSI sampling at 6-second intervals (30s on low-end BLE chips) — more granular than Home Assistant's built-in Bluetooth integration, which downsamples sensor data
  • Alert plays on-device and a binary sensor reports to Home Assistant for automations

Use cases:

  • Attach a BLE beacon to your backpack — Ava alerts you if it moves out of range
  • Track a child's wristband — alert when they leave the room
  • Monitor elderly care devices — alert when a tracker goes offline

Where to find it: Settings → Bluetooth → tap the bell icon on a tracked device

Voice Replies — Restructured

Thanks to @alexreddy78 for requesting this in #89.

Voice reply settings have been consolidated into one place under Voice Config → Voice Replies. This brings TTS mode, subtitle overlay, playback volume, and continuous conversation together — so everything about how Ava talks back is in one screen.

Standard TTS vs. Streaming TTS:

You can now switch between two TTS playback modes:

  • Standard TTS — Ava waits until the full reply is generated, then plays it back. Better compatibility, supports floating subtitle overlay, works with any Home Assistant setup.
  • Streaming TTS — Ava starts speaking while the reply is still being generated. Faster first response on capable devices, but floating subtitles are not available and your server must support streaming output.

When to use which:

  • Standard TTS for reliability — if your server doesn't support streaming, or you rely on floating subtitles
  • Streaming TTS for responsiveness — modern setups where you want the answer to start the moment words are ready, like asking a quick question from across the room

Where to find it: Voice Config → Voice Replies

Whisper Response — Playback Volume Control

When the room is quiet, Ava lowers the playback volume of wake tones and voice replies automatically — no more loud responses in a sleeping household.

  • Adaptive mode — When your speech is quiet, Ava temporarily lowers the system playback volume and restores it after the reply. Best for bedside and close-range use.
  • Fixed quiet volume — Always use a set quiet volume for wake tones and replies, regardless of how loud you speak.

Where to find it: Voice Config → Voice Replies

Continuous Conversation — Moved & Improved

Continuous conversation has been moved from its previous location into Voice Replies, so all response-related settings are in one logical place.

Two end conditions for multi-turn conversations:

  • Exit keyword stop — Ava ends the conversation when the assistant says goodbye or similar farewell phrases (default)
  • Question mark continue — Conversation continues only when the assistant asks a question; stops after other replies

Where to find it: Voice Config → Voice Replies → Continuous Conversation

For Developers

Mod Extension Platform

Ava now supports runtime-loadable Java modules (mods) that extend device capabilities without modifying the APK. This addresses the request from #90 for broadcasting ESPHome voice pipeline events to external apps.

What mods can do:

  • Add device-specific hardware support (LED rings, screen control, GPIO)
  • Expose new sensors, switches, buttons, and text entities to Home Assistant
  • Hook into voice pipeline events (wake detected, listening, thinking, responding, error)
  • Intercept hardware button presses (volume, mute, action button)
  • Provide device-specific screen control (root/Shizuku-based sleep/wake)

Voice pipeline broadcast: Mods can opt-in to receive 14 pipeline events via onVoicePipelineEvent(Context, String, Bundle). External apps can also listen via the com.example.ava.VOICE_PIPELINE_EVENT broadcast. This enables detached LED ring controllers, external visualizers, and companion apps to react to voice states in real time.

Headless configuration: ACTION_APPLY_SETTINGS broadcast accepts JSON patches and merges them into DataStore. Supports 7 setting stores: microphone, player, experimental, sendspin, voice_channel, screensaver, voice_satellite. File-based input from /sdcard/ for TWRP/Magisk provisioning.

Full developer guide: Mod Development
Mod source code & examples: github.com/knoop7/ava-mods

Fixes

  • Thanks to Peter Meiser for reporting the dark-mode screen-off issue, which led to discovering this related config persistence bug.

  • Port randomization not persisted — Reconfiguring Home Assistant no longer causes ESPHome to ignore the user's custom port setting. The port is now saved with a user-configured flag that prevents auto-randomization on service restart.

  • Voice config UI clarity — Settings labels and descriptions restructured for easier navigation. New users can now find wake word, voiceprint, and audio event settings without confusion.

  • Dark mode screen-off fix — Thanks to or reporting that "Turn off in dark" was not working on certain devices. The screensaver controller now properly hides the screensaver (removing KEEP_SCREEN_ON) before attempting screen-off, and falls back to the standard screen control API when no device-specific mod is available.

  • Other minor fixes — Various stability improvements and UI polish across different screen sizes.

Full changelog and technical details: github.com/knoop7/Ava/wiki

Contributors

AJolly and alexreddy78
Assets 3
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