New Devices Coming

I worked this weekend on getting some new devices added to HomeNet



RGB Led based on the JeeLabs Dimmer Plug
Mood Light based on the RGB Led
TMP421 i2c Temperature Sensor
SHT21 i2c Humidity and Temperature Sensor
BMP085 Pressure Sensor (Jeelabs Plug)
Servo Open Close

I also got a low power mode working. Better battery life is just around the corner.

Forum

I'm starting to think it might be good idea to open up some sort of forum for you to post questions and get help using HomeNet.

One day I want to directly integrate it into HomeNet.me but I don't have time to work on it right now.

For the time being I set up a Google Group to house the discussion. Head over there and get posting!

Planned Features

Here is what is currently being worked:

Near future
-Adding new Subdevices.
-Adding new Device presets.
-Implement privacy settings so you can limit what you share
-Create Event/Action System to monitor and reacted to changing subdevice data. 
-Subdevice Groups- Compare similar devices on the same graph, control groups of subdevices with one action.
-Customize Background images with photos of your own home.

Long term Plans
-More AJAX, like drag and drop to reorder items on the page.
-Rewrite the HomeNetApp and use an actual Java GUI. (processing only goes so far)..
-Fully integrate it into Facebook/Twitter
-Create API access to allow custom apps be created and integrated into HomeNet
-Support Arduino with Ethernet Shield

General Website work
-Create Blog Module
-Create Static Pages
-Add proper Contact Form
-SSL (https) Support

Breaking down the Parts of HomeNet.me

Nodes
These are devices that can send and receive commands

Here are the ones that currently exist:

HomeNet.me (default port 4095)
Proccessing HomeNetApp (default port 255)
Base Station Node (default port 1)
Wireless nodes (currently limited to 2-32)

Each one can have 15 devices attached to it.

Devices
These are input/output devices connected to a node
There are 2 types Hardware Devices and Software devices

Hardware devices
These are sets of Subdevices. Simple devices may have only have 1 subdevices or they could have 10+.   Subdevices came about because a lot of sensors have the ability to measure multiple things like the SHT21 which measures temperature and humidity and needed to be graphed individually.

Software devices
Think of these as plugins for the HomeNet software programs.  They allow other nodes/devices in the network to get information like gathering weather forecasts from the internet. 

Subdevices
Every sensor/switch/actuator gets mapped to a subdevice in HomeNet.me. These are the objects that show up on each room page. Each one can be graphed and controlled individually.

Supported Devices

Right now I've only added a couple of devices to the HomeNet Interface

Devices:
TMP37 (Need to add the ability to convert C to F)
LDR
Simple LED (Just supports on and off)

Stubs:
SimpleInt
SimpleByte
SimpleFloat

In Progress
SHT21 i2c temp/humidity
TMP421 i2c temp
Switch (interrupt based)
JeeLabs Pressure Plug
Moodlamp based on JeeLabs Dimmer Plug
Servo open/close
Relay on/off

Launching HomeNet.me

It's crazy how much I've accomplished over the last month. The HomeNet.me is Up and it seems to be working pretty well so far. There is still a lot more to do to secure the website and scale the site up but I think it's ready for the first testers to give it a try. If you're interested in testing it out, let me know.

I working on getting a live public demo up but I have some more work to do on the user permission system which won't happen until after my presentation next week.

The Virtual Home

Everything these days is being virtualized so that we can interact with them through our electronic devices. We have virtualized the art of letter writing into email and opening an encyclopedia into searching Wikipedia. We have virtualized ourselves on Facebook, creating a digital representation of ourselves on the internet. We post what we like and dislike about our lives. We list our attributes, what we do, where we live and where we go to school. It's a database of our friends and a history of our lives. In video games we create 3d Avatars that represent our selves as we interact in the virtual world.

It's only logical to think that one day architecture is going to be virtualized into an electronic form. What will this look like? How do we interact with our home virtually? Who is going to design it?

These are questions I've been trying to answer over the last few weeks as I start working on building the user interface for HomeNet. Currently, I'm taking the Facebook approach, building a website that allows you to create a virtual profile of your home. The HomeNet website will allow you to create a detailed profile of your home listing all of it's rooms and properties and allow you to view and control all of the smart HomeNet devices you have. You will be able to personalize each page with photos of your house creating a unique personal link to your home.

I think that the future architect needs to not only design how one physically interacts with the building but also how one interacts with all the electronics and technology the future home will contain. The virtual world is currently dominated by Engineers and Graphic Designers. I think that architects need to get involved so that people have the same quality experience in the virtual building as the do in the physical building. I'm not sure if it's the architects role to design the virtual building but I think that the architect needs to represent the owners interests in it's construction the same way an architect works with a contractor to build a physical building.