New to SmartHome and some questions...

Hi,

I am just about to dive into the (serious) SmartHome world, just thinking about the best way to start.

Originally, I had plans to use a hardware gateway like the Fibaro HC, VeraEdge or Zipabox.
However, after reading an article in the German „c´t“- magazine, I changed my mind and decided to go ahead with Indigo.

As of today, I am using Philipps Hue, Netatmo and Sighthound Video (for two IP-cameras).
The link between those more or less isolated systems is currently IFTT (with all its hiccups) and the idea is to use Indigo instead.

In addition, I require support for some Z-Wave based devices:
- Roller shutter controllers
- Window sensors
- Multisensors
- Wall plugs
- Water sensors

I already spent hours in the forums and I have a pretty clear understanding of what I need, but a few things where I am a bit unsure:

1.) Fibaro or Aeotec?
I have the feeling that the latest generation of Aoetec devices (6th gen) offer more value for money and might be the way to go.
But apparently, those devices are not (yet) fully supported by Indigo and nobody can tell when v7 is ready.

So I am struggling a bit here:
- Should I wait until v7 comes out (would be okay if we talk about weeks, not months)?
- Should I start with v6 and accept limited support for some devices (are Aeotec gen6 devices supported at all) for some time?
- Or should I forget about Aeotec and go with Fibaro devices since functionality is the same or even better?

2.) Is there a way to link Sighthound with Indigo?
I am using Sighthound because of its decent people/object recognition and recording features.
- Is there a way to „link“ Sighthound Video and trigger actions in Indigo?
- Is there similar functionality in Indigo already?

Thanks in advance, I would really appreciate any feedback on my thoughts.
Does this make sense at all?

Cheers,

Guido

Your Fibaro/Aeotech issue is really a tough call for us to advise on, since it really comes down to money vs. immediate gratification.

I haven't run across anyone mentioning Sighthound video here, but as someone who uses EvoCam even though there's a SecuritySpy plugin for Indigo, I suggest you should not be afraid to try integrating it. Especially if there's some way that SV can trigger an applescript! Otherwise, via IFTTT and Folder Actions on your Indigo server, you can make SV talk with Indigo.
Indigo is very accessible to all sorts of scripting options that will allow it to be told about SV events, but I as I said, I haven't run across anyone here running SV, so there's no way to know what it is that SV can do to talk to any external app. But as I read https://www.sighthound.com/support/rule-editor, it looks like SV can save a file when a specified thing happens. OS X folder actions can then trigger an applescript to tell Indigo what has occurred. So you wouldn't need IFTTT.

And I just read further in the documentation and it seems SV can run a shell script, or at least SOME sort of mac scripting that they don't explain well. That would let you do very tight SV and Indigo integration.

If SV can provide a refreshing still image URL, then SV video can be used in Indigo control pages.
Speaking of, Indigo now has working examples of talking TO IFTTT via the Maker channel. So you could have Indigo tell SV to do things through that. Much more complicated to have IFTTT talk to Indigo, but it is possible.

If you haven't yet bought SV, look at EvoCam, which has extensive AppleScript support.

And I have no inside info at all, but from reading the forums here for a while, I personally don't expect V7 soon enough to be planning anything based on its arrival.

Hi DC,

thanks a lot for the quick reply.

Great help with Sighthound, I will give it a try and use the "Run the command" actions in Sighthounds rule editor.

So I will apply for the trial version of Indigo and order a bunch of Fibaro devices:

- Motion Sensor (FGMS-001)
- Roller shutter 2 (FGR-222)
- Wall plug (FGWPF-102)

plus the Z-Wave stick from Aeotec (AEOEZW090-C)

To my understanding, all those devices should be fully supported by Indigo but it would be great if somebody can confirm that those will work or if you recommend different devices.

Thanks guys!

Guido

[matt (support)]

Hi Guido,

All 4 of those modules/interface are supported by Indigo 6.