automation News - Page 56 of 63 - CNX Software

September 28, 2015October 6, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

$20 Xiaomi Mi Smart Remote Center Controls Infrared Home Appliances via Your Smartphone

Home automation used to be costly and complex to install, and some solutions are still that way, but several devices have dramatically brought the cost down and simplicity up including Orvibo Wiwo S20 WiFi smart socket, now selling for $16, Semlamp SL-011 – an $8 audio controlled relay -, or smart light bulbs like Yeelight. All three items have the advantage of being plug-and-plug, inexpensive, and controlled wirelessly using your iOS and Android smartphone. There are also been some WiFi, IR and RF gateways on the market, such as Broadlink RM2 / Pro, that can control devices such as smart socker, air conditioner, TV, and items using the 315/433MHz band. If you only want to control IR (and WiFi?) devices, and don’t need to control RF devices, Xiaomi Mi Smart Remote Center sells for half the price for Broadlink Pro for just $19.99 on GearBest. Xiaomi Mi Smart Remote complete […]

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Mini Review of Semlamp SL-011 Audio Controlled Relay for Home Lighting

Last month, I wrote about Semlamp SL-012 a smartphone controlled light switch for 2 lamps that sells for about $11 on DX, and contrary to most others don’t use Bluetooth, nor Wifi, but instead a simple microphone. I decided to try it out by purchasing SL-011 model, controlling only one light, for $8.22 on DealExtreme. Semlamp SL-011 Unboxing and Teardown That’s the package with some instructions in Chinese. The device has black and red wires to connect to 220V on the right of the picture below, blue and brown wires to connect to the lamp, and a microphone attached via a white cable. It’s quite easy to take apart, as they are just two screws to remove, and you can easily pop-up the bottom part of the case to access the board. The top of the board features JQC-3FF 24V relay supporting up to 10A @ 277VAC, as well as […]

August 14, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

$12 Semlamp SL-012 Lamp Controller Let You Wirelessly Control Lights with Android or iOS Devices

WiFi smart sockets have come down in price with products like Orvibo Wiwo S20 selling for $16, but if all you want to do is control your lights, there’s an even cheaper option with Semlamp SL-012 lamp controller selling for just $11.92 on DealExtreme and allowing to control two lights independently with Android or iOS mobile devices. Specifications listed for Semlamp SL-012 : Voltage – AC 220-240V Max Current – 10A Dimmable – Yes Control Range – 10 meters Dimensions – 9.5 cm x 4.5 cm x 2.4 cm Weight – 59.5 g Material – Plastic Right, not that much information, and nothing about wireless connectivity. But the description also mentions that the device does not use Bluetooth, nor WiFi. So how is that possible? The answer lies with another picture shown on the right…. A microphone is attached to that yellow cable, and they are using audio to control […]

July 30, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Orvibo Wiwo S20 Smart Socket Now Sells for $16

Kankun KK-SP3 used to be the cheapest smart socket on the market at around $20, and it is hackable too, but only available with a Chinese / Australian plug, and for some reasons, many sellers stopped selling the device. Last year, a similar product called Orvibo Wiwo S20 launched with US, UK, EU or AU plug types, but sold for nearly twice as much as KK-SP3 at the time. The good news is that the price has gone down considerably, as it can be purchased for around $16 on GearBest, and it’s available on others for $20 to $26 including on Amazon US, DealExtreme, and GeekBuying. Let’s remind us of the specifications first: Material – ABC 94V-0 (fireproof) Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Security – WEP, WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK Power Plug – US, Europe, United Kingdom or Australia plug Output Current – 10A Output Power – 2000W max. Voltage Range – 100-240V […]

May 19, 2015May 19, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Olimex Announces RT5350F-OLinuXino and Evaluation Boards Availability

Olimex had been working on a small board with Ralink RT5350F processor for over a year, with delays mostly due to software development and undocumented registers. But RT5350F-OlinuXino is now available together with an evaluation board with tow relays, two Ethernet ports, and expansions headers, as well as a DIN EBV still in development. RT5350F-OlinuXino specifications: SoC – Ralink / Mediatek RT5350F MIPS24KEc CPU @ 360 MHz System Memory – 32MB SDRAM Storage – 8MB SPI NAND Flash 3x headers with access to USB 2.0 HOST/Device 5x 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port GPIOs, SPI, I2C I2S, PCM UART JTAG Power – 3x external DCDC power converters releasing internal RT5350F vreg and preventing common problem with overheating with this chip. Dimensions – N/A Operating Temperature Range – -10 to +55C The board is pre-loaded OpenWRT with Linux 3.18.11. You can find builds instructions and other documentation in the Wiki, as well as […]

May 7, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Seeed Studio Introduces Automation and Wearable Kits for Intel Edison

Intel Edison is a $50 module with a dual core Atom processor @ 500Mhz and a single core Quark MCU @ 100 Mhz, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, as well as headers for I/Os that’s destined to be used in wearables and IoT applications. Seeed Studio has now launched two kits for the Intel module for home automation and wearables. Grove Indoor Environment Kit for Intel Edison The automation kit comes in a small blue box with the following parts (Intel Edison and baseboard not included): 1x base shield v2 that plugs into Edison baseboard and allows Grove modules connections 11 grove modules – temperature & humidity, LCD RGB backlight, relay, moisture sensor, servo, light sensor, buzzer, UV sensor, PIR motion sensor, encoder and button. 2x 26 AWG Grove Cables 9V to barrel jack adapter 1x USB cables 1x User guide Programming is done with Edison Arduino IDE as explained in […]

April 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Ottobox Smart Wi-Fi Electric Socket Learns Your Schedule to Save Electricity (Crowdfunding)

There are already quite a few smart Wi-Fi electric sockets like Kankun KK-SP3, Broadlink SP2, or Orvibo Vivo S20 among others that cost between $20 and $45 shipped. They can all be controlled via an Android or iOS app either via the touch of a button, or by setting schedules, and some can also measure power consumption. But what they can’t do, is to automatically learn your schedule or habits, and detect whether you are at home or not, and that’s exactly what Ottoxbox has been designed to do. Ottobox hardware specifications: MCU – Unnamed ARM based micro-controller Connectivity – Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 Sockets and charging ports 1x 3-pin power socket 2x USB port to charge devices Misc – Multicolor LEDs Mains Voltage – Supports 120V / 220V / 230V and US & UK plug types, and possibly EU too (TBC) Dimensions – 10.80 x 3.8 x 3.8 cm […]

March 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Texas Instruments Introduces MSP432 ARM Cortex-M4F MCU Family

Texas Instruments has just launched a successor for its 16-bit MSP430 MCU family with MSP432 MCU series featuring a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4F core, a DSP, up to 256 KB flash, up to 64 KB SRAM, and according to the company ” delivering a ULPBench score of 167.4 outperforming all other Cortex-M3 and -M4F MCUs on the market”. The new MCU family targets consumer & portable electronics, building & factory automation & control, smart grid & energy, healthcare & fitness, and wearables applications. Key features listed for MSP432P4xx: MCU – 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4F up to 48 MHz with FPU and DSP. Delivers 3.4 Coremark/MHz Memory – Up to 64 KB RAM; Selectable RAM retention Storage – Up to 256 KB Flash; dual bank for simultaneous reading and writing Security – 256-bit AES encryption, JTAG access lock, 4 IP Protection regions EnergyTrace Technology Real-time power measurement and debugging Generate application energy profiles including […]