Yes, several products have. One is in fact a thermostat – we have several patents pending for connecting devices to web feeds from back in 2008 (before everyone was thinking about it).

If you visit our site: http://www.iobridge.com – one of the graphics is a look at a pet feeder that comes out next year.

Postscapes.com is interesting site if you want to see all things IoT. I have been pushing Perl + Internet of Things, but as you found there is only a few projects that use Perl and hardware.

Check out @rblackwe on Twitter. He is a big supporter of hardware and Perl.

Your sprinkler sounds cool… it’s the future if you ask me. We have been contacted by many irrigation companies (this is actually an example sited in our patent), but most don’t see the return on investment yet. We think that products that are not connected will seem obsolete.

Contact me at hans [at] iobridge.com if you want to dig into these things further!

Cheers,
Hans

On a similar note, I bought an irrigation caddy sprinkler controller last year, and use perl to nightly query wunderground for precipitation data, tamu for evaporation data, and run my sprinkler “on demand”. I wrote it all to be shared, but haven’t found the place for sharing it (not much of this type stuff on cpan). Any favorite websites where “internet of things” nerds share ideas/code? I can’t find it….

Thanks!

I just followed some links and not sure where the Aardvark IDE is and see they may have made changes.

What’s cool is that ThingSpeak has “status” messages just like Twitter. We have a customer using ThingSpeak for their own version of Twitter for Things. It’s pretty cool.

Thought you would like to see your toaster made it into a slidedeck at Innovate11:

https://connect.innovateuk.org/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_id=2140879&folderId=5589260&name=DLFE-51735.pdf

BUILD SUCCESSFUL
Total time: 8 seconds
[echo] Uploading touchshiled to board…
[exec]
Hi, Hans,

Nice work on touchshield.

When running your code, I encounter problems like this on antipasto, avrdude: ser_open(): can’t set com-state for “\\.\COM4″

Any idea how to fix it? I double checked the port and board.

Thanks!

[exec] avrdude: Version 5.4-arduino, compiled on Oct 11 2007 at 19:12:32
[exec] Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
[exec]
[exec] System wide configuration file is “../..//../../../tools/avr/etc/avrdude.conf”
[exec]
[exec] Using Port : \\.\COM4
[exec] Using Programmer : butterfly
[exec] Overriding Baud Rate : 57600
[exec] avrdude: ser_open(): can’t set com-state for “\\.\COM4″

BUILD FAILED
C:\Arduino_Antipasto_win32\Antipasto\hardware\arduino\cores\touchshield\build.xml:151: The following error occurred while executing this line:
C:\Arduino_Antipasto_win32\Antipasto\hardware\arduino\cores\touchshield\src\template\build.xml:179: The following error occurred while executing this line:
C:\Arduino_Antipasto_win32\Antipasto\hardware\arduino\cores\touchshield\config\build.ccmacros.xml:45: exec returned: 1

I took the bottom box of the original dominion game and reinforced with card board on the sides.

I then divided into three columns using cardboard that I glued to the sides. The important part here was to make sure that each column was a little wider than the cards in landscape.

Printed these files on Avery labels:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/53771/divider-labels-treasure-banner-style-in-300dpi-inc

Then, I cut index cards to fit the width and notched out each corner. Then I stuck the stickers on the remaining notch. I carefully alternated sides, then realized just needed to flip the index cards.

I grouped actions together, victory points together, and money together and put them alphabetical order (or numerical order for the VPs and money).

The box will be heavy – so make sure to do a good job gluing and reinforcing.

I hope this helps…let me know if you try this.

Items could form their own ‘friends groups’ based on postings or item type or whatever – and look for new ‘things’ to extend an invitation to…

Ideally, I would want to use a serial / RS-485 thermostat to have some finer control. Since the time that I posted this article, I have received many email from thermostat companies looking to integrate with ioBridge. Maybe something will work out and this kind of thing could be done easier.

What kind of thermostat do you have? I know a few users have X10 thermostats and that is controllable by the IO-204.

Again, thanks in advance.
Doug

Have you tried disconnecting the Slide from the Arduino, before you program the Arduino?

On the touch side, change this section to send (Serial.print…) “mouseX” to the Arduino.

[exec] avrdude: stk500_2_ReceiveMessage(): timeout

I have no idea what the problem is. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Doug

thanks for reading me
I’m trying to modify your example to send mouseX to the arduino then back to the slide to be displayed as decimal. So far I get random numbers.

If you could kindly give me a hand with this I think I would be sorted for good.

Jar Jar biggies smalls t shirt?

This was actually one of the Latitude team’s examples when the API was launched: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/05/do-more-with-google-latitude-and-your.html

For folks interested in developing with the Latitude API, please see the Google Code site here as well: http://code.google.com/apis/latitude/

Then SL4A scripts launched from Locale could call them…no Latitude needed.

Locale: http://www.twofortyfouram.com/

SL4A http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/

Anyway, I’m a bit vague on the HVAC connection requirements. I don’t have an HVAC panel, and I’d like to just directly connect to the control lines, basically replacing my existing termostat. Is it required that we setup the timing between the fan and compressor coming on, or do we just close the appropriate relays and the HVAC unit figures it out?

Thanks!

You may need to you use a Byte Array.

char charIn = 0;
byte i = 0;
char stringIn[32] = “”;

while(Serial.available()) {
charIn = Serial.read();
stringIn[i] = charIn;
i += 1;
}

You then can covert the byte array into an integer with the following line:

int newInt = atoi(stringIn);

Let me know if that helps.

Last night I returned the learning lab and purchased the Mini Vox robot for $10, assuming taking it apart for the parts and some entertainment would be worth it.

I played around with it for two minutes then I took it apart. I didn’t get as far as you before I put it back together for a bit more fun before salvaging the parts (since I don’t know exactly what to use them for yet).

I got home later and decided to google “Mini Vox hacks” and found that you’d done (almost) the exact same thing!

Also, for the last two weeks I’ve been researching the Arduino, and you happen to have worked with that as well. I’m a web developer, but I’m still amazed at how incredible it is that many people are doing the same things, and how easy it is to collaborate/share access information almost instantaneously.

Fun article. Thanks!

It’s the direct descendant of ladyada’s AFSoftSerial but as yet does not support the MEGA

Like Adam I could not get your demo to work.

The problem was that I used an Arduino MEGA.
When I used the Duemilanove it worked fine.

It seems AFSoftSerial doesn’t work with a MEGA.

If I comment out the following IF tests:
if(touchSerial.available())
and
if (c == ‘A’)
along with their opening & closing braces then it also works on the MEGA board.

//Arduino
#include
#define RX_PIN 3
#define TX_PIN 2
AFSoftSerial touchSerial = AFSoftSerial(RX_PIN, TX_PIN);
int redPin = 10;
int greenPin = 11;
int bluePin = 9;
int light;

void setup(){
touchSerial.begin(9600);
}
void loop(){
if(touchSerial.available()){
light = touchSerial.read();
}
if(light == 1){
analogWrite(redPin, 255);
analogWrite(greenPin, 255);
analogWrite(bluePin, 255);
}
else{
analogWrite(redPin, 0);
analogWrite(greenPin, 0);
analogWrite(bluePin, 0);
}
}

//TouchShield
void setup(){
background(255);
Serial.begin(9600);
mouseX = 0;
mouseY = 0;
fill(0);
rect(160,0,160,240);
}

void loop(){
gettouch();
if(mouseX >=160){
Serial.print(1);
delay(1000);
}
else{
Serial.print(2);
delay(1000);
}
}

if(touchSerial.read() == 1){
do whatever
}

RE: Arduino “If” Reference – http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/If

Is the reverse true for sending data from the TouchShield to the Arduino?

I am trying to get the arduino to recieve serial data sent from the TouchShield. Like

TouchShield sends:

Serial.print(1);

Arduino reads:

if(touchSerial.read() = 1){
do whatever
}

These commands do not seem to be working.

Add this to the main loop:

char charIn = 0;
byte i = 0;
char stringIn[32] = “”;

while(Serial.available()) {
charIn = Serial.read();
stringIn[i] = charIn;
i += 1;
}

if (stringIn[0])
{
background(0,0,0);
text(stringIn, 75, 75);
}

This will allow you to display strings up to 32 characters.

But after adding the software serial lines, my code is working! Thank you, I think I understand now.

The only remaining problem is how do I display what I am literally sending and not the ASCII back conversion.

i.e. I send “A” and I get 65 displayed. So if I send “Hello” how do I display “Hello”?

On the Arduino, you need to use a software serial line that uses Pins 2/3.

Add to head:

#include

#define RX_PIN 3
#define TX_PIN 2

AFSoftSerial touchSerial = AFSoftSerial(RX_PIN, TX_PIN);

Add to setup:

touchSerial.begin(9600);

Add to main loop:

touchSerial.print(randNumber);
delay(100);

May I ask how this is supposed to work? I downloaded your app and uploaded to the Arduino & TouchShield and it’s a blank screen. I checked the Serial Monitor and saw no numbers being sent. So I tried this basic code to see if serial is possible at a more basic level:

//Arduino
void setup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop(){
Serial.print(20);
delay(1000);
}

//TouchShield
void setup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
background(0,0,0);
}

void loop(){
text(Serial.read(),80,80);
}

The results of the above code are visible ’20s’ on the Serial Monitor, so I know the Arduino is pulling its weight, but the TouchShield is displaying a ‘-1′ which I assume means that it’s not seeing the serial. Something is not lining up.

The Future Mrs. Mytoaster

Maya

They definitely drop off in quality for a while after the 1st but I've heard good things about the resurgence.

Hint: date & time.

1. Downgrade Vista to Windows XP.

2. Print.

I find French roast to be “too dark” (says the guy who likes “expresso” roast) and think it tastes like cigarette butts.

Do you grind your aeropress on the finest of the fine? I found a medium fine gave it a more nutty flavor.

I’m on this wierd cusp of being able to get a fine cream out of my aeropress but I seem to have lost the magic again. I’ll try your plan of letting the water sit.

Maybe I can get you to make me a cup sometime!

And you know you can always do a driveby “tweak” if you need a date for the night.

I know what you mean about the feeling of satisfaction, although I find the barrier to entry and frustration level to be higher.

But if you’re looking for more stuff to fix, come on over, I’ve got plenty.