Presented at Macworld 2005 (Boston)

1. Gordon Meyer
MacWorld Expo Boston
July 2005
Automation For
The Rest of Us

2. Welcome to
my automated home

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

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

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

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

7. Turn everything off after
the last person leaves for
work.
Bye

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

9. Turn on the yard lights a
few minutes after sunset.

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

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

12. And remind me that it’s
garbage night.

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

14. Dim the lights for me while
I watch a DVD.

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

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

17. Turn off the lights. Adjust
the thermostat. Be quiet
until morning.
G’nite

18. The home of tomorrow, today.

19. Getting Connected

20. Your house as the ultimate peripheral
Your 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…

21. Your house as the ultimate peripheral
Your 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…

22. X
Your house as the ultimate peripheral
Your 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…

23. X10

24. Powerline Carrier (PLC)
Sends data over household AC
Since 1978, now public domain
Dozens of brand names
Hundreds of devices
X10 Technology

25. • 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

26. 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 Electronics
One-For-All
Sears
Radio Shack Plug 'n Power
A rose by any other name...
PLC (x10) label names

27. Devices

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

29. Motion Detectors
• Passive Infrared Detection
• Battery-operated
• Sends wireless signal to a nearby
transceiver
• Transceiver relays signal to the
power line
• Not exactly instantaneous

30. 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

31. Can’t I just turn on a light like a
normal person?
Common non-geek reaction to home automation

33. control is not automation

34. Control
Just a trick

35. is magic
Automation

36. 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

37. The Brains
(software)

38. Indigo
www.perceptiveautomation.com
FREE COPY!

39. XTension
www.shed.com

40. Misterhouse
www.misterhouse.com

41. www.shotton.com/muscle
MUSCLE
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

42. The Zen of X10

43. 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?

44. Three Fun Hacks
SMART
HOME
HACKSTM
100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools
Gordon Meyer
FREE COPY!

45. Detect a Beer Thief

46. What it does
Keep an eye on the babysitter,
or your teenagers, while you’re
away from home.
Courtesy of Michael Ferguson

47. 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

48. 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

49. 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

50. 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.

51. Simulate a Sunrise

52. What it does
Gently 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.

53. SunRise clock
http://www.dreamessentials.com/a_clocks_sunrise.aspx
$110.

54. XTension script
Scheduled 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

55. XTension repeating event
Monday—Friday, 15 minutes Early

56. Hacking the hack
Make 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.

57. Hamster-Powered Night Light

58. What it does
Harness your hamster’s
nocturnal running to power a
night light.
Courtesy of Dan Fink

59. 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.)

60. 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)

61. 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.

62. 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.

63. Skippy the Hamster
In memoriam

64. Resources

65. 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

66. Best Deals
Hardware Package
Active Home Pro Starter Kit - $99
Includes computer interface and modules
Interface supports both wireless and power-line commands
Works with XTension and Indigo

67. Best Deals
Discounted version of XTension if you buy Smart Home Hacks
Like getting the book for free! ($25 off)
contact: michael@shed.com
SMART
HOME
HACKSTM
100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools
Gordon Meyer
+

68. www.gordonmeyer.com
Thank You
Booth 433 -“Meet the Speakers”- 1:00 to 2:00 Today