I have a very basic question but it requires a rather lengthy explanation so here goes...
I design embedded hardware and software for a living and own my own business and I have also been involved in HA for 20+ years and have a side company that used to do hardwired lighting control. I say that because I'm a small company and there is some serious competition in this area and I'm having to rethink my involvement in that field. But, out of that hardwired lighting control system comes something that I have been developing for the last couple of years and that is, what I think, a unique product; a versatile, networked I/O control system. Here is the idea in a nutshell:
- Small (3 by 3") controllers have 32 I/O points
- Each controller is networked with CAN (Controller Area Network) at 500Kbps and you can have as many as 128 nodes on the network but it is fully functional with only one node.
- The hardware is pretty standard and really not that special, but, the uniqueness is that I have developed a library of software modules that can be recompiled into many configurations, allowing you to download whatever configuration you want to any controller. This means you can choose many different combinations of I/O for the 32 available pins.
- Current options for each I/O pin include
- Dimmer output to control solid state relay with features like soft on/off and timed on/off fades
- Dimmer output for PWM control of DC devices through a driver circuit like a mosfet etc
- Switch inputs that you can set the actual function of different events like a single click, double click, holding etc
- Infrared inputs that use a standard 14 button IR remote
- LED outputs that can show the status of some other device like a dimmer output (anywhere on the network)
- Scenes that can control a bunch of other outputs and make if/then/else decisions based on light level, day/night etc
- Timers that can send a command to other devices like outputs or scenes. Includes sunrise/sunset, exact time and
randomness around a certain time. Can also specify day and month combinations.
- RS232 interface for connection to home automation software
- Analog inputs where you can scale the value with (mX+B)/D type formula
- Servo motor output for controlling small hobby servo motors
- H-Bridge driver for running DC motors with positioning feedback from analog pot (window blinds etc)
Each of the possible devices has multiple settings (too many to list here) for a completely flexible system. I'm also
currently playing with the idea of adding 1-wire support as I already have most of the software done from another project.
The system is completely scalable, meaning you could use just a single module that you download software for 8 dimmer
outputs/8 switch inputs/8 LEDs/2 IR inputs with a real time clock, timers and scenes. Then, you decide to add a second
module with 24 digital inputs and 8 analog inputs and all you do is plug the standard Cat5 patch cable between the two and
you can specify the digital (or analog) inputs on the second module to control the dimmer outputs on the first module. Of
course, many other combinations are possible but some limitations apply, for example, you can't have 32 dimming outputs as the hardware doesn't support more than 12 dimming outputs but that doesn't mean the other I/O can't be used for something else.
The system uses a PC to configure it but runs completely stand alone after that and retains all of its settings between
power outages. There is also the option of tying it into a complete PC based HA system. I have Dean from CQC working on a driver for CQC which will allow his software to control and display any of the devices that you choose. The RS232 protocol is not unique to CQC and could also be used by other HA software and there is the option of accessing the CAN network directly through the USB to CAN interface if you wanted to write your own software. The entire network protocol is documented so you could even create your own hardware to add to the network if you were so inclined.
Note that there is no specific interface to other systems like X10, Insteon etc. The idea is that this forms the basis for all of the low level I/O that can be run stand alone but if you want to tie in other systems you would likely do it with an HA package like CQC. (Note: I have no connection with CQC other than the fact that I use it for my own house and I run all my hardware in my own system, but, I also use other hardware like an ELK for security)
My reason for posting this is to gauge the interest in this and see whether it warrants doing a small production run.
Also, I might be interesting in partnering with someone who can manufacture in the U.S. as the shipping costs and issues
with shipping from Canada to the U.S. are increasing.
I am open to all comments, good, bad or ugly...
Steve
I design embedded hardware and software for a living and own my own business and I have also been involved in HA for 20+ years and have a side company that used to do hardwired lighting control. I say that because I'm a small company and there is some serious competition in this area and I'm having to rethink my involvement in that field. But, out of that hardwired lighting control system comes something that I have been developing for the last couple of years and that is, what I think, a unique product; a versatile, networked I/O control system. Here is the idea in a nutshell:
- Small (3 by 3") controllers have 32 I/O points
- Each controller is networked with CAN (Controller Area Network) at 500Kbps and you can have as many as 128 nodes on the network but it is fully functional with only one node.
- The hardware is pretty standard and really not that special, but, the uniqueness is that I have developed a library of software modules that can be recompiled into many configurations, allowing you to download whatever configuration you want to any controller. This means you can choose many different combinations of I/O for the 32 available pins.
- Current options for each I/O pin include
- Dimmer output to control solid state relay with features like soft on/off and timed on/off fades
- Dimmer output for PWM control of DC devices through a driver circuit like a mosfet etc
- Switch inputs that you can set the actual function of different events like a single click, double click, holding etc
- Infrared inputs that use a standard 14 button IR remote
- LED outputs that can show the status of some other device like a dimmer output (anywhere on the network)
- Scenes that can control a bunch of other outputs and make if/then/else decisions based on light level, day/night etc
- Timers that can send a command to other devices like outputs or scenes. Includes sunrise/sunset, exact time and
randomness around a certain time. Can also specify day and month combinations.
- RS232 interface for connection to home automation software
- Analog inputs where you can scale the value with (mX+B)/D type formula
- Servo motor output for controlling small hobby servo motors
- H-Bridge driver for running DC motors with positioning feedback from analog pot (window blinds etc)
Each of the possible devices has multiple settings (too many to list here) for a completely flexible system. I'm also
currently playing with the idea of adding 1-wire support as I already have most of the software done from another project.
The system is completely scalable, meaning you could use just a single module that you download software for 8 dimmer
outputs/8 switch inputs/8 LEDs/2 IR inputs with a real time clock, timers and scenes. Then, you decide to add a second
module with 24 digital inputs and 8 analog inputs and all you do is plug the standard Cat5 patch cable between the two and
you can specify the digital (or analog) inputs on the second module to control the dimmer outputs on the first module. Of
course, many other combinations are possible but some limitations apply, for example, you can't have 32 dimming outputs as the hardware doesn't support more than 12 dimming outputs but that doesn't mean the other I/O can't be used for something else.
The system uses a PC to configure it but runs completely stand alone after that and retains all of its settings between
power outages. There is also the option of tying it into a complete PC based HA system. I have Dean from CQC working on a driver for CQC which will allow his software to control and display any of the devices that you choose. The RS232 protocol is not unique to CQC and could also be used by other HA software and there is the option of accessing the CAN network directly through the USB to CAN interface if you wanted to write your own software. The entire network protocol is documented so you could even create your own hardware to add to the network if you were so inclined.
Note that there is no specific interface to other systems like X10, Insteon etc. The idea is that this forms the basis for all of the low level I/O that can be run stand alone but if you want to tie in other systems you would likely do it with an HA package like CQC. (Note: I have no connection with CQC other than the fact that I use it for my own house and I run all my hardware in my own system, but, I also use other hardware like an ELK for security)
My reason for posting this is to gauge the interest in this and see whether it warrants doing a small production run.
Also, I might be interesting in partnering with someone who can manufacture in the U.S. as the shipping costs and issues
with shipping from Canada to the U.S. are increasing.
I am open to all comments, good, bad or ugly...
Steve
