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None of these things sound like killer applications, and few of them require any kind of computational power let alone networking. There are much simpler ways o

None of these things sound like killer applications, and few of them require any kind of computational power let alone networking. There are much simpler ways of accomplishing the same things. That is my point; IoT proponents are adding unnecessary complexity for dubious gains. Some examples: You want to have your lights come on at a certain time. I can get a timer at a hardware store. You want to add motion detection to lights turning on. I can get a motion sensor switch at a hardware store. You want your lights to turn on inside your garage when the garage door opens. Yep. That happens with most existing garage door openers. You want your front hallway light to come on when your door is opened. I've never seen this implemented, but it could be done in a multitude of ways such as the motion sensor or a simple contact switch on the door itself.

gregmac 11y ago
I've long been interested in "home automation" stuff, so I'll give you a quick example of what I have at my house now that can't be done with timers/motion sensors from the hardware store. There's keypad in the entrance to the kitchen, with buttons labelled "Bright" "Dim" and "All off". If you press Bright, all of the lights (sink, under-cabinet, range hood, and island) turn on 100%. Dim sets just the under-cabinet lights are on at 50% and island is 10%. Without this keypad, you have to walk to 3 different switches on opposite sides of the room. There's also a keypad by the front door. It has an 'all off' button which is great when we're leaving, and as we also walk by it on the way upstairs, handy when we're going to bed. The front door keypad also has a "Garage" button. It lights up red if the garage door is open (as we can't see the door from anywhere inside the house). Press it and it'll toggle the door to open/close. That stuff is just simple scenes, but I also have some more complex things.. The outside lights go to 20% from dusk until midnight, then turn off after midnight. On top of that, at any time between sunset and sunrise, if the garage door is open, or if the outside motion detector sees motion they go to 100%, and once the door is shut or no motion is seen for a few minutes, they return to previous level. At sunset, if none of the lights in the house are on, one of the lights in the kitchen and one of the lights in the living room turn on (to make it look like someone is home). At ~midnight, if only the one kitchen light and living room light are on (and nothing else has been adjusted, indicating someone is home), turn the lights off. At sunrise, turn off all lights. (This used to be 3am until we had a baby, then it was annoying because, well, crying baby + preparing bottle + 3am + lights suddenly turning off = ..not good). At some point I will also set up a motion sensor in the front hall (or maybe a door open sensor), so if the outside motion is triggered followed by the inside motion (or door opening), the inside front hall light turns on. A bit tricky, since I don't want to happen if I'm just walking around the house (or leaving). Is any of this game-changing? Not really. It's interesting to me, it's not overly expensive (especially as I have built this up over time), and it's a nice albeit minor quality-of-life thing. Btw, I can control this from a PC/phone, although I basically never do (the keypad/switch on the wall is always going to be faster). I could also set it up to work via internet, but I don't, because 1) there's an attack vector and extra security to worry about, 2) adjusting the lights while I'm not home is pointless, 3) I believe a key to home automation is the automation part. If I have to control it manually, it's by definition not automated.
- goodcanadian 11y ago
  Thank you. Genuinely interesting, and in my opinion, one of the few examples of the technology done right. I would point out that the three different switches on opposites sides of the kitchen sounds more like an issue of poor switch placement (admittedly, a common problem) than anything crying out for automation, but the ability to control sets of lights with one button is intriguing. I think the take-away is this: > Is any of this game-changing? Not really. It's interesting to me, it's not overly expensive (especially as I have built this up over time), and it's a nice albeit minor quality-of-life thing. Which I contrast with: "Let's hook my toaster up to the internet because: Internet of Things!" which seems to be the prevailing attitude.
- zbuf 11y ago
  > I believe a key to home automation is the automation part. If I have to control it manually, it's by definition not automated. Yup, this. I built an automated heating system. It does all the right things at the right times. I never touch it; it has some graphs if I want to see what it's doing. The shoddy consumer systems all have manual control and an app, because you just spent all that money, you want the warm fuzzy feeling of having an app to fiddle with. Marketing is why everything has to be networked.

gregmac 11y ago

I've long been interested in "home automation" stuff, so I'll give you a quick example of what I have at my house now that can't be done with timers/motion sensors from the hardware store. There's keypad in the entrance to the kitchen, with buttons labelled "Bright" "Dim" and "All off". If you press Bright, all of the lights (sink, under-cabinet, range hood, and island) turn on 100%. Dim sets just the under-cabinet lights are on at 50% and island is 10%. Without this keypad, you have to walk to 3 different switches on opposite sides of the room. There's also a keypad by the front door. It has an 'all off' button which is great when we're leaving, and as we also walk by it on the way upstairs, handy when we're going to bed. The front door keypad also has a "Garage" button. It lights up red if the garage door is open (as we can't see the door from anywhere inside the house). Press it and it'll toggle the door to open/close. That stuff is just simple scenes, but I also have some more complex things.. The outside lights go to 20% from dusk until midnight, then turn off after midnight. On top of that, at any time between sunset and sunrise, if the garage door is open, or if the outside motion detector sees motion they go to 100%, and once the door is shut or no motion is seen for a few minutes, they return to previous level. At sunset, if none of the lights in the house are on, one of the lights in the kitchen and one of the lights in the living room turn on (to make it look like someone is home). At ~midnight, if only the one kitchen light and living room light are on (and nothing else has been adjusted, indicating someone is home), turn the lights off. At sunrise, turn off all lights. (This used to be 3am until we had a baby, then it was annoying because, well, crying baby + preparing bottle + 3am + lights suddenly turning off = ..not good). At some point I will also set up a motion sensor in the front hall (or maybe a door open sensor), so if the outside motion is triggered followed by the inside motion (or door opening), the inside front hall light turns on. A bit tricky, since I don't want to happen if I'm just walking around the house (or leaving). Is any of this game-changing? Not really. It's interesting to me, it's not overly expensive (especially as I have built this up over time), and it's a nice albeit minor quality-of-life thing. Btw, I can control this from a PC/phone, although I basically never do (the keypad/switch on the wall is always going to be faster). I could also set it up to work via internet, but I don't, because 1) there's an attack vector and extra security to worry about, 2) adjusting the lights while I'm not home is pointless, 3) I believe a key to home automation is the automation part. If I have to control it manually, it's by definition not automated.

goodcanadian 11y ago
Thank you. Genuinely interesting, and in my opinion, one of the few examples of the technology done right. I would point out that the three different switches on opposites sides of the kitchen sounds more like an issue of poor switch placement (admittedly, a common problem) than anything crying out for automation, but the ability to control sets of lights with one button is intriguing. I think the take-away is this: > Is any of this game-changing? Not really. It's interesting to me, it's not overly expensive (especially as I have built this up over time), and it's a nice albeit minor quality-of-life thing. Which I contrast with: "Let's hook my toaster up to the internet because: Internet of Things!" which seems to be the prevailing attitude.
zbuf 11y ago
> I believe a key to home automation is the automation part. If I have to control it manually, it's by definition not automated. Yup, this. I built an automated heating system. It does all the right things at the right times. I never touch it; it has some graphs if I want to see what it's doing. The shoddy consumer systems all have manual control and an app, because you just spent all that money, you want the warm fuzzy feeling of having an app to fiddle with. Marketing is why everything has to be networked.