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[Art]

Hello,

I'm a newcomer here and have been lurking about for a while. I will most likely make the jump to HS from all those other programs from the "Dark side" that just didn't quite make the cut.

I was wondering whether anyone had either discussed or developed a provision for Homeseer to "know" where a person was in the house or be able to track a person as he / she moves through the house?

It has been done on one other system that I know of so in that particular regard, I know it can be done. Whether or not anyone has done it successfully via HS, remain to be seen.

Thanks for your time / input. - This is a great community!!

[Rupp]

Welcome to the HomeSeer message board. I'm not aware of any solutions for this. There's the RFID solution but this is only a present/away scenario as is the two bluetooth plugins. If you have the hardware to do this then most it will most likely integrate into HomeSeer so let us know how the other system works.

[drozwood90]

Check out Stipus' BT Connector.

I believe with a certain BT stack, he had that working, at least within something like a 5 foot radius. I don't know of anyone else that did it, but I remember him posting something like he had one on his development laptop, one on the server, one somewhere else, then was able to get rough positions based on those.

--Dan

[Uncle Michael]

I was wondering whether anyone had either discussed or developed a provision for Homeseer to "know" where a person was in the house or be able to track a person as he / she moves through the house? It has been done on one other system that I know of so in that particular regard, I know it can be done.

Please tell us more about the successful application you are referring to. The only circumstance that I'm aware of where this has been approximated (aside from Bill Gates' house) involves push button start systems in automobiles that can tell if the key is inside the vehicle or not.

[wpiman]

Check out Doomotion as well for moving throughout the home.

[Vector]

You could also use Blade's BLRadar to accomplish this.

Regards,
Vector

[Uncle Michael]

Also, mcsMovement. But none of those can distinguish something moving from me moving. My reading of the OP was that the objective was not to track movement, but to track individuals.

[Art]

Thanks folks and I apologize especially to Uncle Mike for possibly misleading the posting.

I meant for the house to basically be able to track a person, not necessarily "know" whom that person is.

Other than rfid tags and sofisticated cameras with facial recognition. I too, am afraid BT is about the best we can hope for.

Anyone up for an RFID capsule subcutaneous? Didn't think so.

One general method for simple tracking is through use of a mixer and multiple speakers & mics. (one each per room).

Otherwise wait 'till the lottery commission delivers your check to but those cameras and gear.

This issue has eluded the HA community for years and I hadn't noticed any postings of any recent type floating around.

Again, sorry if I mislead any of you but I do appreciate taking the time to respond.

Thanks!

[Uncle Michael]

I agree that BT offers the best hope for an affordable solution, but I haven't seen a robust application yet, and BT devices eat batteries at an alarming rate if they are continuously on.

RFID will work, and the technology is in wide use commercially for asset tracking (implanting the tag is optional ), but the cost of the transceivers - and you'd need many of them in order to localize the tag - is a bit too high for my budget.

DooMotion, BLRadar, and mcsMovement all have the potential to track movement. If someone walks down a hall, they are likely to be able to detect that reliably. If one person trips a sensor at one end of the hall and someone else trips the sensor at the other end, then results are less predictable. The more people (and pets) moving around, the more difficult the challenge.

BTW, you still haven't shared with us the example of a working system you mentioned in your first post.

[Art]

Mike,

"...to know where a person was in the house...".

I witnessed this after a discussion some years ago with a man named Jim Lipsit. Jim uses a mixer for some whole house audio and employs speakers and microphones in each major room. Whenever he speaks, the system opens that speaker (so as not to conflict with other rooms) and basically is aware of which room has been activated (mic / speaker), more so than the person or person's identity.

I think Jim has a few detailed explanations on his site for accomplishing this and other events.

Unfortunately, Jim is using a competitor's system for his HA but if you'd like to see the video, just youtube and search for his name. BTW, I've tested their system and while nice, doesn't offer the flexibility, ease of use and fun factor that Homeseer does!

[Uncle Michael]

Art,
Thanks for the response. Have you explored the VR capabilities of HS? As far as I can tell, the limitations of VR have nothing to do with HS or HAL, they are more to do with the state of VR technology.

If the goal is to track just one individual who is alone in the house, while not trivial, the problem is certainly tractable and can be done pretty well with the plug-ins that have been listed and some careful planning and analysis. I've had reasonable success with two people. More than that, and it's more a matter of deciding which rooms are empty.

[Art]

I noticed that a few of my Z-wave sensors are 3-way (Light, Motion, Temperature). Perhaps separate routines (triggers) could be implemented to detect a person's presence in a room. If, for instance, the person was seated at a desk or chair and reading or even napping (not moving) the only way would be for the motion sensor (3-way) to acknowledge the person's presence would be temperature.

I'm just throwing some thoughts out for some feedback or general kicking around. Other than a camera to digitally detect and recognize a human form, it's just another idea.

RFID and BT both rely on the person having, wearing or basically keeping the device on their person while they are in and about the house.
If they lay their phone down or put their keys (with RFID tag) on the hall table then the instantly become "lost" in their house to the computer.

I'm sure in time, we'll come up with a more practical, inventive maybe even simpler way for the smart home to become aware of our presence or to "know" that we are home and where we might be within that home.