So I have a problem I’d like to solve. I would like to auto-detect that I have laid down to bed at night and have it turn on my TV or do other ST stuff such as trigger “Goodnight”. Additionally, I’d like to take action in other ways when I get up in the middle of the night (such as turning on night lights or disarming security cameras). I’d also like those reversed when I plop back down into bed.
I live alone so this is less complicated, but I do have a dog so motion sensors don’t seem ideal. I am interested in knowing if anyone used a Multi under/in the bed to detect the “plop” as a knock and work that way. But also seems less ideal because tossing and turning might trigger it and battery life might be affected by constant triggering.
Then I looked into this: https://medium.com/truth-labs/beacon-tracking-with-node-js-and-raspberry-pi-794afa880318. What’s described is a beacon tracking system using node.js and a Raspberry Pi. This seems relatively straightforward and I do have a Pi laying around I don’t use. Seems like I could set it up mounted in my headboard and it could scan for a device such as my phone (or even more ideal, my Misfit Shine that I’m always wearing) and then when I get within a certain distance it would trigger on and when I step away it would trigger off.
So has anyone messed around with something like this or know of other projects that require less pieces? I like the Misfit Shine part because I don’t need to carry my phone with me to the bathroom or whatnot. Seems like I could just measure signal strength and then make REST calls via the endpoint app to do stuff.
There are many topics on the forums regarding occupancy sensing, including the recent one on Smart Chairs that you might find interesting.
For a bed, the easiest one will probably be what hospitals typically use: a pressure mat under the mattress. That way it’s not dependent on you carrying a device. If the dog gets on that part of the bed during the day, you can define the time it will trigger or block the area. Of if the dog is small, choose a mat with a higher weight threshhold.
This and other options are discussed in the smart chair topic:
I have a Smartthings motion sensor that is mounted behind a jewelry box, halfway hidden. It doesn’t pick up the dogs, but when we sit up in the middle of night from bed, it turns on the underbed led’s and the bathroom motion will turn the lights on at 10%, then all shut off 3 minutes after no activity. It took some finagling, but it’s pretty spot on now. Let’s not discuss what happens at 3 am and my wife is in the bathroom for longer than 3 minutes with no movement.
