CastleOS - new home automation software with Kinect voice control

[Gatoreye]

You would need a Kinect in every room you'd like to voice enable, yes. You don't need a computer for each, however, as one PC can support multiple Kinects, and they can be connected over a distance with USB over Ethernet. So for homes already wired for Ethernet, only a Kinect and the adapter is needed for each room. With the wall mount that's available, very nice looking installs are possible.
 

I'm curious about this. For this to be effective, at least in my scenario, I'd need several throughout the house.  I've searched, but I don't see an economical means of running USB over Ethernet for long runs for several units back to my wiring closet.  Do you have some that you've personally tested that you can recommend because it seems like more solutions fail than work properly and the ones that work are going to be on the order of hundreds of dollars.  Otherwise it's almost cheaper to end up buying a low power PC to stick in every room.  That seems it would add up quickly.
 
It's interesting, but not sure if it can be practically implemented the way you describe.

 

[electron]

There are some ~$100 (or maybe even cheaper now) USB-Ethernet adapters on the market, which might be worth it if this really works.

 

[pete_c]

Here (home sandbox) I have played with extending the Mimo USB monitor some maybe 50-75 feet using powered USB 2.0 extenders with local power to the Mimo USB monitor.  It didn't work too well for me.
 
Along similiar endeavors I was able to utilize a Digi USB (1.0) anywhere to a Digi USB (1.0) 7 port hub to 2 Digi 8 port Hubs and other various HA devices on the 7 port hub.  I used a HS VM to talk to all of the devices (20?) via an ethernet link.  It worked fine.
 
I could not though talk very well to a USB Soundcard or my USB Way2Call box.  I enabled and connected another USB to network device.  This was a USB 2.0 Lantronix to network device.  It did work just fine.
 
It would be an expensive endeavor to install a Kinect device in multiple rooms unless you could come up with a really cheap 2.0 network extender.  I did pay less than $100 for my new Lantronix on special (sale?).  It is kind of big for what it does though.

 

[Gatoreye]

It is my sense that the USB->Ethernet solutions that actually work for the Kinect are not cheap, which is why I asked if someone has actually got one to work on the Kinect and if so how much it was.
 
It'm not completely opposed to something like this but my sense is that if you only have it in one room, you'd want it in several or in my case my downstairs living area is one big room that probably would need multiple units.
 
I think VR is always going to be sketchy unless you live alone. If you are a family with kids, tv, and music going, you are always going to be fighting a battle against ambient noise. Honestly I think the best case usage scenario that I could think of is in the bedroom at night when I'm already in bed with the lights out (and don't want to have a touchscreen on the nightstand with an annoying glow) or first thing in the morning when I'm still wrapped up in the blankets. There is no noise so the performance would be good.  That's when I might want to override my scheduled announcements and just speak "Play morning announcements" or "What's the temperature?", "Turn on the coffee pot, etc.".
 
I see that as a particularly good use case.  Sitting in the living room with the kids running around while the football game is on...not so much.
 
In that scenario I might not mind a PC like a Zotac to drive a Kinect and a touchscreen if I need it.
 
Again, interesting, but I'd still like to see more details and pricing on something that actually works.

 

[iostream212]

Hey does anyone know what it means when the kinect status light just blinks? It works fine on my Xbox, but I have not been able to use it on the beta as it looks like its not connecting. Castle people: is there a diagnostic? I would like to get it working, though my family finds its pretty hilarious that I keep wandering around repeating the word 'computer' with different levels of intensity .

 

[ChrisCicc]

Hey does anyone know what it means when the kinect status light just blinks? It works fine on my Xbox, but I have not been able to use it on the beta as it looks like its not connecting. Castle people: is there a diagnostic? I would like to get it working, though my family finds its pretty hilarious that I keep wandering around repeating the word 'computer' with different levels of intensity .

 
Blinking confirms it's powered only, unfortunately. It may not be being picked up by the drivers, for instance if you installed the runtime only but are using an Xbox Kinect. Also, it's possible there is a conflict with the USB controller or another USB device. The first thing to check is the Windows Event log, under Applications. When the CastleOS Kinect Service starts, it outputs success or failure here. If it indicates it's loaded correctly, with the message "say a command", then it loaded successfully. 
 
Also, you mention saying "Computer", are you saying other words as well or just computer? If just computer, it won't respond to that, I'd recommend trying "Computer create a timer for ten minutes" to test for a response. Also, be sure the text to speech voice is installed. 

 

[ChrisCicc]

As far as USB/Ethernet adapters, we'll be installing a large whole house system in a few weeks, and we'll be testing out several adapters to find which work best. Once complete I'll report back here. 

 

[ChrisCicc]

Hey Folks, here is another demo video, this one showing sitting down for a movie and turning off the lights. Enjoy! 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hpAF2KKysM

 

[Gatoreye]

As far as USB/Ethernet adapters, we'll be installing a large whole house system in a few weeks, and we'll be testing out several adapters to find which work best. Once complete I'll report back here. 

 
Please do. I'd be interested to see how that works out as far as what works well over long runs and for how much. Also how many units can you drive off one PC.

 

[ChrisCicc]

That's entirely dependent on the speed of the CPU and the number of USB hosts available on the computer. USB hosts can be added with add-on PCI cards, however. We'll have this setup as part of the demo house. 

 

[pete_c]

I'm still wondering how it is that Smarthome/Insteon was able to turn an large building (infrastructure) into their Insteon sandbox. 

 

[ChrisCicc]

The last of the promised videos... This one shows adjusting the HVAC system while tossing and turning in bed.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oUddE63R94

 

[electron]

I hope no one talks in their sleep, or it might look like Studio 54 before the night is over
 
So is the system recording/streaming all speech to some online VR engine, or are you using the standard Windows VR engine?  I looked for posts explaining how voice data is processed, but couldn't find them.

 

[damage]

So is the system recording/streaming all speech to some online VR engine, or are you using the standard Windows VR engine?  I looked for posts explaining how voice data is processed, but couldn't find them.

 
based on this response, it's ms kinect sdk + ms vr
 
http://cocoontech.com/forums/topic/22901-castleos-new-home-automation-software-with-kinect-voice-control/page-7#entry189830
 
after playing with the sdk for about an hour, i'm pretty sure i can get something basic up in less than thousands of lines of code  it will have to wait til i have free time

 

[ChrisCicc]

I hope no one talks in their sleep, or it might look like Studio 54 before the night is over
 
So is the system recording/streaming all speech to some online VR engine, or are you using the standard Windows VR engine?  I looked for posts explaining how voice data is processed, but couldn't find them.

 
It's highly resistant to false positives, so talking in your sleep should not be a problem It uses the MS voice engine, so no server/cloud processing needed...