Welcome to Discuss Everything Forums...

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.


 

Reply to Thread

Post a reply to the thread: Real Life Sonic Screwdriver for Home Automation

Your Message

Click here to log in

What color is our footer?

 
 

You may choose an icon for your message from this list

Additional Options

  • Will turn www.example.com into [URL]http://www.example.com[/URL].

Rate Thread

You may rate this thread from 1-star (Terrible) to 5-stars (Excellent) if you wish to do so.

Topic Review (Newest First)

  • 12-13-2013, 06:33 AM
    Diablo

    Real Life Sonic Screwdriver for Home Automation


    Any Doctor Who fans out there? [Pat] just sent us his project on home automation… using a Sonic Screwdriver!
    Ever since he pre-ordered his Raspberry Pi at the beginning of February 2012, he knew he wanted to try his hand at home automation. The easy way was to use X10 outlets, but at $20+ an outlet, it’s not that affordable. Instead, he managed to find a rather cheap system on Amazon — RF controlled outlets. They only cost about $35 for a 5-pack!
    It’s a very basic system: five outlets with five buttons on the remote. All he had to do was wire up the Raspberry Pi to simulate the button presses by setting the GPIO pins high, and presto, a simple but effective home automation setup.
    This is where it starts to get fun. Unfortunately, unlike a real Time Lord, [Pat] didn’t build his sonic from scratch. Instead, he found a universal remote control — styled after [Smith]‘s sonic. Add another RF receiver to the Pi, a web-based interface to extend the range, and bam, you’ve got one geeky, but awesome, home automation setup.
    Stick around after the break to see it in action!
    Kinda reminds us of my RFID Sonic I use at work! I prefer the Tennant edition though…

    Filed under: home hacks, Raspberry Pi

Posting Permissions

  • You may post new threads
  • You may post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •