Successful presence sensing!

I looked at a number of solutions for presence sensing, most centered around geofencing that I didn't find particularly reliable in my case. In addition to the lack of reliability, the geofencing approach required me to keep GPS and preferably WiFi as well, continuously enabled on my phone, which of course sucks battery life with a great big straw. Finally, I don't automatically carry my phone with me absolutely every time I leave. Usually, but I hate being dependent on it for this.

Since I already had a SmartThings controller here, I thought about going with the SmartThings presence sensors, but they get abysmal reviews for battery life everywhere I look. In the end, I bought an ethernet controller and some tags from http://wirelesstag.net. The first purchase requires the controller ($68) and tags ($25 each), but $25 per tag to add additional functionality isn't bad at all.

The tags will sense temperature and motion, but for the first couple I just wanted presence sensing, so I only need to use the "Out of Range" and "Back in Range" features. I put my tag on my key ring--I do carry my keys virtually any time I leave--and set it up to send an email to my dedicated Indigo email address. Then I set up Indigo triggers to watch for incoming emails with the appropriate subject lines. Bottom line: I'll add more actions, but for now whenever Indigo gets an email indicating my tag is out of range, it automatically turns off my lights (the ones connecting to Indigo, of course), sets my thermostat to a cooling setpoint of 78º and heating setpoint of 60º, etc. When the tag on my key chain comes back in range of the system, another email gets sent, the Indigo trigger picks it up, sets my thermostat setpoints back to my norms, and turns my lights on.

I hung a second tag on my dog's collar and will now be alerted if it gets out of range. I'll soon get some more tags and use one to know when the mailman opens the box, along with some other nifty uses I'm sure will come to mind.

Not Earth shattering, I know, but I'm tickled to get something working like a charm for this feature without spending much money at all.

Just ordered a couple of tags, love the fact there is an API available, am sure someone with more programming knowledge than me will create a plugin

Thanks for sharing. (especially considering my Tile never appeared and they can't find any trace of the order)

[jay (support)]

Nice! +1 on someone building a plugin...

+1 it looks quite nice and even thinking about getting a few.

Does look interesting. I was ready to balk at the $19 cost for each tag until I saw that the batteries are (nearly all) replaceable. May take a look at this too. Thanks for sharing it.

Is it me, or does the Kumostat look a lot like a Magic Mouse?

Very interested in this, has anyone found a way of using these with indigo aside from email based? Be keen to have something that doesn't rely on emails coming in and out and Mail working correctly.

I've been meaning to update this for several weeks and kept forgetting:

DO NOT BUY THESE THINGS, AND PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGY FOR RECOMMENDING THEM.

They worked great for a week or so. Then they started dropping off the network for no reason. I asked the manufacturer for help and was told it was no big deal; just take them apart and remove the batteries to reset them. Yeah, disassembling presence tags daily is no big deal at all.

They swapped out a couple of the tags for me. Same thing. I returned all of it for a refund months ago and haven't heard a word since. They don't respond to emails. Avoid like the plague.

Cheers !!!

I am currently using Bluetooth to detect if I am in the house or not - this works in conjunction with my door sensor to work out if I am inside. I get a msg through Sonos when I enter the house.

I chose Bluetooth as it's always on (on my phone) as opposed to WiFi and doesn't use up too much power. You could use Bluetooth tags to achieve the same.

On my setup I use an OSX app that can detect more than one Bluetooth device (hence identify a user), this in turn runs an AppleScript to update an Indigo variable - I imagine this will work alot faster that using an email based approach.

Vangelis

you then must have the mac with blueTooth next to the door? Or in other words: How far does the bluetooth signal go?

Nope - Sits in my rack upstairs (using the inbuilt BT of the MacMini). Will extend it to a more central position via USB cable and BT dongle later, but get at least 15m through walls

Vangelis

which app on the mac do you use?

http://www.mousedown.net/mouseware/EventScripts.html - allows more than one BT connection

Also used Bluetooth Proximity App (you can see the BT signal strength, but only allowed one connection)

Vangelis

I was testing it as well but unfortunately it looses BT connection sometime when you move around the house with your phone further then 10m from the Mac.
I'm thinking about using iBeacon solution from http://estimote.com with 3 or more devices around the house to sense the presence....

All depends on size of house / BT signal strength. I use a timer to start on loss of signal and only update a Presence Variable when it expires (aborts timer when signal is regained) - this takes care of most loss of signal.

For positional detection, I agree, iBeacons are the way to go, however still in their infancy and require triangulation

Vangelis