NinjaBlocks is a home automation and security solution that fits the author's requirements of being reasonably priced, modular, extensible, and compatible with Raspberry Pi. The author sets up a system using NinjaBlocks and various wireless sensors and actuators. Rules can be created through a drag and drop interface to automate tasks like sending alerts when doors open or taking photos when motion is detected. An app allows remote control and viewing of cameras. While providing many capabilities, NinjaBlocks has some limitations around device support and reliance on cloud services.

1. Home Automation and Security
with NinjaBlocks
Eugene Yew
April 2015

2. 2
Situation
I was looking for :
• a reasonably priced home automation solution,
• a platform that was modular and worked with a range of
devices,
• a solution that was extensible in its capabilities (not a one
trick pony) and allowed it to be built upon,
• something that would put my Raspberry Pi to good use.

3. 3
Complication
• I did not want to re-wire my house so solution had to be
wireless friendly.
• I wanted a solution that was mobile friendly – ie allowed
me to control components of my home via my mobile
• Solution had to not be restricted to mobile use, for users
that did not care for mobility.
I did not want to spend a lot.
Question
What would fit my requirements ?

4. 4
Answer I went with:
• A kickstarter funded project from a Sydney company based
in Redfern Technology Park.
• Highlighted in Tech Blogs, eg http://lifehacker.com/make-
your-own-cheap-home-automation-in-10-minutes-with-
1468650432/all
• “Ninja Blocks are tiny cloud enabled computers that can
sense their environment by receiving input from a variety of
sensors & can affect their surroundings by controlling
lights, power sockets, and other actuators.”
Ninja Blocks - http://ninjablocks.com/

5. 5
Getting Ninja Blocks
Option 1: USD199 Kit
Starter Kit with:
• 1x Ninja Block (BeagleBone Black Linux computer with an Arduino).
• 1x Wireless motion sensor.
• 1x Wireless door/window contact sensor.
• 1x Wireless button.
• 1x Wireless temperature and humidity sensor.
• 1x Ethernet Cable.
• 1x 5VDC 3 Amp Power supply
• 1x Temperature Probe
http://ninjablocks.com/collections/ninja-blocks/products/ninja-blocks-kit

6. 6
Getting Ninja Blocks
Option 2: USD 49 Add on to Raspberry Pi
For those that already have a
Raspberry Pi, the Ninja Pi
Crust is an Arduino-compatible
board that sits on top of the
Raspberry Pi and has 433MHz
transceivers.
This is the option I went with.

7. 7
My Set Up
NinjaBlocks
Cloud
External Cloud
Services:
• Twitter
• SMS (Twillio)
• Dropbox
• Email
• Google Drive
• Facebook
433MHz Frequency
Socket
Actuators
Motion
Sensors
Door and
Window
Sensors
USB
Webcam
IP Cam on
Android
Mobile
Apps for
Remote
Control
Alarm Kit
REST based APIs

8. 8
Rules for Home Automation
• Using drag and drop, no coding.
• Some example rules I’ve set up:
• “When the front door is opened, send me an SMS, take a snapshot with camera,
send to my Gmail, upload to Dropbox”
• “When motion is detected by PIR sensor, take snapshot and upload to Dropbox.”
• “Turn on Coffee Maker and power board for TV every morning at specific time.”
• “Turn on stair lights if motion detected in between specific time”
You can create your own rules based on events that occur.

9. 9
Admin Web Dashboard

10. 10
Every sensor & actuator provides REST enabled API
So I built my own remote app and wrapped with PhoneGap
To remotely control
sockets
To remotely view
camera feed
To remotely turn
rules on or off.

11. 11
Android Wear interaction
• Tasker can be used to make
HTTP POSTs to the APIs.
• AutoWear provides Android Wear
extension to issue the same
commands from Android Wear
using custom screens or voice.
• Example of Android Wear turning
on coffee machine with actuator.

12. 12
My Bill of Materials
• 1 x PIR sensor - $8 each from eBay
• 3 x Door Sensors - $4 each from eBay
• 2 x power socket actuators with remote -
$30 for pack of 3 from Jaycar
• 1 Logitech C110 USB webcam connected
to Raspberry Pi - $9
• 1 x Swann Security Wireless Alarm Kit
with 3 door sensors, 3 PIR sensors, 2
remotes - $85 from Dick Smith
• Full list of crowd sourced compatible
devices on wiki.ninjablocks.com

13. 13
Lessons Learnt / Current shortcomings
• Not as much support for home automation devices like in-wall
switches, locks compared to solutions based on z-wave.
• Too many devices on 433Mhz frequency can lead to sometimes
patchy results (e.g. delayed actions).
• No ability to detect current state of actuators – can only trigger
on or off states.
• Cloud based solution and reliant on Ninjablocks’ uptimes.
• Alarm system needs to be secured to prevent alarm being able
to be disabled by removing power.
• Small engineering team and reliant on crowd sourcing support.
Focus has been more on their next Kickstarter project, Ninja
Sphere