RFID Starter Kit Available for HomeSeer

iAutomate throws RFID into the home automation mix Posted Mar 22, 2005, 5:06 AM ET by Barb Dybwad on engadget.com Related entries: Wireless

"...Why leave it to the schools to track our kids' every movements, when we can keep tabs on them from the comforts of our own homes? Or better yet - log in to your home system remotely and catch your pets straying beyond the leash radius. Pretty much anything you're paranoid about can now be affixed with an RFID tag and tracked: people, pets, vehicles - maybe you'd better keep tabs on that Roomba, as well. All this thanks to iAutomate's new HomeSeer system that integrates the ever-lovin' wireless chips into, well, just about anything you can get to hold still long enough. This system looks so airtight, with the ability to lock down access to devices and get email notifications of all your family's transgressions, that you really won't ever have to actually be home again..."

Here's a link to our product:

formatting link
Thanks

Peter

Reply to
rfid
Loading thread data ...

I must say- that's pretty cool.

Reply to
Chuck

Everything question that you asked is a Yes, and is possible today with the hardware and software.

It's very inexpensive. With one reader and a variety of tags you have hundreds or thousands of unique events all based upon unique ID of the tag.

The tags will operate in a range of 10' to 300' feet with the supplied antenna, greater distances with optional antennas.

There is a link to download the manual at:

formatting link
Peter

Reply to
rfid

How long a distance from the antenna can the devices be detected? Can it be tuned to a tighter limit?

Could the tamper switch of the windsheild unit be used for other purposes? It's one thing to have a tag attached to the car but how about using the tamper switch for detecting the door opening or other contact closure? It'd be handy to be able to know if the door opened after the car has been parked for quite a while. As in, the middle of the night when the keyfob's nowhere near the vehicle... But at the same time be able to know that the car has just pulled in at night so as to turn on the walkway lights. I suppose that'd be dependent on the software configuration, of course, but the devices would have to support it.

It looks like interesting stuff but seems a bit on the expensive side.

----- Original Message ----- From: Newsgroups: comp.home.automation Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 2:24 Subject: RFID Starter Kit Available for HomeSeer

Reply to
wkearney99

Hmmm, is there a 3rd party or other web forum that discusses using (and scripting) with these devices?

-Bill Kearney

Reply to
wkearney99

Yes, the HomeSeer Message Board if you haven't been there already.

formatting link
Our RFID FAQs at
formatting link
Peter

Reply to
rfid

Thes tags are creditcard size.

I understand that passive chips are available that are of mm dimensions. (Hitachi for one) It is claimed that every bean can etc will have one in the supermarket.

Can you buy very small, short range RFID tage anywhere and perhaps build a reader from a DIY kit? I want to tag chickens using the leg ring and log which ones no longer lay eggs!

Reply to
Frank

Sound like a high-tech Chicken Run - turning bad layers into pies - Mrs Tweedy

Reply to
Mike

There are a few places out there that sell kits for making your own reader/programmer. One such is:

formatting link
Their kit is only $66. Of course, that low price comes with the cost of having to build the entire thing yourself.

Reply to
J Wynia

another possibility is buying a CueCat barcode reader (~$10 last time i looked)... although this will require a little more "intimacy" with the chicken than waving a RF reader would... you'd have to physically get to the leg.

Are the chickens white? would they be harmed by short term exposure to permanent magic markers? how many are we talking about? (this isn't answering your question... but rather brainstorming other ways to accomplish your goals... ;)

Reply to
Philip Lewis

On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 21:05:42 +0100, Philip Lewis wrote (in message ):

Thanks for the idea but they are grey!

I get most fun out of seeing a project work with a chip I had not tried before. The chickens are just an excuse - however we have 17 in the yard and I know some of the !!$^&^%£! ar not laying anything and just eating corn!

I can tell if there is a chicken in a laying box using a single chip e-field probe - but not which one!

The "Pet Passport" chips must be small enough to fasten to a leg ring...

Sonmicro transponders are also creditcard size - my chickens have no pockets...

Reply to
Frank

Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.