Home automation seems to be all-or-nothing today. I can buy a relay switch with keyfob activation for $20 at Home Depot, or I can call my local Control4 rep to come automate my mansion. The in-between seems non-existent. My finished basement has recessed lighting controlled by four or five different switches, all of which are in the basement. When it's time to go to bed, one of us has to trudge down to the basement and start flipping switches. It would make me happy to just have a nighttime kill switch -- I don't need the house to sense my presence and start turning on my favorite music. Might be nice, but I'm not willing to spend $10K on home automation to make it happen.
I started reading about Zigbee and thought, "Hey, I'll just install Zigbee-controlled switches in the same boxes where my analog ones are today. Then, I'll use some automation appliance (like OpenRemote) to implement "turn off all basement lights" via a phone app" I got confused when trying to figure out what I would need to buy, which stuff could actually talk to other stuff, etc. and gave up.
I'd love to see a start-up sell semi-DIY kits for people like me. I'm fine with replacing switches, plugging in network devices, etc., but I really don't have the time to pick out appropriate hardware and make it all work together.
All the main switches at my house are Insteon based.
I use Indigo as an automation platform (it runs on OSX) on an old Mac Mini.
Lights, HVAC, multi-room audio, and several other things are controlled/managed through this system. I can access it remotely with a native iOS app and/or with custom control pages. With some applescript it can be extended to all sorts of other devices and purposes.
The problem isn't that there isn't a standard - "The great thing about standards, is that there are so many to choose from !"
There's x10, zigbee and zwave to start from. Oh and let's not forget the announced in Google IO 2011 their standard too !( Did google just do a "microsoft" with this btw?) . x10 is dated, insecure and very slow (and not really bidirectional). zigbee and zwave don't talk to each other. zwave does clever mesh stuff, but sometimes too clever (ie if a device ever fails, then all of its neighbours will forever complain unless you rebuild your mesh from scratch).
Here's the thing... YOU WILL SAVE MONEY AFTER 1 YEAR if you do HA on just your lights and heating ... but getting hobbyist stuff to work nicely is sooooo painful. I have a vera system running (in fact I'm the author of "vera alert" on Android) and I am sh1t scared of it going wrong and the kids don't have hot water or the heating switches off the boiler and refuses to talk etc etc.
Anyway. not sure where I was going with this tirade. Make sure you buy compatible devices (ie some zwave devices don't like other zwaves!) and GOOD LUCK.
I'd recommend looking into Digi's (digi.com) kits. ~$500 (I think) for their ConnectPort X4, a temp/humid/light sensor and SmartPlug. The X4 might be overkill, and you could get by with an X2 for cheaper.
If you know any Python, or willing to learn it, they've got some examples in the Eclipse-based IDE.
Edit: I'm not sure if this is the same person, I accidentally typed in dereklow.com and this person's website is dereklow.net. However note that on both websites, the person mentions "O-Levels examination" or "O Level certificate".
Original message:
>I think that the dorm room is impressive, however I wish that the article didn't try to sensationalize it by saying he was/is a Freshman. According to his website, he is 27 years old and has a degrees in Animation and Interactive Media. Not to be cynical, but this room is really impressive for an 18 year old (original impression I got) to have put together, but less impressive for a much older person.
Yeah, yeah, so the automation is not stunning, but how about the fact that the video is great promotion for his dorm room as a cool place to hang out? Personally, I'm hoping that some cool chick at Berkeley hears that 'Levels' remix and decides that Derek might be her kind of guy. Having cool stuff like that in your dorm is a perfect excuse for bringing girls back to check out your room, and it gives interested girls an excuse to swing by unannounced. Let's not forget what college is all about...
"MIDAS" from MIT is 7+ years older, and significantly more impressive -- http://web.mit.edu/zacka/www/midas.html . CRTs give this kind of set-up much more credibility.
No doubt what Derek Low did was super awesome, but he only hit the tip of the iceberg on what users 'want' (Slide 11). Sadly, while they loved creating scenes (modes), they weren't compelled to drop additional funds for it.
If he wants to continue pursuing this for his degree, I'm sure someone like Nest will try to scoop him up in a heartbeat.
As a side note, that automated blinds system was uncomfortably loud.
He used a bunch of X11 components to turn things on and off. That's not impressive. I did that in high school. I'm sure my non-technical mom could setup X11 too.
His homemade curtain opener is neat though. Clever use of a caster for a pully.
What's going to be really funny is the followup video of someone on his floor figuring out the channel he used and having some fun at 4AM with party mode.
Personally, I've done part of this to my dorm, and it's cool, but still not impressive considering all that and more was done some 7 years ago with midas.
This is fantastic. As a college student I can absolutely attest that this is one of the coolest dorms I've ever seen and completely wish my dorm was as cool as this. Might be a project for next year.
When you bring your date back to your dorm room, say "romantic mode" into the voice recognition system and the lights dim - she will know without a doubt that it's business time!
Not impressive at all. Its ridiculously simple automation at Berkeley! I am sure some 14 year old kid in india can do this.
- No machine learning,
- No face recognition
- No Gesture sensing
- Only lights and curtains..please
[+] [-] ShabbyDoo|14 years ago|reply
I started reading about Zigbee and thought, "Hey, I'll just install Zigbee-controlled switches in the same boxes where my analog ones are today. Then, I'll use some automation appliance (like OpenRemote) to implement "turn off all basement lights" via a phone app" I got confused when trying to figure out what I would need to buy, which stuff could actually talk to other stuff, etc. and gave up.
I'd love to see a start-up sell semi-DIY kits for people like me. I'm fine with replacing switches, plugging in network devices, etc., but I really don't have the time to pick out appropriate hardware and make it all work together.
[+] [-] brk|14 years ago|reply
All the main switches at my house are Insteon based.
I use Indigo as an automation platform (it runs on OSX) on an old Mac Mini.
Lights, HVAC, multi-room audio, and several other things are controlled/managed through this system. I can access it remotely with a native iOS app and/or with custom control pages. With some applescript it can be extended to all sorts of other devices and purposes.
Check out http://www.machomestore.com/catalog/ for Insteon/Indigo products.
[+] [-] ragmondo|14 years ago|reply
There's x10, zigbee and zwave to start from. Oh and let's not forget the announced in Google IO 2011 their standard too !( Did google just do a "microsoft" with this btw?) . x10 is dated, insecure and very slow (and not really bidirectional). zigbee and zwave don't talk to each other. zwave does clever mesh stuff, but sometimes too clever (ie if a device ever fails, then all of its neighbours will forever complain unless you rebuild your mesh from scratch).
Here's the thing... YOU WILL SAVE MONEY AFTER 1 YEAR if you do HA on just your lights and heating ... but getting hobbyist stuff to work nicely is sooooo painful. I have a vera system running (in fact I'm the author of "vera alert" on Android) and I am sh1t scared of it going wrong and the kids don't have hot water or the heating switches off the boiler and refuses to talk etc etc.
Anyway. not sure where I was going with this tirade. Make sure you buy compatible devices (ie some zwave devices don't like other zwaves!) and GOOD LUCK.
[+] [-] tsumnia|14 years ago|reply
If you know any Python, or willing to learn it, they've got some examples in the Eclipse-based IDE.
Edit: Here's the link to their kits (http://www.digi.com/products/wireless-routers-gateways/kits/)
[+] [-] bosie|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] raldi|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bannerts|14 years ago|reply
Original message: >I think that the dorm room is impressive, however I wish that the article didn't try to sensationalize it by saying he was/is a Freshman. According to his website, he is 27 years old and has a degrees in Animation and Interactive Media. Not to be cynical, but this room is really impressive for an 18 year old (original impression I got) to have put together, but less impressive for a much older person.
[+] [-] GuiA|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pinchyfingers|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ImprovedSilence|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] milesskorpen|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] caseorganic|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] georgieporgie|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tsumnia|14 years ago|reply
No doubt what Derek Low did was super awesome, but he only hit the tip of the iceberg on what users 'want' (Slide 11). Sadly, while they loved creating scenes (modes), they weren't compelled to drop additional funds for it.
If he wants to continue pursuing this for his degree, I'm sure someone like Nest will try to scoop him up in a heartbeat.
As a side note, that automated blinds system was uncomfortably loud.
[+] [-] trun|14 years ago|reply
http://web.mit.edu/zacka/www/midas.html
[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] Tyrant505|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] driverdan|14 years ago|reply
His homemade curtain opener is neat though. Clever use of a caster for a pully.
What's going to be really funny is the followup video of someone on his floor figuring out the channel he used and having some fun at 4AM with party mode.
[+] [-] alexenko|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] felixchan|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] younata|14 years ago|reply
Several people here have already linked to midas.
Personally, I've done part of this to my dorm, and it's cool, but still not impressive considering all that and more was done some 7 years ago with midas.
[+] [-] aorshan|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] geoffhill|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jakejake|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jamesrcole|14 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] Aftershock21|14 years ago|reply
This shouldn't be here.