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Show HN: Wovyn, physical world sensors for developers

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Re: Show HN: Wovyn, physical world sensors for developers

#22

Post by personlurking »

I love tech as much as the next person but I think the Internet of Things is just going too far. I've read tech news on a daily basis for years and years and I find it all really interesting, to a point, and that point is coming.

I don't like GPS, ebooks, smartphones or even video games, though I love a good Apple laptop and I love keeping up with the news. The fact that I even stopped learning my friend's phone numbers by heart was the tipping point. A seemingly small change, sure, but it reflects a wider tendency. We are slowly replacing our memory with computer memory. There have been articles, books and many comments on this effect but I get the feeling that 'new and shiny' is too attractive to most and I worry about there being no choice in the near future. I hope the losing side, in the end, is not the same side that, from the start, yearned for everything to be 'smart'.

Re: Show HN: Wovyn, physical world sensors for developers

#23

Post by robstar256 »

As someone already mentioned here, these guys are just reselling someone else's sensor ..

I know this because I'm building something as well with the exact same one! Here's a pic of mine and theirs side by side: http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg37/scaled.php?server=37&#38...

Re: Show HN: Wovyn, physical world sensors for developers

#24

Post by snippyhollow »

huhtenberg wrote: post #3

Oh, hai :) After thinking about home automation on an on-and-off basis for several years, I have concluded that the only thing that's needed is automation of electrical sockets. Being able to flip a physical switch and/or check its current state from an iPhone covers good 90% of automation needs. The 9.9% is a thermostat, a temperature sensor and a flood sensor for basement. The remaining 0.1% is exotic stuff to meas…

Isn't what http://www.zigbee.org/Products/CertifiedProducts/ZigBeeSmart... are about? Siemens also has a project (formerly HOME) about automation of electric sockets. (I worked on it as an undergrad in 2007-2008.)

Re: Show HN: Wovyn, physical world sensors for developers

#27

Post by noonespecial »

robstar256 wrote: post #23

As someone already mentioned here, these guys are just reselling someone else's sensor .. I know this because I'm building something as well with the exact same one! Here's a pic of mine and theirs side by side: http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg37/scaled.php?server=37&#38...

"We also have our board designs complete, and have already been through several initial board revisions. Once funded we'll submit our boards to production..."

They claim to have some board designs of their own (I guess in addition to the off the shelf sensors). They should emphasize what they're bringing to the table that's new and exciting and not spend quite so much time describing the hardware you can already buy elsewhere.

Re: Show HN: Wovyn, physical world sensors for developers

#28

Post by arethuza »

josh33 wrote: post #9
huhtenberg wrote: post #3

Oh, hai :) After thinking about home automation on an on-and-off basis for several years, I have concluded that the only thing that's needed is automation of electrical sockets. Being able to flip a physical switch and/or check its current state from an iPhone covers good 90% of automation needs. The 9.9% is a thermostat, a temperature sensor and a flood sensor for basement. The remaining 0.1% is exotic stuff to meas…

I think you're right about home automation. There is also potential for home analytics/intelligence as well. For example, water sub-meters on each water faucet could help conscientious water users conserve.

What I'd really want is a low-cost non-intrusive means of monitoring natural gas flow, that's where the bulk of my energy costs are.
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