Gordon MeyerMacWorld Expo Boston

July 2005

Automation ForThe Rest of Us

Welcome tomy automated home

House, wake me at 6AM.If I’m not up by 6:05,try again.

OK

If my wife isn’t out of town, wake her at 6:30.

Unless it’s a weekend, then let us both sleep until 8:00.

Start the coffee pot before I go downstairs, and turn on some lights if it’s still dark.

Turn everything off after the last person leaves for work.

Bye

Send me an email if anything happens while I’m gone.

Turn on the yard lights a few minutes after sunset.

And if nobody is home yet, make the house look occupied.

When I arrive, tell me how many email messages I have from friends.

And remind me that it’s garbage night.

If the phone rings during dinner, tell me who is calling.

Dim the lights for me while I watch a DVD.

It’s time for bed. Tell me tomorrow’s weather.

Tell me that I left the garage door open. Close it for me.

Turn off the lights. Adjust the thermostat. Be quiet until morning.

G’nite

The home of tomorrow, today.

Getting Connected

Your house as the ultimate peripheralYour computer needs to talk to your house. To do this you need to make your house smarter.

But you don’t need a new house.

You don’t need new lamps.

What you need is…

Your house as the ultimate peripheralYour computer needs to talk to your house. To do this you need to make your house smarter.

But you don’t need a new house.

You don’t need new lamps.

What you need is…

XYour house as the ultimate peripheralYour computer needs to talk to your house. To do this you need to make your house smarter.

But you don’t need a new house.

You don’t need new lamps.

What you need is…

X10

Powerline Carrier (PLC)

Sends data over household AC

Since 1978, now public domain

Dozens of brand names

Hundreds of devices

X10 Technology

• Serialized commands sent over the AC power line• X10 modules are connected to power line and listen for commands• All modules are always listening for commands• Modules respond when they see a command with their X10 address– House codes: A-P– Unit codes: 1-16– Example X10 address: B5

X10 Details

X-10 Powerhouse The BSR System X-10 Magnavox Leviton Manufacturing Co. HomePro Advanced Control Technologies Stanley GE Homeminder PCS Safety First

IBM Heath Kit - Zenith Wesclox NuTone RCA HomeLink SmartLinc Universal ElectronicsOne-For-All Sears Radio Shack Plug 'n Power

A rose by any other name...PLC (x10) label names

Devices

Lamp & Appliance Modules• Modules let you control:– Lamps– Fans– Coffee Pots– Radios

Motion Detectors• Passive Infrared Detection• Battery-operated• Sends wireless signal to a nearby

transceiver• Transceiver relays signal to the

power line• Not exactly instantaneous

Sending X10 Commands• Mini-controllers let you manually

send X10 commands• Turn lights on or off• Dim lights• Trigger a macro in your home

automation software

Can’t I just turn on a light like a normal person?

Common non-geek reaction to home automation

control is not automation

ControlJust a trick

is magicAutomation

Makes your house a peripheral

• USB device• Plugs into wall socket• Receives all X10 commands• Sends X10 commands• ActiveHome Pro CM15A - $50• SmartHome PowerLinc 1132U -

$40

X10 to Computer Interface

The Brains(software)

Indigowww.perceptiveautomation.com

FREE COPY!

XTensionwww.shed.com

Misterhousewww.misterhouse.com

www.shotton.com/muscleMUSCLE

A port of Unix’s heyu & xtend

/* If it's after 10PM and Unit B2 is off, then dim A7 by 20%, wait five minutes, then turn A7 off. /*

% [ `date +%H` -ge 20 ] && [ $(($X10_B2)) -lt 128 ] && heyu turn a7 bright 5; sleep 300 ; heyu turn a7 off

The Zen of X10

X10 is less than perfect• Transmission timing means it takes 1.5 seconds to send commands.– Longer if you’re using wireless devices, like motion detectors• Electrical noise can block commands– Power supplies, electric toothbrushes, fluorescent lights• Normalize your electrical environment– Filters & signal boosters– www.smarthome.com/x10troubleshoot.html• Relax, take a deep breath– Do you drop AirPort because the microwave knocks you offline?

Three Fun Hacks

SMARTHOME

HACKSTM

100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools

Gordon Meyer

FREE COPY!

Detect a Beer Thief

What it doesKeep an eye on the babysitter, or your teenagers, while you’re away from home.

Courtesy of Michael Ferguson

Motion detector• Mounted on inside of the door• Opening door sends two signals:– motion– dusk-to-light• Silently write message to log• Say “You’re busted!”• Sound an alarm

In the liquor cabinet• Mounted on inside of the door• Opening door sends two signals:– motion– dusk-to-light• Silently write message to log• Say “You’re busted!”• Sound an alarm

In the liquor cabinet• Mounted on inside of the door• Opening door sends two signals:– motion– dusk-to-light• Silently write message to log• Say “You’re busted!”• Sound an alarm

Hacking the hack• Use this technique to monitor:– The fridge, for dieters.– The gun cabinet.– Your car, parked in the garage.– The furnace closet, to log when you last changed the air filter.

Simulate a Sunrise

What it doesGently brightens the bedroom lights so you wake up naturally.

Starting 15 minutes before the time that you want to wake up, raise the light level in the room.

SunRise clockhttp://www.dreamessentials.com/a_clocks_sunrise.aspx

$110.

XTension scriptScheduled to begin 15 minutes before your wake-up time

dim "Bedroom Lamp" to 10

dim "Bedroom Lamp" to 20 in 3 * minutes

dim "Bedroom Lamp" to 30 in 5 * minutes

dim "Bedroom Lamp" to 50 in 7 * minutes

dim "Bedroom Lamp" to 75 in 9 * minutes

dim "Bedroom Lamp" to 80 in 11 * minutes

dim "Bedroom Lamp" to 100 in 14 * minutes

XTension repeating eventMonday—Friday, 15 minutes Early

Hacking the hackMake it smarter

• If you’re not at home, because you’ve left earlier or are on vacation, skip the whole process.if (status of "Gordon Home”) is true then

dim "Bedroom Lamp" to 10

dim "Bedroom Lamp" to 20 in 3 * minutes

[...]

end if

• Reverse the technique to dim the lights when you go to bed.

Hamster-Powered Night Light

What it doesHarness your hamster’s nocturnal running to power a night light.

Courtesy of Dan Fink

The specifications• A visit to the pet store showed that most rodents achieve between 40

and 60 RPM on their exercise wheels.• Cheap exercise wheels are noisy, which means they’re wasting energy.

Use a ball-bearing mount instead. (Scavenged from a skateboard.)

The specifications• Build an alternator into the exercise wheel– mount the wheel on stand– add a circle of magnets around the outside perimeter– wind two coils of enamled magnet wire (connected in series)

The light• Two bright red LEDs.• Wired backwards to each other, so

one is lit, depending on which direction the wheel is spinning.• Plenty bright for lighting the way

to the bathroom during the night.

Why stop there?• Calibrate the bicycle computer to

the circumference of the exercise wheel.• Skippy regularly achieved 2 to 3

MPH.• The computer keeps track of peak

speeds, elapsed time, and how many Hamster-Miles (hM) are run each night.

Skippy the HamsterIn memoriam

Resources

Where to turn for help and information

XTension website and Discussion List• A treasure-trove of ideas, scripts, and an excellent mailing list– www.shed.com

Indigo website and forum• Sample scripts and helpful users– www.perceptiveautomation.com

Books• Home Hacking Projects for Geeks• Smart Home Hacks

Best Deals

Hardware PackageActive Home Pro Starter Kit - $99Includes computer interface and modulesInterface supports both wireless and power-line commandsWorks with XTension and Indigo

Best DealsDiscounted version of XTension if you buy Smart Home Hacks

Like getting the book for free! ($25 off )contact: michael@shed.com

SMARTHOME

HACKSTM

100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools

Gordon Meyer

+

www.gordonmeyer.com

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