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🖥️ActiveHome Pro => SDK => Third Party Add-Ons & Software => Topic started by: dbemowsk on March 04, 2012, 12:30:46 PM

Title: Open Source Automation (OSA)
Post by: dbemowsk on March 04, 2012, 12:30:46 PM
I must first make an apology to the forum for my absence.  I have been out of the X10 forum loop for quite some time now.

In my working with home automation and AHP, I found many limitations in things that I wanted to do with my setup.  Much of my setup is X10, but some of it is not.  For instance, I have an RS-485 controlled thermostat that I wanted to integrate into my HA setup. I also had ideas for other things using products from 1-Wire.  The problem was first that AHP lacked the ability to work with anything other than X10 devices.  That led me to find other pieces of software to handle some of the other hardware, but then the problem was that I couldn't get any of it to mesh with AHP well enough without creating other custom external programs to do the things I wanted.  There are automation software packages out there that bring some of this together, but they cost hundreds of dollars.

I now welcome Open Source Automation (OSA) (http://www.opensourceautomation.com/) to my setup.  As the name implies, OSA is completely OPEN SOURCE and FREE.  Although OSA is still in beta, it has SO MUCH potential.  The biggest thing with this software is that it has plugins for a TON of different types of hardware.  If you have X10, Insteon, or Z-Wave in your HA setup, it can all be controlled from one piece of software.  OSA also supports things like 1-Wire, Phidgets, J-Works for integrating other types of automation capable hardware.  It also has support for different thermostats like Aprilaire, Radio Thermostat, and RCS.  Got a USB-UIRT, a Kill-A-Watt meter, want to get some weather data to integrate into your setup, got data from an RSS feed that you want to use?  No problem, just install the plugins.  If you have a piece of hardware or other type of information that you want to integrate into your HA setup that does not have a plugin, request it in the forums and possibly someone will write the plugin for it.  If you have programming knowledge, the API for writing plugins is quite simple.  I have written and contributed 2 plugins so far to the project.  One of them was for an X10 forum user "Melloware" for his lightswitch app for iPhone and Android.  The other was for my RCS-TR40 RS-485 thermostat.  Check out the plugin page to see all of the supported plugins (http://www.opensourceautomation.com/pluginmanager).

OSA also incorporates speech recognition and text to speech capabilities adding to it's awesome flexibility.  Ask OSA to turn a light on for you.  Have OSA tell you when your garage door is open.  Tell OSA to read you the current weather data.

OSA allow you to customize screens for all of your data to create your own custom user interface.  If you want a screen that has a floor plan of your house to allow you to click on things and control them, you can create it.  If you want a screen to display your weather data, you can create it.  If you want to create a menu screen to tie all your other screens together, YOU CAN CREATE IT.

The biggest thing with OSA is that it takes ALL of your home automation technology and brings it ALL into one interface.  No more installing this piece of software to control this, and another piece of software to control that.  It allows all the different technologies to work together in one piece of software for a common goal, FULLY AUTOMATING YOUR HOUSE.  Jump on the OSA bandwagon today and make your contribution to this awesome piece of software.

Dan Bemowski
Title: Re: Open Source Automation (OSA)
Post by: 06M6TorridGTO on April 18, 2012, 04:57:55 PM
 :)%   #:)

You are the man!! This is amazing. I have been trying to find a way to do my own programming (mainly web/HTML) to MyGarage so that I can use the information it tells me (status of the sensors) but use it my own way. Problem is that there is no API (or at least I couldn't find anything) so I had no way but to try screen scraping the information but don't really wanna get into that. My search led to this and let me tell you, just an API would simplify things but to integrate anything and everything with open source software, I'm all for it. Definitely going to look into this more and see what it entails. I may be just getting started (and spent a lot of time troubleshooting so far to get it all working) but I do see a lot of potential (as many say) in the X10 system and devices.
Title: Re: Open Source Automation (OSA)
Post by: aussie mate on April 19, 2012, 07:59:17 AM
can it support using multiple android tablet interfaces as input screens to contol the system?

I dont know of any cost effective HA systems that can do this.   
Title: Re: Open Source Automation (OSA)
Post by: Tuicemen on April 25, 2012, 10:14:34 AM
can it support using multiple android tablet interfaces as input screens to contol the system?

I dont know of any cost effective HA systems that can do this.   
I use multi android devices (ok only 2) as input screens.
These run TAC with X10Relayer on the PC it should work with OSA as it does with ihouse.

I usualy try new HA software however I can't get this to install on any of my PCs.
Granted this is most likely because I have other HA software that maybe interfering with a install.