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Editor’s noteA Quest for meaningful applicationsBy Pierre Kil

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In this newsletter

A safe Waterway for freighters, pleasure boats, and canoes at Beatrix Canal Eindhoven

Velbus integrated in a new release of the Professional Designer by MDAR

Social Alert is now offering it’s elderly solution via welfare organizations

The CKbSmart House, from building bricks to clicks

Inviting long time users and contributors to review our next platform

We are looking for talent in the US

Many claim, including us, that an Internet of Things with billions of devices being connected, will radically change the world. However, when your friends or family members ask you to explain the value of the Internet of Things, I bet many will still find themselves struggling to point out some meaningful applications. It’s hard to get beyond control of your lights, security system or thermostat. Of course this has become much easier over time and the value is clear in most cases.

But what about the applications which didn’t exist before or will only be feasible when the Internet of a Billion Things arises?

In this newsletter our contributors share a nice range of future proof applications for home and building automation, but also some less obvious ones to support elderly or create safe waterways. These get only richer when more get’s connected. A lot of work is done by the authors on video’s and wiki’s, just in case you want to know more.

As we are looking beyond today with our tools, we are also planning a new release for OpenRemote 3.0. We we invite long time users and developers to give us their opinion...

Enjoy reading this newletter!

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Navigable waterways are an important feature for many regions in North Western Europe and make an important contribution to the economy and the environment, for example as transport routes for recreation and cargo, biodiversity and housing. With the increasing pressure on the use of inland waterways, there is a need for the development of innovative models, for example for communication, safety, administrative processing, bottlenecks and maintenance. ICT and e-services are already used in some places with positive results. They offer a considerable potential for improving efficiency and are important for strengthening the competitiveness and an opportunity for the economic development of the waterways , as well as the rural and urban areas. Other factors include the demand for communication and interactive services for pleasure craft, e-tourism tools and management of the waterways.

In the Berzob study done by Rijkswaterstaat in 2004 it is proposed to improve the waterway transport from Veghel to Eindhoven by upgrading the canals (Zuid-Willemsvaart, Wilhelmina Canal en Beatrix Canal). In the near future ships up to 110m length will therefore be allowed on the canals. The waterbounded companies in Eindhoven expect an increase in cargo throughput in tonnage from around 100.000 tons to 600.000 tons. Also they foresee an additional shift from trucks to ships.

The City of Eindhoven manages the Beatrix Canal and requires a secure, safe waterway for it’s users and proper administrative processing.The Beatrix Canal, with a length of 8.4 km and a width of 21 meters, is used by freight ships, recreation ships, a canoe club and scouting.

Control Center OpenRemote is applied to visualize the current usage of the Beatrix Canal by ships and canoes. Users can file complaints and register for harbour use. The area manager has a seperate dashboard to manage information markers, assets as well as define communication flows.

Beatrix CanalWaterway SafetyBy Jos Westveer

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The demand arose for developing a Control Centre with applications for waterway users and an area manager (suitable for computer, cell phones and tablet) with the following functionality:1. General information waterway users. 2. Data concerning safety, static and real time location. 3. Reporting complaints by canal users 4. Reporting work and calamities 5. Collecting channeltax 6. Management & maintenance7. Tourist information

The project fits well in the plans of the municipality of Eindhoven as Smart City and is also included in the overall plans of the Living Lab.

The City of Eindhoven has selected OpenRemote to implement the solution, for the following reasons:1. OpenRemote makes sure that various ICT projects within Eindhoven run on a central server, connecting systems from

actors and sensors, regardless of the vendor.2. They are unique in their User Interface design because they tie all actors and sensors on an open platform together and the "proof of concept" is previously delivered within the project Living Lab. 3. Meetings with other (big) companies for similar solutions delivered proposals which could not compeat.4. The Control Center and other projects can easily be adjusted and connected within the Eindhoven eco-system. 5. The data remains inside the Eindhoven premises on a dedicated City Server.

Open Remote has delivered the feasibility, implementation as well as maintenance tools.

For more information:- See the introduction video

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OpenRemote Designer 3.0We need your feedback...By Christian Bauer

We are preparing a new version of OpenRemote, tailored to connect any internet enabled ‘producer’ or ‘consumer’. We took another approach on programming your project or product in a more user friendly manner. It requires less programming skills to get started without loosing the flexibility.

We need your feedback to be sure we are on the right track!

We are inviting really long term users, who embraced OpenRemote from the start and helped us developing it to join a webinar in which we’ll demonstrate the new designer.

If you fit the category and are interested please contact us.

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OpenRemote, Velbus and MDAR Ltd are very proud to announce the integration of the Velbus protocol in the latest version of the OpenRemote Pro controller.With the continued growth in the Internet of Things and an ever growing demand for full building control it seems a natural progression to expand on the benefits of both Velbus and OpenRemote, by creating the software bridge between the two technologies.Thanks to the talents of everyone involved in the creation of the translation protocol for OpenRemote, there is now even greater control over a Velbus installation and limitless possibilities for both installers and end users.With Velbus being a fully modular and self sufficient building control system that can control almost everything from simple lighting to full multi zone heating and cooling, along with anything that can be controlled with 0~10v signals or contact closures.OpenRemote now operates on top of this network as a totally flexible control surface, rather than a central processing unit.Even providing a type of protocol translation so that an end user need do

nothing more than press a single button on a Velbus input module, for example the VMBGPODw, to trigger actions within its own Velbus network and anything else that OpenRemote is connected to, which can include numerous other independent Velbus installations and a multitude of AV equipment.Inherently, Velbus is restricted to only 253 modules per network, but now that OpenRemote is communicating with multiple Velbus networks via LAN or WAN, this limit can almost be ignored when designing larger building management systems.Meaning that Velbus network segments remain self sufficient and tolerant of faults in other segments, but an overarching building management deployment of OpenRemote can harvest all the data it needs from the Velbus segments to offer a level of control and understanding of a building that previously would have been costly.Results from the initial projects that have used the test versions of the Velbus protocol in OpenRemote have performed much better than anyone could have wished for.Simply using the colour picker widget in OpenRemote to control a selection of RGB lighting on one project reduced the amount of programming that would have been required and has added much greater flexibility for the end user.A priest in Eastbourne initially wanted to upgrade the heating control system in the main body of his church with something more flexible, that included an external temperature sensor and more time options than his current system permitted.

VelbusIntegration in Professional Designer 1.3

By Stuart Hanlon, MDAR

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Once the capabilities of a combined OpenRemote and Velbus solution were explained, the brief was quickly expanded to include the function hall and the presbytery.The final system incorporated over 80 different user programmable time events and 3 wall mounted POE Android touch panels around the complex, each with a separate control surface, whilst giving the church management team the option for an overview.The home that MDAR uses to test Velbus configurations has been used extensively for the integration process with OpenRemote, the results soon proved that there was much more usable data available than was initially expected.Before OpenRemote, the Velbus modules were performing very well, keeping the energy consumption of the property down, whilst maintaining a perfect living environment.Once an OpenRemote controller was configured it threw up dozens of additional features had that previously only been available to system programmers.From a single OpenRemote interface it is now possible to set the various alarm time functions in each Velbus module with a simple set of buttons or a slider, rather than having to resort to the system

programming tool, or complex button presses on a glass panel.This now means that end users can have absolute control over their environment with the minimum of effort.

An exciting project that is in development at the time of writing involves a huge high tech apartment building.

Each apartment requires a separate OpenRemote server to provide a unique user interface, tailored to each resident's choice of AV equipment alongside the independent Velbus building management system that controls heating, lighting and cooling for that apartment.However, the building management team will have a separate OpenRemote server collecting heating & cooling demand data from each apartment so that the most efficient and economical methods can be used.Harvesting wakeup alarm times from each apartment could enable the building management team to ensure enough steaming hot water to meet the needs of the residents, without wasting energy by heating more water than would be needed.

This approach ensures system stability, flexibility and mission critical reliability.

The incredible power of OpenRemote ensures that designers and architects can deliver their designs without compromising due to technical limitations.The advantage for any existing Velbus installations is that with the addition of a single USB interface module anywhere in the network and a server PC, all of the supported Velbus modules can be interfaced into an OpenRemote server.

For more information:- Reference projects- Bostoen reference projects Belgium- Velbus home page - Wiki OpenRemote - Velbus- MDAR UK Velbus distribution & support

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Social Alert will be offered by welfare organizations troughout The Netherlands. Using a pendant and an app. (Android and iOS) users can define their own rules and notifications. An app. will be used to set up the system. Users define whom they want to be in contact with by simply adding their name, phone number and email. Once done, you’ll be able to define notification rules. You’ll answer the following question “When and how do you want to contact who”?

To get in contact and stay in contact with your loved ones both the app. and the pendant offer different functionalities. Since tablets and smart phones found their way into a lot of households and are embraced by a very big and diverse group of people, it’s the perfect platform to add intelligence and functionalities. The app will go trough all the necessary steps to set up the system. When finished you’ll see two buttons, those are the in-app functions. It’s a green button and a blue button.

The green button can be used to send an ‘all is well’ message. It’s an email send to your contacts including the location from where it was sent. We’ve chosen email, because it is not an urgent message per se.

The blue button is called the ‘Call Circle button’. When you press it, it will start a voice call with your registered contacts. If the first contact does not pick up, it will automatically transferred to the second contact in line etc. Because this is a more urgent phone call we always send a separate text message in parallel. So even when you’ve missed the call, you’ll receive a text message showing Social Alert

tried to reach you. It includes the location from where the call was made.

Both the green and the blue button are also available on your smart phone. As long as you have an Internet connection you can use it anywhere at anytime. The location will be interesting of course.

To make sure everybody can use the ‘Call Circle’ button outside his or her home even though you have no smart phone, we added the pendant button. It behaves exactly the same as the blue ‘Call Circle button’ on the app. The pendant can be carried around in-house with a necklace or clip, but also outside the house. When pressing the button for longer than a few seconds the call circle starts. It will also send the same text message to the list of contacts. And also here it includes the location.

The pendant is a standalone device; it doesn’t require the app or an internet connection. The button includes a microphone and speaker function, GPS tracker, it is waterproof and comes with an easy docking station.

Also see:- An introduction video- Social Alert website

Social AlertPeace of mind By Joost Hornman

“When I don’t feel well I just press the button and immediately get in contact with my neighbor or daughter”

Esther Verdoeven

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It all started in 2013 with an empty lot and some ideas. The question was “How can we get from a house of bricks to a home that can improve your quality of life?”. As the technology evolves so fast and I am still discovering new and challenging things, for now this is how I can answer this question: “Be patient, instead of saying “I can’t”, always say “I can’t for now” and finally embrace what the smart house market has to offer and be creative with it!”.

Brick after brick and then click after click it got to this day where the house is ready for action. Using Vera Z-wave controller, various Z-wave devices, IP devices together with Openremote controller, this house allows you to conveniently control your lighting, under floor and radiator heating, irrigation, pedestrian and auto gate, security and entertainment through your smartphone, computer or tablet. The interface is customized, with floor plans and inside as well as outside photos of the house.

The house is designed so that it wakes up with you. You can set your alarm clock

from the Openremote app, as well as the active days and then the house gets ready for your pleasant morning. It starts warming up the house before the wake-up time, and then when the wake-up hour is reached it opens the curtains, plays your favorite music, turns on the lights if needed and finally it offers local weather info.

When it comes to lighting control besides the usual on/off and dim functions, by using the drools rule you can change the color of the Philips Hue bulbs and light strips (RGB to hue, RGB to XY) and of the Fibaro RGBW strips(RGB to color percentage). Additionally for the ease of access, global virtual switches for each room/floor are integrated into the design.

Throughout the day if you feel the need of adjusting the room temperature, each room has individual heating thermostats as well as AC. In the living room, the NEST thermostat is used and the mode home/away is chosen compliant to the house mode home/away or day/night. On bedroom level, simple on/off control over the heating pumps is applied. In the bathrooms Z-wave radiator controllers are

In the end the question is “Would you wake up in this house?”

The CKbSmart HouseFrom building bricks to clicksBy Cristina Florenta Chira

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used. For the AC control, IR to Z-wave devices are integrated into de design, with functionalities such as: heat/cool, temperature set, etc. The control at heating level and the energy usage monitoring option(major consumers with Emoncms server - e.g. AC, central heating, etc.) are meant to help you reduce your energy and gas bills.

Another feature that helps you save time and money is the irrigation system (custom built Z-wave controller) which triggers the water valves given the weather conditions from Weather Underground as well as date/ time data.

What better way to bring the family together and decompress after a busy day then with the help of the two main scenarios: cinema and party. For the cinema mode, before the TV is set on the media center source, curtains are closed and lights are turned off. The TV is connected to a PC media center and a SONOS 5.1 home theatre system. The user has full control over the TV, media centre library as well as speakers. Using the UI designer, web widgets with media center info (TV guide, Kodi control) were integrated. In the party mode you can turn your living room into a dance floor where a chosen playlist is loaded (Sonos http API) and then the Philips HUE lights sync to the music rhythm (Python adapted function).

Taking into account that the house security is an important feature, the Paradox alarm system is

integrated into the system along with door/window Z-wave sensors and video surveillance. Also smoke and water detection sensor are part of the house security framework. When either of those are triggered if the user is inside the house audio/video warnings are given. On the other hand when the user is not inside the house email and SMS notifications are given. In case of water detection the water pump is closed so that you don’t flood your house. From the security screen you and arm/disarm the house and you can also partly arm the house and trigger the night mode routine.

In the end the question is “Would you wake up in this house?”.

Also see: - Bricks to clicks video

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Looking for passionWe need a business developer in the US...By Pierre Kil

We are looking for a business development & sales person in the US. If you believe in an open source culture, and understand that it can’t do without a solid commercial model; if you already know our product, and are interested in an adventure, this might be something for you.

We don’t require sales experience, we just need passion. If you are willing to take a risk, start with a base salary, and see the opportunity or want to convince us about it, please contact us.