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  • Author Author: rhe123
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[Pi IoT] Thuis #02: Collecting materials

rhe123

To make my proposal a reality I need quite some electronics in the house. Luckily we already have several Z-Wave devices and Raspberries in the house, and a sponsored Kit on the way. But what other hardware do we still need?

 

More Z-Wave devices

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The entrance, living room, kitchen and office already have most lights controllable through Z-Wave. We do however plan to make this happen in the bedroom (and bathroom) as well to create a wake-up light. For this I’ll order the Fibaro Dimmer 2 or Qubino Dimmer modules, plus some dimmable LED bulbs and switches. Before ordering I’ll try to find out which combination is working best nowadays, because in the office I’m using the first generation Fibaro Dimmer and that one unfortunately buzzes while it’s dimmed. In a later blogpost I'll let you know which one I choose.

 

iBeacons

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Next to PIRs I’ll be using iBeacons to detect where in the house we are. I’ve chosen the latest generation of Estimote beacons for this. I’ve used the first generation before and they are nice little beacons with a very powerful SDK. Using at least 6 beacons it should be possible to give a quite accurate approximation of your location in the house. I’ll be giving it a try when they arrive.

This generation is brand new, so I had to pre-order them.

MOVE

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Another pre-order is the MOVE, which is currently available on Indiegogo. The MOVE is a bluetooth controlled motor to motorize existing blinds and shades. There is a micro USB connector as well which can be used to control it, so when it arrives I’ll experiment with both Bluetooth and USB control.

It will be used in the bedroom as part of the wake-up light. The estimated shipping date is currently in June.

 

HDMI capturing

For the ambilight in the home cinema I intend to use Hyperion. A HDMI splitter will be used so I can intercept the signal to the TV and feed into HDMI-to-RCA converter and a capturing device, which in turn will feed the images into a Raspberry Pi. The software interprets the image and controls the LEDs through an Arduino. Most materials are ordered from AliExpress, so it will probably arrive in about a month.

 

Patience

Now it’s time to be patience and wait for the arrival of all materials. In the meanwhile I’ll be working on some other parts, more about that in the next post!

  • in reply to rhe123

    but when you wait you also have to wait before you can enjoy it

    True, however the time between invention and mainstream is usually many years, and that depends on the country you live in as well.

     

    Enrico makes some very good points about product life, and this is another reason to wait a little to see if the product is still available should you be promoting it for others to enjoy.

    When you do it purefully for your own purposes then it doesn't matter.

     

    However this is a Design Challenge and hopefully a useful resource for someone to emulate later as they find the site.

     

    I do like the blind opener ... now if only I could find something for a window so I don't need to keep it open while we're out for two cats ....

     

     

    Mark

  • in reply to rhe123

    Hi Robin,

    That's why in this case I chose for Z-Wave, which is a standard

    You focus the point. The choice of a widely diffused standard I think it is sufficient to justify the adoption of a commercial device. Anything occur, it can be replace as well. Better if the standard is open source.

     

    Enrico

     

  • in reply to balearicdynamics

    Thanks again for your input ! Just like you I bought a first set of iBeacons when they launched. In the beginning they were indeed limited in their purpose, but they did do their simple job well. Recently Estimote introduced the Indoor SDK which should have some interesting features. I didn't try this one yet, as you need at least two sets of beacons for a useful coverage. Another nice addition in their latest models is the GPIO slot, so it should be possible to hook them up to e.g. an Arduino.

     

    Considering commercial products, in my opinion it's about choices and priorities. Where in the system are the challenges in which you want to put effort and where you can do something innovative. In my case the challenge is to make everything work together nicely as a whole and less about e.g the individual bulbs. I do see the risk you mention regarding components becoming unavailable or changed. That's why in this case I chose for Z-Wave, which is a standard (be it not that open as I would like) backed by multiple manufacturers. And I'm not using one of the off-the-shelve controllers, but a pretty barebone Razberry which I control through their API. So for me this gives the freedom in the integration with other products (incl completely DIY), while having some reliable hardware connecting the lights. That those dimmers and plugs are compact and good-looking is an added bonus image

     

    Robin

  • Hi,

     

    I saw your post and I have a doubt, or at least a suggestion image Did you already tried to use the beacons? I bought their first version as they was announced and continued to follow the evolution but the updates (excluding the interlocutory email on how they was hard working during these last two years) was nothing more really meaningful. And I never found a serious SDK to put these products in condition to be really used in a real environment. I hope that now - I have abandoned their path by about six months - they have definitely solved the problems.

     

    BTW I agree with that not only the commercial products are expensive, but also not always these grant something more than what can be done with few dollars and a sharp brain. The real thing that is blocking me adopting commercial products - excluding some very specific cases - is another: despite what will be the future destiny of your project anyway I suggest to think to it like something that will interest the market. This means that - why not? Hope and ambitions are free of charge image - in six months your prototype maybe ready to become a commercial product. So what happens if some of the commercial components become unavailable? Or, just in case, the company decide to change the product for any reason? This is the limit in cases like this; you (we) have no control at all on something that we buy closed in a box and IMHO it should not be a part of custom original project. Especially if it is a fundamental component.

     

    Enrico

  • in reply to mcb1

    Thanks! Using the latests and greatest always has the downside of the price, but when you wait you also have to wait before you can enjoy it image