Flutterby™! : To all the home automation kickstarters 2013-07-23 22:06:19.854241+00

To all the home automation kickstarters

2013-07-23 22:06:19.854241+00 by Dan Lyke 7 comments

To all the home automation kickstarters & crowdfunding pitches I get, I want 1 thing: docs on how *my code* talks to it. Gimme that, I'm in.

#Comment Re: made: 2013-07-23 22:13:44.325314+00 by: Jack William Bell

Of course you realize programmable home automation will also result in extending cloud-based telematics platforms into the home. Result? The NSA will know your thermostat settings and how often you go to the bathroom.

What with smart-metering, I figure they already know that... Especially since I've got the fancy Toto toilet seat.

This one was brought on by yet another "control your lights with your iPhone" kickstarter. I would love something I could control at the price point this one was claiming, but if it's yet another "phone home, doesn't work if the net is down, and I can't automate it from my server" thing... or where I have to spend a bunch of time network sniffing to try to figure out how to talk to it, well... I can buy a lot of those already.

I'm using a VeraLite right now because I wanted to try their phone app. But the Aeon Z- Stick seems to be the choice for more hard-core automators.

Right now I only have my front door lock and office lights on Z-Wave. The Kwikset Keypad deadbolt was $60-$100 more for Z-Wave over the same keypad lock without. The GE Z-Wave dimmer was worse at almost $45 for a dimmer that has usability issues.

My complaint now is the divergence of devices. There's Z-Wave, ZigBee and X10. And then there's whatever Nest is using. And Phillips Hue. I just got a pair of nice D-Link wifi cameras but they seem to speak their own language as well (although I can get them to FTP files or send an email in response to motion which is enough for me).

open-zwave is a C++ library for coding up your own automations using devices like the Aeon Z-Stick.

I have a project on the honey-do list: Make an automated dog treat dispenser that activates automatically when someone approaches the front door. Bonus points if the dog treat dispenser doesn't activate while a dog is barking. I think the RaZBerry is just the ticket.

#Comment Re: made: 2013-07-29 03:59:52.695648+00 by: TC [edit history]

Late to the party but this an interesting subject. I'm looking into farm automation as a new hobby. Some of the kickstarters I funded this month

Combining Arduino & 802.11 looks like a nice match so the Spark people have my attention the most right now, but still in the hunt for cool tech.

Yeah, I could do all of this stuff with just a little soldering. What I'd like is a standard I'm building on, and simple installation.

And, double yeah: There are so many kickstarters for home automation stuff right now. So. Many.