Using MoodCube to set Mode?

Hi there. I’m new to the SmartThings community and excited about the possibilities. I want to build a MoodCube which will set the Mode based on orientation. I can see how to set lights with it, but not the Mode. I’d like to have a physical thing my family can use to set the mode as they are arriving/leaving – presence sensors don’t really work for all the people who are in and out of our house (babysitters, grandparents, etc.).

I searched the forums, but can’t find an answer. Can someone help me out with this? (Or explain to me why I shouldn’t be setting Modes this way – I have to admit Modes are confusing me a bit!)

Thanks!

Welcome! I’m sure there are several ways to do this, but one easy way would be:

One) create a virtual switch for each of the modes you want to have on the cube.

Once you’ve created the switch, it will show up on your list of switches just like your physical devices, so you can select it from a routine or a smartapp.

  1. use the “switch changes mode” Smart app that is available in the marketplace section of the mobile app to have each switch assigned to a specific mode

Three) build the mood cube as usual and instead of having it turn on physical lights you have it turn on those virtual switches.

So, straightforward and easy, but obviously a lot of steps. I’m sure there’s a fancy way to do it with some other smart app, this was just the first one that occurred to me. :sunglasses:

Changing modes manually

As far as your general question, it sounds like a good way to change modes to me. There are a lot of people who change modes manually for specific use cases, more typically by using the button on a minimote, but there’s no reason not to use the mood cube for it.

For example, there is a motion sensor in the bedroom at my house. During the day when the mode is “home” that sensor is ignored completely. At sunset, the mode automatically changes to “night” with a routine. Then if the motion sensor is triggered, the overhead ceiling light comes on. At night when I am ready to go to bed, I manually change the mode to “asleep.” When the mode is “asleep,” the motion sensor being triggered does not turn on the overhead ceiling light – – instead it turns on a soft nightlight. Then the next morning at 7 AM a different routine changes the mode back to home.

So two timebased mode changes, and one that I change manually. :sunglasses:

BTW, you could use the same basic approach but instead of doing it with mood cube, do it with tiles on SmartTiles on a wall mount tablet or wifi phone

The main advantage to that is the tablet can’t get lost and you can put it up higher so the kids can’t play with it.

( Smarttiles is a third-party customizable dashboard app that can run in a web browser. Very popular in the community. There’s even a thread dedicated just to different hardware and style options with it. )

www.smarttiles.click

The other reason I mention smart tiles is because the challenge you’re going to face with the mood cube is getting from face one to face four without triggering a couple of other faces in between. Especially for people who are somewhat hesitant about it, maybe like babysitters.

It’s not usually a big deal with lights if you accidentally triggered the wrong scene, but if they accidentally triggered the wrong mode it might be a problem.

Just tapping the tile on the tablet might be more intuitive in that sense.

Because you can customize the display, you could have four or five individual mode tiles, maybe the outside temperature, and the time. Whatever you wanted.

So just a thought. :sunglasses:

As always, @JDRoberts has some excellent suggestions. Another thing to try is the
“Hello Home Cube” smart app:

It’s a variant of the mood cube app that runs routines (formerly know as Hello Home Phrases). You can configure each routine to do a variety of things including setting the desired mode.

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Thanks so much for the tips. I have looked into SmartTiles and will likely hook up a screen with that somewhere in the house…but my wife really prefers non-techie looking things and my kids will get a kick out of it, so I think I’ll look into Virtual Switches and the Mood Cube or Hello Home Cube.

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Just in case you haven’t already seen this:

CAD files and a link to make/get your own laser cut cube are in the thread. Have fun!

That’s super cool. Thanks for the link.