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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!

Parents

  • Looks like a very interesting project.

    I do agree that the new tech is really nice, but the cost will get high fairly quickly.

     

    On the other side the commercial offerings aren't cheap or have as many features.

     

    Many of the latest gadgets/offerings to the market are at a premium, but give it 5 years and they become much cheaper ... however has the associated tech moved on since then??

     

    Mark

Comment

  • Looks like a very interesting project.

    I do agree that the new tech is really nice, but the cost will get high fairly quickly.

     

    On the other side the commercial offerings aren't cheap or have as many features.

     

    Many of the latest gadgets/offerings to the market are at a premium, but give it 5 years and they become much cheaper ... however has the associated tech moved on since then??

     

    Mark

Children
  • 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

  • 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