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Someone needs to start a home device company with open-source firmware. Yes, susceptible to cheap Chinese clones, but if done correctly could control the marke

Someone needs to start a home device company with open-source firmware. Yes, susceptible to cheap Chinese clones, but if done correctly could control the market.

ficklepickle 7y ago
Mozilla WebThings is pretty cool. The gateway software runs on a Pi. They have their own open protocol over wifi or you can use ie. a ZigBee adapter. I've played with it and I think it has a lot of potential.
- mehhh 7y ago
  Device drivers seem to be the main issue for IoT gateways. That being said, I have been really impressed with Arcus, the open sourced Lowes IoT platform (formerly known as Iris). ZigBee & Z-Wave work out of the box, very broad device support, writing templates for new devices is pretty straightforward.
  - chrisbennet 7y ago
    "Iris by Lowe’s is gone, but here’s the open source code to keep your smart devices alive Lowe's closed Iris, now renamed Arcus, but released software to let these smart home products continue to work" https://www.gearbrain.com/iris-lowes-arcus-smart-home-2633475020.html https://www.gearbrain.com/iris-lowes-arcus-smart-home-263347...
    - JoBrad 7y ago
      I didn’t know they did that. Really commendable.
      - mehhh 7y ago
        Lowes also gave everyone back all the money they paid for Iris hardware, the only thibg they did not refund were monthly service subscriptions. Best Buy just shut down their IoT offering, open sourced nothing and gave no refunds.
Maakuth 7y ago
I think the goal should be to establish open ecosystem for those devices. That way cheap Chinese devices wouldn't be competition, but the entry-level offering to this ecosystem. Then this company would focus on higher-end devices, services and so on.
- MrQuincle 7y ago
  How would such an open ecosystem look like? It's the next step we would like to take. We're thinking Arduino compatibility. What do you think?
  - pas 7y ago
    Mozilla WebThings: ZigBee over Wifi, etc. via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21297436 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21297436
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
onion2k 7y ago
The market for hackable devices in every other domain (routers, phones, etc) is at most 1% of the total. Why would home automation be different?
- krapht 7y ago
  This. X10 has been around for decades. Even the most common of devices - the home router - how many run openwrt?
  - mehhh 7y ago
    Netgear, TP-Link, Linksys, D-Link and most other router vendors run 4 to 6 year old branches of OpenWRT on their products.
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  What exceptions to this rule exist? Where do we have widely-used hackable devices (or tools, processes, environments, etc.) I'd include such areas as gardening, cooking, creative activities (photography, music, etc.). Are there any notable exceptions? Hrm: arguably clothing and cosmetics. There are people who will spend a non-trivial amount of daily time putting on their face or wardrobe.
- woofie11 7y ago
  I don't think hackability is so much the point as open ecosystem, privacy, and interoperability. iOS wiped the floor with Symbian, and Android wiped the floor with iOS due to being more open than the predecessor. Linux is the most popular OS kernel in the world (think routers, smart devices, etc.) I want a choice of thermostat which fits my decor, and for that to work with my smart thermometer. I'd like to buy both on eBay from a Chinese company if I'm poor, or at an upscale designer store if I'm rich.
- cakeface 7y ago
  I don't think that the devices themselves need to be hackable so much as the protocols need to be open. Any phone I buy works with any router. I think that's the kind of openness we need.
aldanor 7y ago
Loxone is a pretty nice one, planning to install it soon. Not open source, but it doesn't have to connect to Internet, your house is not polluted with radio signals, and you have full control over programming it (via their software).
techslave 7y ago
Google did that! It was called Android Things. It was discontinued due to being unpopular.

Someone needs to start a home device company with open-source firmware. Yes, susceptible to cheap Chinese clones, but if done correctly could control the market.

ficklepickle 7y ago

Mozilla WebThings is pretty cool. The gateway software runs on a Pi. They have their own open protocol over wifi or you can use ie. a ZigBee adapter. I've played with it and I think it has a lot of potential.

mehhh 7y ago
Device drivers seem to be the main issue for IoT gateways. That being said, I have been really impressed with Arcus, the open sourced Lowes IoT platform (formerly known as Iris). ZigBee & Z-Wave work out of the box, very broad device support, writing templates for new devices is pretty straightforward.
- chrisbennet 7y ago
  "Iris by Lowe’s is gone, but here’s the open source code to keep your smart devices alive Lowe's closed Iris, now renamed Arcus, but released software to let these smart home products continue to work" https://www.gearbrain.com/iris-lowes-arcus-smart-home-2633475020.html https://www.gearbrain.com/iris-lowes-arcus-smart-home-263347...
  - JoBrad 7y ago
    I didn’t know they did that. Really commendable.
    - mehhh 7y ago
      Lowes also gave everyone back all the money they paid for Iris hardware, the only thibg they did not refund were monthly service subscriptions. Best Buy just shut down their IoT offering, open sourced nothing and gave no refunds.

Maakuth 7y ago

I think the goal should be to establish open ecosystem for those devices. That way cheap Chinese devices wouldn't be competition, but the entry-level offering to this ecosystem. Then this company would focus on higher-end devices, services and so on.

MrQuincle 7y ago
How would such an open ecosystem look like? It's the next step we would like to take. We're thinking Arduino compatibility. What do you think?
- pas 7y ago
  Mozilla WebThings: ZigBee over Wifi, etc. via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21297436 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21297436
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

onion2k 7y ago

The market for hackable devices in every other domain (routers, phones, etc) is at most 1% of the total. Why would home automation be different?

krapht 7y ago
This. X10 has been around for decades. Even the most common of devices - the home router - how many run openwrt?
- mehhh 7y ago
  Netgear, TP-Link, Linksys, D-Link and most other router vendors run 4 to 6 year old branches of OpenWRT on their products.
dredmorbius 7y ago
What exceptions to this rule exist? Where do we have widely-used hackable devices (or tools, processes, environments, etc.) I'd include such areas as gardening, cooking, creative activities (photography, music, etc.). Are there any notable exceptions? Hrm: arguably clothing and cosmetics. There are people who will spend a non-trivial amount of daily time putting on their face or wardrobe.
woofie11 7y ago
I don't think hackability is so much the point as open ecosystem, privacy, and interoperability. iOS wiped the floor with Symbian, and Android wiped the floor with iOS due to being more open than the predecessor. Linux is the most popular OS kernel in the world (think routers, smart devices, etc.) I want a choice of thermostat which fits my decor, and for that to work with my smart thermometer. I'd like to buy both on eBay from a Chinese company if I'm poor, or at an upscale designer store if I'm rich.
cakeface 7y ago
I don't think that the devices themselves need to be hackable so much as the protocols need to be open. Any phone I buy works with any router. I think that's the kind of openness we need.

aldanor 7y ago

Loxone is a pretty nice one, planning to install it soon. Not open source, but it doesn't have to connect to Internet, your house is not polluted with radio signals, and you have full control over programming it (via their software).

techslave 7y ago

Google did that! It was called Android Things. It was discontinued due to being unpopular.