There are many types of Roman blinds and shades; the picture below shows just a few of the main types such as hobbled, relaxed Roman, rear tucked ... and these can all be motorized and controlled with Alexa™ or Google Home™.
The articles on this website can also apply to bamboo shades and mini shades too because they all work in a similar way, whether it's a Roman shade, bamboo type or similar blind where cords or chains are used to raise and lower the shades.
Roman shades are often made with PANELS arranged so that the series of panels retract and deploy sequentially as the shade is raised and lowered. This panelized effect creates flat sections that produce an organized pattern as the shade is retracted, rather than just gathering the shade into a bundle.
As seen in this second picture (left side cord is visible), the cords or strings usually start at the bottom bar or hem of the shade, then travel up inside (or behind) the material. When they reach the top, there is often a set of PULLEYS that direct the cords to one side, then a final PULLY reverses the direction so that you can pull DOWN on the cord to raise the blind UP.
Instead of a pulley arrangement, there is often a ROD at the top that is used as a WINDER, and the pull cord is simply a chain and sprocket mechanism that rotates the rod when you pull either side of the chain to RAISE and LOWER the shade.
Regardless of the structure, it is a relatively easy process to install one of our remote control motors above the shade, although sometimes you will need to drop the shade slightly to create room for the motorized tube.
The motor is inserted into a tube that is mounted with brackets at either end to the wall or the top of the window frame, and it acts as a WINDER or WINCH to raise and lower the shade. This action is identical to the function of the ROD described in the paragraph above.
The motorized tube is exactly the same mechanism we use for our roller shades, but instead of the fabric being attached to the tube and rolled up, we use the bare tube as a winding mechanism to roll the cords around the tube. This system effectively acts as a winch to raise the bottom bar or hem up when the retraction button is pressed (or you say Alexa, OPEN THE BLINDS).
If you are interested to see how Alexa™ can be used to control your Roman blinds, please see the article series we have written about using Alexa™ to operate blackout blinds (and lights) in our home theater.
The article series about motorizing Roman shades starts here: see a short VIDEO about motorized Roman shades and the introduction to motorizing Roman blinds.
Buy Roman Blind Motors & Controls In Our Online Store
A simple wireless wall mount remote control for Roman blinds may be all you need for motor control.
We also have the excellent BroadLink™ hub (with Android & IOS phone apps) that are very capable home automation controllers. This unit provides direct control over our Roman blind motors, smart plugs, window openers, security kits, environmental sensors, and other devices.
You can purchase motors for Roman blinds and our control products in our DIY online automation store.
We sincerely hope you enjoy our advanced technology products; if you have any questions, please contact us at any time!