CastleOS - new home automation software with Kinect voice control

[wuench]

Or, just by an XBox360 and we can start having CT wars in Halo  

 

[ChrisCicc]

Work2Play,
 
Good idea!  My HA parts box is overflowing with much junk lately.
 
Really just trying to justify a logical means of trying something new here. 
 
Kind of done playing with HA software and new hardware unless I get something out of my time lately. (grumpy old man syndrome)
 
I already have UPB, X-10, Insteon and Z-Wave around the house. Over the last 30 years I have played some with VR.
 
It has never worked to my satisfaction.   
 
I've shut off my automobile VR as BMW never did get it right.
 
I guess if MS finally "got it"; then maybe they should put a little more into their efforts promoting the Kinect device. 

 
I agree with you on automobiles - I have a VW and the voice control is unusable. Never mind the command recognition, if you accidentally press the microphone button on the steering wheel you're locked in to listening to the system for what feels like the next 10 minutes lol.
 
As far as promotions, MS has put a ton of time and money into marketing the Kinect - but it's all on the gaming/Xbox side. They've mostly left the Kinect for Windows side to develop on its own, but they've been working diligently with development partners. Many months ago, MS announced over 10 million Kinects sold, that could easily be above 20 million now. 

 

[pete_c]

Personally here did purchase an XBox for my son a few years back.  Personally never did play it. 
 
I do recall paying on a subscription for its use for a few years.
 
The real "test" here though would be using my wife as a test subject as she's afraid of the touch screens thinking she may break the house (very slowly just getting used to the OmniPro touch screens though - years now?)
 
Convince me that you application / Kinect hardware automation is the "best thing since sliced bread" (age showing now) and I will purchase a Kinect and test your software / Kinect device in the house in the next day or so.

 

[ChrisCicc]

Personally here did purchase an XBox for my son a few years back.  Personally never did play it. 
 
I do recall paying on a subscription for its use for a few years.
 
The real "test" here though would be using my wife as a test subject as she's afraid of the touch screens thinking she may break the house (very slowly just getting used to the OmniPro touch screens though - years now?)
 
Convince me that you application / Kinect hardware automation is the "best thing since sliced bread" (age showing now) and I will purchase a Kinect before the end of the day and test your software / Kinect device in the house in the next day or so.

 
That's a tough order Here's my best attempt: are you a Star Trek fan? Do you like the concept of talking out loud to the ship like they do on Star Trek? CastleOS does that, and is the only voice recognition system that can provide a passively interactive capability like you see on Star Trek. What makes this different than any other home automation interface you've used, whether it be HAI, Crestron, or Control4 touchscreens, apps, or other voice interfaces, is that it's 100% hands off. You don't have to touch anything, there's no phone or tablet to pick up, no wall panel to walk over to, once it's installed in a room, just speak out loud from wherever in that room you may be. Frankly, it allows homeowners to interact with their homes in ways most have not thought possible, at least for a few years yet.
 
The demo video posted in the OP does a good job of showing what it's like in the living room, we have three more coming soon that will show using it while watching a movie, using it to change the thermostat while in bed, and using it to come home and turn on the lights. 
 
As far as the rest of the application, keep in mind it's Insteon and X10 only right now, and Z-Wave will follow in a few weeks. I'm not sure if you are looking to control only Insteon or other devices as well, but I wanted to be sure you're aware of this limitation. That said, we truly believe it to be the easiest to use home automation app in the industry, which admittedly probably matters less for the people on this forum. 

 

[pete_c]

Thank-you Chris.
 

is that it's 100% hands off

 
This is what interests me the most right now. 
 
My wall switches today are almost all UPB.  Up until this past summer the house wall switches were 3/4 Insteon and 1/4 UPB. 
 
I am getting ready to try ZIgbee most likely in the near future.  I can test with Z-Wave and X-10 easily enough. 

 

[ChrisCicc]

Thank-you Chris.
 
 
This is what interests me the most right now. 
 
My wall switches today are almost all UPB.  Up until this past summer the house wall switches were 3/4 Insteon and 1/4 UPB. 
 
I am getting ready to try ZIgbee most likely in the near future.  I can test with Z-Wave and X-10 easily enough. 

 
Completely unrelated but you have me curious...why'd you switch from Insteon to UPB? After integrating Z-Wave, ZigBee and UPB are next, and we're trying to judge which to prioritize.

 

[pete_c]

I started with X10 in 1978. 
 
The natural progression from X10 was Insteon so when I moved to the current home around the early 2000's put in Insteon everywhere.
 
Then sometime in the late 2000's spoke to someone who had a lot to do with this whole X-10 to Insteon (debaucle) at one of the EhExpo's in Orlando, Florida.
 
Kind of pissed I sort of castigated him for being involved in the first Insteon stuff (debaucle that it turned out to be). 
 
But really I am nobody so it really didn't matter what I said to him anyways.
 
That said all he could say is that the next time it would be better. 
 
I had already decided to start removing all of the Insteon in the house before speaking with him.
 
Personally his responses to me were akin to a "deer in the headlights" ; maybe he was just startled and he lost his ability to speak?
 
He didn't convince me though that the next time around Insteon would be better.

 

[ChrisCicc]

I started with X10 in 1978. 
 
The natural progression from X10 was Insteon so when I moved to the current home around the early 2000's put in Insteon everywhere.
 
Then sometime in the late 2000's spoke to someone who had a lot to do with this whole X-10 to Insteon (debaucle) at one of the EhExpo's in Orlando, Florida.
 
Kind of pissed I sort of castigated him for being involved in the first Insteon stuff (debaucle that it turned out to be). 
 
But really I am nobody so it really didn't matter what I said to him anyways.
 
That said all he could say is that the next time it would be better. 
 
I had already decided to start removing all of the Insteon in the house before speaking with him.
 
Personally his responses to me were akin to a "deer in the headlights" ; maybe he was just startled and he lost his ability to speak?
 
He didn't convince me though that the next time around Insteon would be better.

 
Thanks! I guess you had all version 1 equipment (or i1 in Insteon-speak)? i2 and the brand new i2CS did improve it quite a bit, but I don't blame you for feeling burned.

 

[pete_c]

I just noticed I used the word "debaucle" twice.
 
I wish all the best for Insteon and their generation 2 stuff.
 
Personally; maybe due to my age I enjoy much tinkering these days and have turned my home into a kind of home automation sandbox.  (Home automation is very addicting)
 
Lately though have little patience for "things" that are supposed to do this or that and do not. 

 

[picta]

I never had an Insteon switch that lived for more than 2 years, keypads are the worst, and the warranty on them is only 2 years. Centralite warranty is 5 years, same as for some UPB switches and Visia RF. Insteon also "upgrades" their products about every couple of years, the most recent one is dual-band, so anything you have installed becomes obsolete and un-supported very quickly. At $50 per switch it is not a good investment of either time or money. You aren't even getting what you are paying for.
 
Disclosure: I was also an early adopter of Insteon and tried 3 different versions of the product.

 

[ChrisCicc]

I just noticed I used the word "debaucle" twice.
 
I wish all the best for Insteon and their generation 2 stuff.
 
Personally; maybe due to my age I enjoy much tinkering these days and have turned my home into a kind of home automation sandbox.  (Home automation is very addicting)
 
Lately though have little patience for "things" that are supposed to do this or that and do not. 

 
I understand both those sentiments Their latest gen stuff really is pretty solid, and has the added benefit of being longer range than Z-Wave. That said, that same benefit has the unfortunate side effect of being susceptible to houses/buildings with bad/faulty/improper wiring and noisy electrics, so some people do continue to have sour experiences. I love the technology though, when there are no installation issues, it works exactly as intended reliably. I only wish the network was a little faster, messages have to wait for each other too often IMHO. 

 

[ChrisCicc]

I never had an Insteon switch that lived for more than 2 years, keypads are the worst, and the warranty on them is only 2 years. Centralite warranty is 5 years, same as for some UPB switches and Visia RF. Insteon also "upgrades" their products about every couple of years, the most recent one is dual-band, so anything you have installed becomes obsolete and un-supported very quickly. At $50 per switch it is not a good investment of either time or money. You aren't even getting what you are paying for.
 
Disclosure: I was also an early adopter of Insteon and tried 3 different versions of the product.

 
Do you have a whole house surge protector?
 
Also, all Insteon versions are forwards and backwards compatible, they don't become obsolete.

 

[wuench]

The newer insteon has actually been less reliable for me.  I had hoped by the time I finished installing switches in my house it would get better, but it has not.  I have about 4 filters installed and have identified at least two more places where I probably need them.   There is nothing in I2 to make things more reliable, just faster since they can send more than 

 

[picta]

Do you have a whole house surge protector?
 
Also, all Insteon versions are forwards and backwards compatible, they don't become obsolete.

 
That's funny, they don't become obsolete, they just don't work   And yes, I do have a whole house surge protector. How long did you have your Insteon switches installed for?

 

[ChrisCicc]

The newer insteon has actually been less reliable for me.  I had hoped by the time I finished installing switches in my house it would get better, but it has not.  I have about 4 filters installed and have identified at least two more places where I probably need them.   There is nothing in I2 to make things more reliable, just faster since they can send more than 

 
Are you having issues network wide, or only with some specific devices/switches?
 

That's funny, they don't become obsolete, they just don't work   And yes, I do have a whole house surge protector. How long did you have your Insteon switches installed for?

 
Oldest ones are 7 LampLincs from June '07. Since then I've purchased over 100 devices for two homes, the oldest of which date back over three years. All remain fully functional, except for one LampLinc that died after 3.25 years (Smarthome accepted RMA), and a developer's model PLM that died after a year and a half (it was the dev model and in a server rack, so that's neither here nor there).
 
Edit: Three homes, if you count one of our test homes I outfitted. No failures there yet, but there was an install issue where the bedroom didn't work because of a grounding issue at the breaker.