Video: XBMC iPad Controller and Home Automation

One of our listeners in Germany, Klaus, has created a great demonstration of his XBMC integrated with his iPad and Home Automation. Klaus was kind enough to send us a video and description of all the components that went into his setup.

Fantastic Job Klaus!

Home Automation:

KNX Bus with actors and sensors for controlling the lights, shutters, heating, windows (open/closed) etc. with hardwired switchers (called sensors)  and over IP with iOS devices or in a browser. I could go in detail but I guess its not so interesting. What's nice about KNX is that you can configure any function that is controllable to any switch in the house. The switch could open a door, the garage, turn on a light, the radio, the TV or triggers a scene maybe "Movietime" and does all you have preconfigured. http://www.knx.org/knx/what-is-knx/

Camera:

Mobotix M12 DualNight IT - Really nice camera with features that fills a book. Maybe a bit overkill but you propably could use any IP camera or analog cameras with a video Server pointing to a raw image url. You have a good picture by day and by night. The camera records 24/7 if you like and sends the data to my NAS. After a defined period of time the data gets deleted.

The camera detects reliable if someone is coming on the property and sends a network message to the home automation controller which sends the signal to pop up the camera window on the TV and the iPad. You can open the door from the couch with a harmony or the iPad or from any hardwired switch that was defined to open the door.

Also the lights and everything else in the house can be controlled by the harmony.
http://www.mobotix.com/content/view/full/4648
Controlling AV-Gear over IP and recieving IR commands from the harmony to control parts of the home automation with apple scripts.

http://www.irtrans.de/en/shop/lan.php
http://www.filewell.com/

The GUI:

The app is called iViewer from a company called commandfusion.com Its a free app from the App Store but has to be licensed for cash. You can be as creative as you like to create an interface. Your own logo,pictures...

XBMC:

My favourite MediCenter. I use XBMC as a frontend and to deliver all the metadata to the control software. I query the XBMC database directly to fill the dynamic lists in the iviewer and show the fanart and the thumbnails and all the metadata you can see in the youtube video. The thumbnails and the fanart gets automatically scaled to the needed size. I created a daemon application on Mac OS X.

The Controller: 

mremote.de Software is installed on a Mac Mini. Really great software that puts everything together.
Details here http://www.mremote.de/Losungen_files/mmh_Overview.pdf

Storage:

Synology NAS

Comments

[Jack]

Very cool!