As consumers we are on the cusp of having our cake and eating it: a fully integrated one-stop solution for home automation that will work seamlessly and without requiring manual programming. I feel this entry will become outdated very soon. At best they could hit the nail on the head, and if not they just may throw something so left-of-centre out there that is provides you with the fresh outlook you need to trace the problem. Ask other occupants what they think is happening. You may be surprised by the other users’ perception and understanding of your home control system. If you are anything like me this usually involves an embarrassing and potentially uncomfortable period where you are remaining totally motionless right in front of a motion sensor to see what happens when the “no movement here” signal is sent. the rest of the family and pets large enough to trigger any sensors) and then physically run through each process that you think may be causing the problem. To do this you need to empty the house of unexpected variables (i.e. You can also keep track of things like ID codes and group codes for all your connected devices. You can literally trace your finger through the lines and see which scripts you need to check if something is not working right. And in the event of a catastrophic failure, they pay dividends. Okay, so this may be the most geeky thing I have said on this blog so far, but I like to keep diagrams and spreadsheets showing which systems and activities are inter-related. You can then rifle through the logs and find anything that is not behaving as you’d planned. Ensure each of your subsystems are writing down what they are doing and just as importantly when they are doing it. So with such a complex system how do you diagnose the problem? The controls and automatic lighting obviously do not respond, and then something as simple and as taken for granted as getting light and audio into the shower requires scrabbling through phone apps: not good if the water is already running! Worse, the switches that are supposed to be triggered in the early morning, such as the “it is dawn” variable do not fire. A few times in a row, the Raspberry Pi 2 has frozen overnight. Although adding additional functionality is stimulating for me and ultimately rewarding for me and my flatmate, each iteration adds a new layer of complexity – and like every complex system, the bigger it is, the harder it can fall. Basic scripting has become more in-depth as I attempt to squeeze out the most from every device. Certain groups of these items require different communication protocols, some radio, some infrared, some HTTP and some via a webserver.Īs my system has been created from several protocols and brands, I find it engaging and a full-on hobby to ensure they perform perfectly in concert. Each one has a unique set of capabilities, and inter dependencies with other devices. There are at least 77 items for the home control system to control. Here’s a quick diagram of my current setup at home. You find it amazing that you can control them from your phone. You start with one or two home control devices. I cannot wait to see this in action: Philips, if you are reading this and you need a “real” home to preview The Voice integration: pick me! This new innovation (similar – but possibly an evolution of – the SyFy Sync app) brings us one step closer to all action/music/performance programmes having “light encoding” similar to the way subtitles are currently saved alongside video. Ambilight and the projection version of Ambilight from Philips proved that extending the lighting effects beyond the visible window you can see on television creates a much more immersive experience. If the live shows sync up as well as the sample video did, I can only tremble with anticipation before the live head-to-head shows begin. I have downloaded the app in anticipation and have selected the lights I want to be controlled during the live performance, and also tested the setup via a short sample video supplied in the app. This means in effect that the lighting director will not only be controlling the stage where the contestants sing, but also the lights wherever you are watching. In January ITV (the UK television network) announced that during later stages of The Voice UK, the companion app will control connected Hue devices and sync them to the stage lighting. I don’t think I have ever been more excited about Philips Hue, and that is saying something as I am a great lover of the whole range of products.
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