Lesson learned today: always monitor a machine you intend to let run without interruptions for a long time. And that includes home automation hardware. I have described elsewhere the steps to install Debian on an embedded PC. I’m still working on this project and intend to soon install the open-source Misterhouse software on it. But […]
The Guardian carries an interesting story about yet another alternative to ZigBee: Ultra-low Power Bluetooth. ZigBee has been touted since 2003 as a low-power, low-bandwidth wireless protocol ideally suited to home automation applications. But as the article makes clear, “we aren’t all drawing our curtains and turning on the lights with the touch of a […]
At long last I’ve pasted together the videos taken during by PhD defense. Here they are, raw and unedited. 1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8 8/8
The CM11A X10 controller (or its various incarnations, such as the CM12CH model for Switzerland), made by X10 Pro, is one of the most ubiquitous (and cheapest) X10 controllers available. If you want to write a program that will talk to this interface you will definitely need to know not only its communication protocol but […]
Ubiquitous home automation will never become a reality unless cheap embedded PCs are available to be the “brains” of the home. Some time ago I came across a company called Soekris Engineering who make relatively cheap embedded PCs, like the one shown below. This little guy packs a 20Gb CompactFlash harddisk, 128 Mb RAM, and […]
If you can measure it you can control it, and that is also true of your energy consumption. Two energy-monitoring devices have recently been brought to my attention that are not only easy to use, but also to install. The first one is the OWL, and consists of a wireless clip you put around your […]
Recently I got this email from Dr. Dimitrios Gyalistras of ETH Zurich: I would like to draw your attention to the newly launched website of the project Use of Weather and Occupancy Forecasts for Optimal Building Climate Control (OptiControl): http://www.sysecol.ethz.ch/OptiControl/ OptiControl is a collaborative effort by the ETH Zurich, EMPA Dübendorf, MeteoSwiss and Siemens Building […]
I have already mentioned elsewhere that the OSGi technology is likely to play an important part in the computerization of current and future buildings. It is a very attractive programming model for building management systems, especially with respect to its software lifecycle model (stopping, updating and restarting) that does not require a reboot of the […]
KNX, the home- and building automation standard that grew out of the fusion of Batibus, EIB and EHS, has now become international standard ISO/IEC 14543-3. The press announcement can be found here.
This Saturday I turned on our new raclette machine at our flat from my computer. There is a fairly well-established home automation standard in the U.S. called X10, invented in 1975. It allows for the simple control of appliances, lights and other home equipment, using a communication protocol over the power lines. It has however […]