Where do I even start replying…?
I have >100 Things live in my home. With a few exceptions (which I hope will be filled in by the Build community) my iPhone now acts as a remote control for all my things. All lights, outlets, thermostats, door locks, garage doors, pet feeders, etc. can be controlled from anywhere. I’ve also got a large and expanding array of sensors. Sensors are all over the place and include stuff such as all entryways (doors open/shut, garage doors open/shut based on angle from our multi), temperature in most indoor and outdoor rooms and areas, luminescence (how much light), motion, humidity, moisture (liquid present), and some other new stuff that we’re working on. Household members and cars all have presence tags and my iPhone also is working as a presence tag such that there are private events generated based on comings and goings. Also experimenting with some new sensors we’re working on (look for announcement in a few weeks) as well as a range of custom Things created by makers.
So, in effect, the Physical Graph of my home is online. I’ve got a digital representation of what’s happening in all rooms and spaces and I can monitor and control it from my iPhone from anywhere.
But that’s just the beginning. Since it is all online, SmartApps can now be used to change how all the things in my home behave based on what’s happening, our moods, etc. We are still in the early stages, but our things are gradually becoming smarter with software that was built using our IDE. That’s where the endless examples come in. I will share just a few random ones at the moment and then get off my arse and start posting in here more regularly.
In random order as examples come to mind:
When I arrive at home my garage door opens appropriately depending on what car I am driving. It then closes behind me automatically once I’ve parked and enter the house. The lights come on and everything else wakes up or sets itself according to my preferences automatically.
When I leave the doors (including garage) let me know if I forgot to close or lock them and then lock and close themselves as needed. If no one else is at home, the thermostat automatically turns itself down to save energy, the lights go off, and it enters a secure mode.
My toddler’s room isn’t insulated well and so gets cold at night when his door is shut. When that happens a virtual thermostat kicks on that measures the temperature in his individual room and controls a space heater automatically to keep it within 1 degree of the desired temperature.
When we wake up in the morning, the secure mode automatically turns off (it knows that motion started in our bedrooms and emanated outwards thus it’s not an intruder) and the lights come on in the kitchen. The coffee pot starts brewing so that it’s flowing by the time I get downstairs so that I can combat the feeling of the all-nighters we’ve been pulling in building the platform.
My cat gets fed automatically on a schedule.
When my wife and I are watching a movie in the basement or doing something else when the kids are supposed to be in bed, the lights flash wherever we are as a warning if the kids are up and around.
Lots and lots of smaller and larger examples, but its really only limited now by the new SmartApps and Things that will get added to the platform by the open community. It has already changed my life completely, but it’s unbelievably awesome to think about the possibilities that are going to come from the community working together!
-Alex