Linux Home
Automation

(Last updated: Saturday July 04, 2009)
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Home automation and home control (HA) Software (source code and links mostly) for the home automation devices like Insteon PowerLinc V2, CM11A, CM17 (Firecracker), LynX10, WM918, HCS II, UPB and CPUXA. Links to other hardware/software packages can be found on these pages also. If you know of any additional links please contact me at: ncherry@linuxha.com

Note: These pages are being (slowly) moved to http://www.linuxha.com/. That will be the new home of the Linux Home Automation web pages.

Disclaimer: None of the opinions expressed on these pages are paid for . They are strictly my own and may not represent an endorsement of someone's project, product or service (unless otherwise stated so).

Index




Update:

2009/07/03 - Oops, forgot to post this xbindDB.pl - Alejandro Gonzalez's script that helps update a table in a database every time a sensor is switched from open to closed.

2009/07/02 - Chris Kreutzer has shared his X10AHP Java (CM15A Java code). He's using Java Libusb to interface to the USB sub-system. This reminds me that I have a bit of work to do on my CM15A code (protocol, driver and daemon).

2009/06/28 - Well I forgot to post that I was kind of 'heckled' at the last presentation. I'll have to blog about that. In the mean time I completed my big bike ride (206.5 miles @ 17.5 mph avg - Oh yeah!), I'm half way through my final course (Astronomy) for my degree, I've resurrected my IPV6 network (dang deprecations) and I've managed to finally build my first distribution LORHA for an AMD Geode board which I'll use as my home router. I'm using BuildRoot for most of the distribution. I'm hoping to use the new router to handle IPV6 (using Go6 tunnel broker for now) as Comcast embraces IPV6. They'll trial consumer IPV6 through 2010.

2009/04/19 - On Friday, May 15th, the Brookdale Computer Users Group (BCUG - A Forum for PC and MAC Users) has asked me to present my older Home Automation presentation at Brookdale Community Collge Lincroft, NJ Bldg. MAS, Room: 100, 7:00 p.m., I did this presentation in Jan 2008 for the Princeton PC Users group. I'll spend some time updating the presentation as things have changed a bit.

2009/04/18 - Here is something I'll miss because of a special assignment for work (grr, but at least I have a job). - Come join the Open Remote folks for First event of 2009. Come join us in Amsterdam, May 29th 2009! Don't miss your chance to meet the OpenRemote team, share experiences and be part of the community!

The History page - where the old updates are moved to.


My interests:

Inline with the economy's present cost cutting measures (and my effort to reduce the size of this ;-) I'm moved the interests section of my HA page to it's own page oddly called my Interests page. In this location instead you will find a summary of my Interests page and of course a link to the longer page.

My interests, like any geek, are in gadgets. Almost anything having to do with home automation, control, computers (hardware & software) and electronics. Unlike most geeks I also love to ride my bicycle, not a short tootle 'round the block but prefer longer rides. Such as 30 mile lunch times rides, 20 mile commutes to work (each way) and a weekend ride of a 100 miles. Also, my bicycles are in no way hooked up to my computers other than a standard bike computer. I prefer it that way. It's my time away from computers.

My Interests page, in it's full glory. :-)


Software list for Unix (from above)

I am going to also provide links to the authors home page so that you may get the most recent version of the software. But please remember that some of the software needs to be modified to run under Linux. I hope to identify these in some way in the future.

Warranty - There is none, please use these files at your own risk. Most of these files have been tested but unexpected side effects can occur. We (the authors and I) do not provide any warranty at all. We recommend that you thoroughly inspect the code to be sure that no one has tampered with the code. Such an event occured with tcpd (tcp wrappers) and the utils package used by Linux, though the community caught it rather quickly (a matter of hours after it occured).

Sometime people don't want to even read the list so I'm providing a link right to the directory with all the source files. A few files are really old (the authors links are usually included in this file instead).

OpenRemote: the digital home operating system. OpenRemote is an Open Source Community Smart Home, Automation and Domotics space. We develop panel and control software on off-the-shelf hardware and integrate with a variety of protocols in the field. Whether you are a hobbiest or professional installer, OpenRemote has something for you.


Special Event - Here is something I'll miss because of a special assignment for work (grr, but at least I have a job). - Come join the Open Remote folks for First event of 2009. Come join us in Amsterdam, May 29th 2009! Don't miss your chance to meet the OpenRemote team, share experiences and be part of the community!

We will announce more details later but some of the things that will certainly happen there:

So mark you calendar, book the tickets. And while in Amsterdam, consider staying in the CitizenM hotel, not because we have a special deal with them or are in anyway connected to them, but just because it's a cool place with a lot of high tech, especially in the rooms.


Insteon Powerlinc: Insteon, from Smarthome, is a Power Line Carrier & RF based technology. It supports communication with X10 devices and the 2-way Insteon communication protocol.

X10D: (CM11A & LynX10); These are all software related to Dan Lanciani's X10d. Each depends on having X10d up and running.

Other X10: Software for some of the other X10 controllers such as the CM15A and the CM19A.

Heyu: (CM11A) This is all software related to Dan Suthers' Heyu code.

Mr. House: (CM11A, Firecracker, Insteon, UPB, and lots of other protocol and interfaces, see Bruce's page for a further explanation) Bruce Winter's Perl app that runs on a number of OS's (MS & Unixes).

X10 Firecracker software - Dang these things are popular! We seem to get a new one every day. So I've made a separate section for the x10 Firecracker software. BTW Bruce Winter's Mr. House either has support for or will have support for the X10 Firecracker.

UPB - Universal Powerline:

ZWave:

Dallas Onewire/IButton: The section covers some of the available Onewire (1-Wire) software. For hardware, check in the Hardware section.

Weather related stuff: Software for weather stations, post weather infor and other general links and info about weather.

Velleman K8000 stuff: The Velleman K8000 is a computer interface card which can connect to the printer port, uses I2C and now USB.

Other: Misc, other, or untested. I've combined the sections together.

IR stuff: For those that are interested in IR (not IRDA).

DMX512 stuff: For those that are interested. I've yet to check these out but it is an alternative to X10.

To learn more about the USITT DMX512 (1990) standard see:

CAN stuff: For those that are interested. I've yet to check these out but here are some links to CAN for Linux. (I'm currently working on this one so it's a bit ugly but it's a start).

There seems to be a project at:

Parallel Port stuff: For those that are interested in doign automation via the parallel port.

GPIB stuff: For those that are interested in GPIB.

LonWorks stuff: still a little light on links but we seem to be making progress.

EIB/KNX stuff: For those that are interested in European Installation Bus (EIB). EIB has now changed it's name to KNX and coverged with the EHSA and BATIBUS standards.

PLC's (Programmable Logic Controller):

Ocelot stuff:

HCS II stuff:

The HCS II is an expandable, network-based (RS485), intelligent-node, industrial-oriented supervisory control system intended for demanding home control applications. The HCS incorporates direct and remote digital inputs and outputs, direct and remote analog inputs and outputs, real-time or Boolean decision event triggering, X-10 transmission and reception, infrared remote control transmission and reception, remote LCD displays, and a master console.

Future stuff:

Other related projects: (this may get it's own section) In case you are wondering why I would advertise other projects that could compete with my own (LHA). It's because these pages are devoted towards Linux and not my own projects. Let the better software win. Competition is good for all.

Zigbee/802.15.4/Bluetooth: - The whole family of protocol suites of low powered wireless protocols for Linux. You'll also find some of my wireless toys here too.

Other:

Not ready for primetime: (Alpha code)


Documents


Other Software Links


Hardware Links


Projects


Other Links


Sendmail

I've had a few problems with my local mail provider so I've had to work out a few different ways to get sendmail working with my Linux system. My current setup is sendmail sending via my Google Mail account. I had a working setup with my 1 and 1 service but I'm missing something important and I can't get that working anymore. I also had a working Comcast setup but I'm finding that Cocmast is interfering with my mail so I switched to Google mail.



Commercial products available for Linux & HA hardware

Note: None of the following links are are being paid for and I'm not endorsing any of the products being sold at these links. They are simply supplied as reference and you should investigate each supplier before purchasing.
  • ECS is a commercial all-purpose object-oriented Windows/Linux automation program that is suitable for virtually any tasks (in commercial, industrial, and residential environments). Supporting a large variety of devices, ECS is elegantly simple, yet extremely powerful. Automated tasks may be implemented via simple time-based schedules (great for novices) and/or English-like scripts (which give power users the flexibility they demand). And anyone who can surf the web will be comfortable with ECS, as it supports a browser-based user-interface (accessible via the Internet or WAP-enabled phone/PDA). Editor's note: I asked Mark Gilmore (ECS's author) to send me a description of his product because I didn't get enough of a chance to really put it through it's paces. I know it sounds a bit like a sale pitch but that's all right. I've been on Mark's mail list for ECS for a number of years and he provides excellent support and deserves a little slack. This product is not Open Source and is a commercial product but that's OK as there is enough room for Commercial and Open Source products.
  • Home Automation System - A commercial home automation system based on RF modules. D.I.Y.ers can use the code free of charge. The commercial portion is the appliance, it's setup and support for the PC and RF module. I'm currently not sure if these RF units can be used only in Cyprus, or in Europe or in other parts of the world.

Articles I've written

Various articles I've written hopefully I'll be given a chance to write a lot more. :-)


Web sites I've authored


Web toys (geek mind candy)

Since the web first began we had various 'toys' on the net to watch or control. As a geek I can appreciate taking something that was meant to do one thing and adding electronics to it to automate it or make it do something else. The first 'toy' I can remember reading about was the networked soda machine and the networked elevator (I need references). Then the was the Internet Coffee machine (with a web camera to watch it) and the Internet refrigerator. Now a days everyone has web enabled weather stations and web cameras. This section isn't for those. It's for the toys that we built by the user.


Temporary links:

Links here may not last more than a few weeks. These are press announcements, news articles etc. General stuff of interest to the home automation group.

  • The Smart Home, Part I
  • The Smart Home, Part II
  • Power grid is found susceptible to cyberattack. My opinion is that this is nothing new. That doesn't mean it isn't serious.
  • Clearing the Air About Hacking Into The Smart Grid - I'm not sure about this one. I think the article may be a little bit of a FUD piece.
  • Telecoms Eyeing Home Energy Management? -
  • AT&T takes smart grids residential - (you may need to login)
  • Google.org Energy Information - Another one that I'm not certain what to make of it. So far there not much there.
  • I've posted my Linux Geek Holiday list on my blog. I only have a few ideas but I wouldn't mind people sharing their ideas.
  • The BBC has an interesting story called: Smart homes a reality in S Korea. There's a lot of interesting information as well as some not so practical technology such as wearing mini-PC's on your wrist (so you can be tracked).
  • Here is an article called "An Avatar Is Born". Though it seems to play up the avatar, Cleopatra, it vaguely covers othe subjects that most HA enthusiasts seem to enjoy in various setups. The subject of voice recognition (VR) was brought up and it seems that it's still tough to tweak VR so it understands everyone.
  • The Type-A Bathroom by Jon Weinbach and Peggy Edersheim Kalb (Wall Street Journal Staff Reporters). Seems that there is no rest from work for some. A few high end (big buck$) smart homes have a lot of digital access in the bathroom too! TV's, computers, hey bring the Blackberry with you, that kind of thing. So how do you explain the rude noises while on your cell phone? :-P
  • I found this link: The Pepper Pad about an interesting tablet type PC that runs Linux. It has an 800x600 LCD and a 600+MHz processor and more. I suggest reading about the spec and you decide. I think it's too expensive. The President of Pepper posted a response to a PCMAG (pcmag.com) review of the Pepper Pad. To see my comments take a look at my Blog entry: Misc. news. My opinion in short, the Pepper at $850 (US) will go the same route as the Audrey. I think the Nokia 770 at $350 will work out to be much cheaper. I'll just use the ADI Ocelot (<$200 US)as my IR solution with MH
  • Dave Houston has found a nice little device which may replace the Audrey as a favorite touch screen (for lack of a better name) for HA. The Nokia 770, it's a tiny computer that runs Linux, it has a 800x400 screen, uses MMC cards as storage, has a 802.11 b/g wireless network interface, Bluetooth interface and a USB device interface (it connects to a PC as a device). The price looks to be about $350 (US). It has a stylus so it looks to be a touch screen. Team this up with Misterhouse and some other goodies and you'll have yourself one very nice setup! :-) It's only draw back appears to be the battery life, 3 hours running, 7 days standby. If the stand has a recharger then this should be too much of a problem.
  • CNN has an article on HA in there Tech section titled Smart' homes not far away By Julie Clothier (for CNN). It about a family of 4 living in an experimental home that will adapt to the user's routines (this aught to be interesting). And then it goes on about water main breaks and using your cell phone to control your home. Rather mundane stuf to those who are already doing it. ;-) Still an interesting read and the sidebars have some interesting side effects. I think it's worth a read.
  • 01/08/2005 - PC Magazine's article entitled The Digital Home. It has various articles on monitoring this and that Win Media Centers and using X10. While not perfect it's still interesting.
  • 10/16/2004 - Joe Barr at Newsforge has an article titled: "ZoneMinder: Linux home security par excellence". Basically giving the details of how you take some IP cameras, Linux and Zone Minder software to create a video surveillance setup for your home.
  • 09/30/2004 - Dilbert's Ultimate House (duh) - though it's not really HA it is an engineering kind of thing. :-) In fact they rejected HA because it was too complicated. :-O There is a tour but it will require Quicktime and Flash to access it. They have pictures and the specs also.
  • 01/14/2004 - Wired has a story, Welcome to the Broadband Home of the Future - Not really home automation or a futuristic home but a bit interesting.
  • 01/09/2004 - Another Slashdot article about TiVo's New offerings . Tivo/DVD Recorder, TivoToGo where TiVo users with Home Media Option will be able to transfer files off their TiVo onto their PC and XM Radio for TiVo. It will be things like Tivo that will make it easier to add other home automation offerings to customers.
  • Wired magazinehas a few interesting articles on Home Entertainment (and by association Home Automation). The first: Home Is Where Intel Wants to Be - the short of it is consumers want to simplify the entertainment stack (VCR, DVD, Stereo, CD, Amp and TV) and Intel think it can deliver (big screen no less) and at an affordable price. The next article: Future Home Full of Web Wonders - I think you've just got to read this. :-)
  • 12/28/2003 - Slashdot has another article titled: Japanese Firms Create Home (Appliance) Network on Home appliance networking. Various Slashdot subscribers question why we need it others defend it, blah, blah, blah. Some good links to other useful things (a few included below).
  • A CNN Technology article titled Firms team up to create more Web-linked appliances. really not a whole lot of details, basically a group of Japanese companys working together to create a new standard call "iReady".
  • Diomidis Spinellis' Info Furnace, basically a PC-type device that integrates existing consumer home-control, infotainment, security, and communication technologies to provide in a transparent manner user-friendly access and value-added services. Something we all seem to looking for in Home Automation but seem to get there via different methods.
  • Push Button Manor - a home automation article from the the Dec. 1950 Popular Mechanics magazine. Now that's ahead of your time! Emil Mathias of Jackson, Mich. automated his home with electro-mechanical equipment (like surplus WW II bomb sites). This is got to be the ultimate home automation project! Not only that but the SAF was there too!

HA Forums

Various forums for the discussion of Home Automation and releated topics



If you have questions about Home Automation and/or Linux you may email me at ncherry@linuxha.com . This email address is not for unsolicated email (if I didn't opt-in then it's unsolicated).

Please come back and visit my page again (hopefully this is worth reading).

Last updated: Saturday July 04, 2009