Tell me about home automation platforms
Having moved into this big multi-story house with my friends, I'm toying with the idea of setting up some home automation stuff to tinker with. Here are my goals:
• RFID dongles to track resident and canine movement
• Video cameras, recording, and streaming to the internet
• Room-to-room videoconferencing
• Snazzy™ Interface
• Other general HA stuff like HVAC control, lights (although I really don't care to retrofit all that stuff)
I've been looking around at different platforms but things seem like they're either partially baked open source projects or really high-end commercial systems that can't be hacked and extended. Am I missing a really robust platform for this sort of thing? Preferably one that runs on OS X or Linux?
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Crestron is infinitely hackable and extendable.
No, the controller's firmware isn't open source. But the real work is done by the program you yourself load onto the device. You can hire someone to write the program for you or you can do it yourself if you have a modicum of programming ability.
X-10. Relatively cheap (although their build quality reflects their cost). Lighting components are fairly foolproof and easy to install into an existing system - plug in units incredibly so, hardwired a little trickier.
I believe they have a computer interface, although all I have personally installed are plug in units and an IR control box so I can use my programmable Pronto remote to control the lights in my living room.
Joel,
I've written for O'Reilly on automation and been doing it for 10+ years. I've posted my system here before:
http://web.mac.com/agraham999/Rain_Barrel/Home.html#11
I have Video Cameras that do videoconferencing and also have cameras that record for security purposes and send the video to a remote location. I've even used Wi Fi cameras.
HVAC, lighting, vampire devices, motion detection, etc...I've got it all.
I don't bother with RFID since our house is small and I don't really want that tracked, even with presence/proximity detection, haven't yet found that useful.
The combination of Remote Buddy and Perceptive Automation's Indigo...tied to a Mac Mini...I have yet to find anything I couldn't do.
As for retrofitting...very little effort to do it and the cost isn't that bad. My energy savings alone pay for it.
If you want to chat about it, ask Mark for my email address, although I think you have access to it as a commenter.
Alan Graham
Jeez, another "Little Brother" post?
Seriously, that's creepy. Can't you just look out a window/shout through the walls like a normal person? :P
Probably falls outside of the even partially-baked camp, but this sounds like a job for Arduino to me. OS X/Linux/Windows, open source (hw & sw) - truly roll-your-own home automation. The video stuff would probably be beyond the realm of practicality for Arduino, but all of the physical stuff (sensing and actuating) is right up its alley. The RFID seems pretty straightforward. There's also lots of code out there for turning cameras on and off using Arduino sensor inputs (i.e. motion, light, switch).
Unfortunately home automation just hasn't really caught on yet. I don't think you're going to find a single platform to handle everything you want unless you are willing to pay a lot. A combination of x10 open standard for general stuff like lights, open source hardware/software for RFID, and a separate system for wireless video is going to be as close as you can get. As far as integrating it all... you'll need to put on your hacker hat.
I look forward to the day when I can afford a nice home and pay for one of the nice fancy systems.
I know this might not be exactly what you are looking for, but a system based on Windows Home Server, like the HP MediaSmart series could be a good candidate for that type of integration. (WHS can be installed on any box)
Most WHS setups are headless, so even though you are technically running MS software your interactions are nearly all web based. They support a rich array of snazzy plugins, like this home automation software: http://mswhs.com/2007/11/07/add-in-mcontrol-home-automation-software/
WHS has a nice following so it is entirely possible that future plugins will accommodate all your desires - maybe even the holy grail, a "Dog to HVAC Video Conference" solution!
Wow, so many good suggestions! I have to say I'm leaning towards Alan's suggestions. I'd love to run it off the Mac, we've already got a Sonos and an AppleTV in the house. (Plus a couple of NASes, Xbox 360, etc.) I'm looking at Indigo right now.
Also, W000T, I'm going to get my ass down to a NYC Resistor class on Arduino here real soon. A housemate and I were just talking today about how we need to learn how to hack those. (And I could use any electronics theory help I can get.)
Oh, another snag: We haven't tested any powerline networking gear here yet, but all three floors have separate circuits from ConEd, including three different boxes outside. That may pose a problem.
For HVAC, I like my Home Comfort Zones. http://homecomfortzones.com/
Every room gets a wallmount wireless stat, every register gets a damper, and you program it all through a touch screen LED.
OMFG RFID readers with a multi-foot read range are like $600!
What exactly do you want to do with RFID stuff? There might be some cheaper alternatives.
I want to be able to track what floor everyone is on.
DO NOT go X10. I had X10 for years...the issues involved with line interference, reliability, and so on aren't worth the hassle. I moved away from that with our new home and went 95% Insteon.
I have a few old legacy X10 units for low voltage (remote control of the fireplace), but all other lights, outlets, and appliance controllers are all Insteon.
Indigo is something I've been using for years now...it is feature rich, stable, works with Applescript...you can tie it to Ir for use with Harmony Remotes. Remote Buddy allows you to tie remotes to the Home Automation through Applescript.
I even have scripts and automation tied to things like a laundry timer. Double tap the light switch in the garage and the timer starts. In 55 Minutes the lights toggle on/off and my laptop, kitchen computer, and my wife's laptop announce:
"Laundry Done"
I tie my home automation to EvoCam which is enabled when I leave the house. It turns on the iSight and records if motion is detected. Someone breaks in...lights come on and smile...two cameras are capturing and sending your image to my iDisk.
So all lights, fireplace, motion detection, cameras, timers, appliances, blah blah blah are all working.
I do have one proximity detector running as well. When I leave the house, my iPhone bluetooth tells the house I've left...turns on the security.
Ping me and I'll hook you up with some folks at Smarthome who make Insteon.
How about bluetooth antennas and discoverable cell phones? Could do some ninja stuff with wireless usb (or running usb cables through the wall) to deploy bluetooth antennas, and then have a service running to detect when devices pair/unpair and push status updates.
Three possibilities that have remained on my Wish List for several years now:
1.) A networked washer and dryer that run ZeroConf / Bonjour / Rendezvous and show up as contacts in iChat. They should set their away message as their current status (e.g. "Final rinse.", "Remove laundry!", etc.) and IM everyone on the LAN when the washer / dryer is done. Bosch and Miele make some fancy-pants washing machines and dryer, but neither do this (ideally also with embedded Linux).
2.) Why do I still need to carry metal keys to unlock doors when "everyone" has a mobile phone with Bluetooth that can conceivably do SSH public key authentication? My physical proximity or pressing a button on said phone should be enough. (I guess it sucks if your battery died though.)
3.) Some kind of entry system that keeps tabs on people's comings and goings. I don't mean to spy, but I'd like to know who is currently in the building. (e.g. "Let's not forget anyone when we make an order of take-out.") Also, for anyone interested in providing a couch for couchsurfing, it'd be great to give visitors temporary keys (like hotel keycards) rather than a permanent that they could possibly copy and rob you later.
I think your best bet is a series of tubes, gears, pulleys, hampsters and cages. Just make sure to stock up on hampster kibble - you do NOT want those little beasties hungry and angry at you .....
signed,
Stumpy Joe
I think battery-powered transponders are easier (cheaper) to read. Simple RFID tags are super cheap, but the reader has to provide power, so distance is expensive. You could put a reader strip along the bottom of each doorway and wear shoe tags like for they use for races.
Two words: Pneumatic tubes.
All these cameras make me think you're building one of those 24x7 online sex houses. Your BBTV segments are great but I'm not sure we want you to take it to the next level.
A pal had a pet door where you put a special tag on the cat collar.
Cat liked the sound of the solenoid clicking.
Two weeks later, pet door was completely dead.
Icky2000: If you thought it was embarrassing when I couldn't remember how a circuit fit together...
Haineux: But the cat was fine, I hope?
We use Insteon products in our apartment, having tried x-10 and been disappointed with the results.
Our condo was built in the 1940s, and the wiring needs some work, to say the least. Since we're renting, we're not going to do that work and x-10 has been fantastic. We use Indigo on a Mac Mini to control it all.
We tend to order everything from http://www.smarthome.com/, since they're local to us shipping is super fast.
I made my own with a Velleman K8055, similar to an Arduino. If you're tracking everyone in the house though, I would be sure to look into the limitations of RFID: how far away can the sensor be from the chip, and other concerns. You may be better off with a different kind of sensor for that. I know Bill Gates details his automated house in one of his books, but I can't remember which.
I'm just a bucket of help today.
There's a totally awesome Home Automation/AV/Structured Wiring store in Cupertino called Hometech. You can get parts from their online store, but going in is fun if you are ever in the area.
http://www.hometech.com/
They give seminars, have online tutorials, and love to talk shop. Ask for James or Richard.
I've been dying for decent open source software I can throw up and use right off the bat, with a nice interface and simple installation.
Would this be a good application for a custom OS distro with native support for all this stuff? Something like a Home Automation Ubuntu flavor?
I'm running a pretty sophisticated system using Indigo on the Mac with Insteon and Applescript. statistical analysis of motion detector data, stuff like that.
I came across Pluto a while back, not sure how well supported it is now but its very extensible.
http://plutohome.com/