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  1. Home
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  3. A smart home vs an automated home

A smart home vs an automated home

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  • dbemowskD dbemowsk

    Again, doing some more brain cell searching and reflecting on the subject of a "person" node for MySensors, I am more and more starting to realize that this part of things may not be in the realm of MySensors. Not to say it shouldn't be part of an HA system, just not handled by MySensors. I think it could be a different module/plugin for whatever controller people are using, e.g Vera, Domoticz, OpenHAB, etc... As was mentioned, a "person" node would probably have a great number of properties and attributes that define a person. That in itself I think is a great argument as to why it should NOT be a MySensors node. Some of those properties and attributes may be defined by one or more different MySensors nodes, but it may also take data from a different kind of node based on something like what @wallyllama mentions which might require a more complex processor such as a nanopi. The ways in which a person may be identified could differ greatly between systems and could range from simple to complex. Again I get back to the simple IR doorway occupancy sensor that can count the number of people in a room. I think that this could be a great starting point for something like this and could be something simple enough for MySensors to handle. Going with something like this and later finding varying ways to determine who the occupants of a space are may be a way to get this started.

    gohanG Offline
    gohanG Offline
    gohan
    Mod
    wrote on last edited by
    #46

    @dbemowsk that's something that netatmo did with their smart ip camera that is able to recognize who entered the room or your garden and with that you can set some rules in a HA system and I bet it is far from simple to be done on a DIY project

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    • wallyllamaW Offline
      wallyllamaW Offline
      wallyllama
      wrote on last edited by
      #47

      @gohan Openmv has a single board camera with opencv and micropython, another option.

      I think @dbemowsk idea of door sensors fits nicely with mysensors as he has said. Is there a more appropriate forum for the more complex devices that anyone knows of? Im thinking if I come up with a node, I can add it like any other, but there will be a lot of talk that ends up a bit off topic.

      On topic, are there controllers that are more amenable to the kind of combining of different nodes to identify people that we are talking about? I've used Mr. House for other things, and domoticz for my one test node, not enough to really have an opinion.

      dbemowskD 1 Reply Last reply
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      • wallyllamaW wallyllama

        @gohan Openmv has a single board camera with opencv and micropython, another option.

        I think @dbemowsk idea of door sensors fits nicely with mysensors as he has said. Is there a more appropriate forum for the more complex devices that anyone knows of? Im thinking if I come up with a node, I can add it like any other, but there will be a lot of talk that ends up a bit off topic.

        On topic, are there controllers that are more amenable to the kind of combining of different nodes to identify people that we are talking about? I've used Mr. House for other things, and domoticz for my one test node, not enough to really have an opinion.

        dbemowskD Offline
        dbemowskD Offline
        dbemowsk
        wrote on last edited by
        #48

        @wallyllama I was actually a Mister House user prior to finding MySensors. The death of my Raspberry Pi 2 that I was running Mister House is what got me looking for other options, which is how I found MySensors. I then tried Domoticz for a bit, mainly because I found PERL, which is what MisterHouse is written in, hard to work with. Domoticz had some limitations too. I now have my Vera controller which I like. All of these have deficiencies in certain areas, but the nice thing with all of them is that they support many different types of HA hardware.

        Vera Plus running UI7 with MySensors, Sonoffs and 1-Wire devices
        Visit my website for more Bits, Bytes and Ramblings from me: http://dan.bemowski.info/

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        • wallyllamaW Offline
          wallyllamaW Offline
          wallyllama
          wrote on last edited by
          #49

          A thought experiment. 5 known people and 1 pet in a room. 1 living being leaves the room. IR door sensor in place. What information do we want about the new situation? And what sensors would we need to gather it?....

          dbemowskD 1 Reply Last reply
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          • wallyllamaW wallyllama

            A thought experiment. 5 known people and 1 pet in a room. 1 living being leaves the room. IR door sensor in place. What information do we want about the new situation? And what sensors would we need to gather it?....

            dbemowskD Offline
            dbemowskD Offline
            dbemowsk
            wrote on last edited by
            #50

            @wallyllama Are you talking about all the way down to the system knowing who each of those people are?

            Vera Plus running UI7 with MySensors, Sonoffs and 1-Wire devices
            Visit my website for more Bits, Bytes and Ramblings from me: http://dan.bemowski.info/

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            • wallyllamaW Offline
              wallyllamaW Offline
              wallyllama
              wrote on last edited by
              #51

              I dont know. I guess Im wondering what you want from this. Do you care about pets vs humans? Adults vs children? General person count only? If the goal is to not shut the lights off on people then the last one is good enough.

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              • wallyllamaW Offline
                wallyllamaW Offline
                wallyllama
                wrote on last edited by
                #52

                I have recieved 2 amg8832 chips for experimentation after some delays because of import rules. The labeling on the bagggie says they need to be mounted within 108 hours of opening the bag. I would recommend getting a breakout board and not raw chips.

                I'll post in the appropriate category any additional progress.

                dbemowskD 2 Replies Last reply
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                • wallyllamaW wallyllama

                  I have recieved 2 amg8832 chips for experimentation after some delays because of import rules. The labeling on the bagggie says they need to be mounted within 108 hours of opening the bag. I would recommend getting a breakout board and not raw chips.

                  I'll post in the appropriate category any additional progress.

                  dbemowskD Offline
                  dbemowskD Offline
                  dbemowsk
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #53

                  @wallyllama If I am looking at the information on these, these could see the direction a person is moving correct? If so, that would be a way to count people entering or leaving a room.

                  Vera Plus running UI7 with MySensors, Sonoffs and 1-Wire devices
                  Visit my website for more Bits, Bytes and Ramblings from me: http://dan.bemowski.info/

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                  • wallyllamaW wallyllama

                    I have recieved 2 amg8832 chips for experimentation after some delays because of import rules. The labeling on the bagggie says they need to be mounted within 108 hours of opening the bag. I would recommend getting a breakout board and not raw chips.

                    I'll post in the appropriate category any additional progress.

                    dbemowskD Offline
                    dbemowskD Offline
                    dbemowsk
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #54

                    @wallyllama After watching this video this looks even more interesting.
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HA1DX4DQdM

                    Vera Plus running UI7 with MySensors, Sonoffs and 1-Wire devices
                    Visit my website for more Bits, Bytes and Ramblings from me: http://dan.bemowski.info/

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                    • wallyllamaW Offline
                      wallyllamaW Offline
                      wallyllama
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #55

                      I've been thinking of them as low resolution cameras that can see in the dark, but there may be more clever ways to think of it that I havent come across, but any computer vision algorithm would work. Motion detection for sure.

                      I have a fairly large living room with a high ceiling, if I mount one in the center, i should cover most of the room, I estimate a person would be about 1 pixel at the floor. The coverage is a pyramid so at the edges height is zero. Corner mounting like the video shows would probably fix that.

                      I think these work work better than my idea for a giant capacitive touch screen.

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                      • dbemowskD dbemowsk

                        @matt-shepherd Something I hadn't thought of. Nice idea. I do have an Amazon Echo in my living room. My only question on that is have they figured out a way to sparate 2 Amazon devices like an Echo in one room and a Dot in another room to know what room a sound came from? Last I checked, that was not possible.

                        I was looking into it a bit for other automation stuff like turning on a light in a room. For example, when I am in the living room and I say "turn the overhead light on", it turns on the living room overhead light. When I go into the office, where now I am being heard by the Dot, and I say the same phrase, it should turn the office overhead light on. From the reading that I have done, you can't use them that way, but it should be possible somehow.

                        sam9sS Offline
                        sam9sS Offline
                        sam9s
                        wrote on last edited by sam9s
                        #56

                        @dbemowsk this can be crudely done via routine feature on amazon alexa, what it offers is that you can rename any IOT device state (ON or OFF) with any name, so like in your example, living room lights you can just say Alexa "living room overheads" and it will turn the living room overhead lights, similarly for office you can say "Alexa; "office overheads" and it will switch on the office overhead lights. Ofcouse you have to have a different phrase for OFF state, but you get the idea. But yes the same phrase for all rooms and letting alexa sense which room r u in, and acting accordingly is actual smart home. I would keep searching if I can find n build somethig like that.

                        wallyllamaW 1 Reply Last reply
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                        • sam9sS sam9s

                          @dbemowsk this can be crudely done via routine feature on amazon alexa, what it offers is that you can rename any IOT device state (ON or OFF) with any name, so like in your example, living room lights you can just say Alexa "living room overheads" and it will turn the living room overhead lights, similarly for office you can say "Alexa; "office overheads" and it will switch on the office overhead lights. Ofcouse you have to have a different phrase for OFF state, but you get the idea. But yes the same phrase for all rooms and letting alexa sense which room r u in, and acting accordingly is actual smart home. I would keep searching if I can find n build somethig like that.

                          wallyllamaW Offline
                          wallyllamaW Offline
                          wallyllama
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #57

                          @sam9s what you are describing, while a nice way to control things, has the same basic flaw as a PIR device. You have to tell it you are there. The PIR(alexa) knows what room it is in, but you have to signal it some how. Alexa is signaled by a voice command, PIR by motion, but if you are quietly reading a book both of them forget you are there. Alternatively you can have them assume you are there for a set amount of time after the signal, or until they get an off signal.

                          The trick is to get them to detect you without actively addressing them. If Alexa can detect breathing, or heat or CO2, etc, then it would solve the problem.

                          you can combine alexa with door sensors. If alexa is triggered and no one has left the room then someone is still here. That is the idea that @dbemowsk pointed out earlier in the thread.

                          dbemowskD 1 Reply Last reply
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                          • gohanG Offline
                            gohanG Offline
                            gohan
                            Mod
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #58

                            If you could tell Alexa which room is in, you wouldn't have any problems since it normally doesn't wander around the house 😁

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                            • wallyllamaW wallyllama

                              @sam9s what you are describing, while a nice way to control things, has the same basic flaw as a PIR device. You have to tell it you are there. The PIR(alexa) knows what room it is in, but you have to signal it some how. Alexa is signaled by a voice command, PIR by motion, but if you are quietly reading a book both of them forget you are there. Alternatively you can have them assume you are there for a set amount of time after the signal, or until they get an off signal.

                              The trick is to get them to detect you without actively addressing them. If Alexa can detect breathing, or heat or CO2, etc, then it would solve the problem.

                              you can combine alexa with door sensors. If alexa is triggered and no one has left the room then someone is still here. That is the idea that @dbemowsk pointed out earlier in the thread.

                              dbemowskD Offline
                              dbemowskD Offline
                              dbemowsk
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #59

                              @wallyllama said in A smart home vs an automated home:

                              The trick is to get them to detect you without actively addressing them. If Alexa can detect breathing, or heat or CO2, etc, then it would solve the problem.

                              If you enter a room and do not say anything, then Alexa has no way of identifying WHO you are. Even if the echo could detect breathing, heat, or CO2, you are back to knowing that someone is there, but not who.

                              Vera Plus running UI7 with MySensors, Sonoffs and 1-Wire devices
                              Visit my website for more Bits, Bytes and Ramblings from me: http://dan.bemowski.info/

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