How many people use Homeseer

[jhearty]

Wouldn't it be nice to just add a motion sensor to a room and it knows what other devices are in that room and builds the logic for you automatically based off a couple questions? That is probably coming sooner than we think.

That's what I was thinking with this thread:
http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=181625

If you associate a room name to a device, HS or a plugin would know about the other devices in that room and their capabilities, and could use what it knows about device capabilities and a few configs you supply at device install time to calculate probability of something like occupancy. Going a step further it could ask you at install time if you want to control other devices in that room or adjacent rooms. Seems like something that could be done today in HS, ideally in the base software.

I just started looking a bit into scripting to try to do some of this but steep learning curve so may take a while.

John

[macromark]

Wouldn't it be nice to just add a motion sensor to a room and it knows what other devices are in that room and builds the logic for you automatically based off a couple questions?

Half the fun is tweaking these things to do something they normally don't do... so NO... wouldn't be nice! In fact, if this happens.. we'd probably be out of a job!

Seriously though... AI for home automation is just in its infancy now and not doing terribly well yet. Nest was the first big effort out of the gate and lots of folks actually disabled the AI functions due to changing schedules.

[outbackrob]

I will say, coming from the plug and play side of things, they have a ways to go. I think a lot has to do with the fact that we are all dramatically different and how we use home automation is different. ....

In all fairness, WINK is not that bad. It is super easy to set up (My 90yo mom set up appliance modules) and it is somewhat automated. ....and it works. Using an Echo, doors can be checked to see if they are locked or shut, lights can be turned on or off or dimmed and outside lights can come on and be turned off on a schedule. Sure, it's X10 Powerhouse level stuff, but it gets people started and hooked. My mom didn't even want an Echo and now 75% of her home is controllable with Alexa. Not everyone is cut out for Home Automation. As was said earlier, (paraphrased) With flexibility comes complexity. Not everyone is cut out for Homeseer. I have been doing "HA" since the early 70's and I hardly make the grade. HS does so many things. It has become very sophisticated. Maybe too sophisticated. Regardless, the hobby needs new blood and these other systems help fuel it. Your average citizen is not going to be able to grasp HS3 for their very first HA experience. As has been pointed out several times in this thread alone, HS is what you look for when you think that there has to be a better way or there has to be something more. WINK and ST and others are perfect ways to get you there.

I was an X10 user in '86, a GE Homeminder user in '87, a REALISTIC Powerhouse user from 88-94, an IBM Home Director user from 94 to 2003. In 2003 I happened upon Homeseer 1.3(?). It did all the things I wanted Home Director to do and MORE. Migrated my 1988 config file to HS1 and then to HS2. Having some heartburn migrating to HS3 (4th attempt...) so I decided I would not migrate. I am starting from scratch and converting my X10 parts (some bought in 1986) to Z-Wave one room at a time and running both systems simultaneously but separately. WAF is at an all time LOW.... but that is my fault, not HS3's.

[jhearty]

Half the fun is tweaking these things to do something they normally don't do... so NO... wouldn't be nice!

You could add the capability to optionally auto-build events based on a few questions and associated devices in the same room and their known capabilities. Then those not happy with how they work could tweak those events. Best of both worlds. Homeseer expands their customer base to less technical customers and retains existing customers more comfortable with detailed configuration.

[Steve Q]

Moving target

My frustration is with the ongoing updates of HS3. I know it is necessary, but I spend way too much reworking/revising events. I am hooked on voice control via Alexa. Because of that, I am willing to do whatever it takes to get HS3 working properly. I doubt Newbees will be so patient.

Steve Q


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[waynehead99]

Half the fun is tweaking these things to do something they normally don't do... so NO... wouldn't be nice! In fact, if this happens.. we'd probably be out of a job!

Seriously though... AI for home automation is just in its infancy now and not doing terribly well yet. Nest was the first big effort out of the gate and lots of folks actually disabled the AI functions due to changing schedules.

Completely agree with you and i think a best of both worlds would be the equal balance. Honestly if they could just get it so that I put batteries in a device its found and automatically added. Thats half the frustration gone right there

AI is coming and I suspect 10 years it will be fairly mainstream in this field. Hell there are some on this board that have scripted basic AI already into the current HS3 system.

Don't get me wrong, you have a customer here until the doors close (hopefully never happens), but it will be interesting to see what comes of these fly by night automation systems we are seeing now. Granted they don't last long, but the ideas coming from them will start to get inserted into more mature systems and change the game.

At that point, become public so you can get cash and we can get numbers .

[macromark]

.. My frustration is with the ongoing updates of HS3. I know it is necessary, but I spend way too much reworking/revising events...

Steve - unless you're fixing something in your own system, updates are 100% "opt-in". If it's causing you headaches, just don't update!