Just a list of links with some notes. By no means exhaustive. Please, please go ahead an leave a comment if you know of any other good home automation links!

  • Robert Hekkers (an amazing hacker in Holland) has done lots and LOTS of “smart home hacking”. Here’s the web interface to his Domotica home automation / monitoring system. He monitors gas usage, power usage, water, heating, light, temperature, motion, taking photos when someone presses the door bell, which windows are open etc etc. Remarkable stuff.
  • Home Automation Hub (HAH): an open-source system running on a re-purposed router. Active forum and wiki.
  • Google’s “Andriod@Home” project.
  • WikiPedia page on Home Automation
  • Fhem “is a GPL’d perl server for house automation. It is used to automate some common tasks in the household like switching lamps / shutters / heating / etc. and to log events like temperature / humidity / power consumption. The program runs as a server, you can control it via web or smartphone frontends, telnet or TCP/IP directly.”
  • automatedhome.co.uk
  • SmartThings on Kickstarter “SmartThings makes it easy to connect the things in your physical world to the Internet. You can monitor, control, automate, and have fun with them from anywhere - at home or abroad, city or country. We’ve made it possible to install apps that mash up and interact with your SmartThings, as well as online and other services, unlocking a world of possibilities and unlimited potential to make your life easier, more convenient and fun. We call these SmartApps.”
  • nest - smart and pretty heating control (but no room-by-room control?! gah.)
  • Open Remote - “Open Source Automation Platform”
  • Open standards are essential (surely?)
  • OPENARCH “Openarch is a real prototype of a smart home. The first home designed from scratch to incorporate a digital layer connecting the house and its elements to the Internet. Its inhabitants lead a new digital and connected life. It is flexible and thanks to its ability to transform, it can adapt to any condition that the user requires.” (thanks Becky for the link!)