Smart Home Automation with Linux and Raspberry Pi

I have been searching for books like this for over six months to support my home automation business and now I have one. Home Automation is currently divided among the Security, Video, Instrument, and Appliance support groups. No one is getting the overall picture which is that the Home itself is the venue. Every electronic support aspect of the Home should be considered as a single unified thing. And that requires interchangeability of security, door entry, infant monitoring, automobile system monitoring, household expenses, energy usage, phone and video, and remote control devices.Currently, there are at least three different communications systems operating among potential home instruments. This book covers them in some detail and gives the reader insight into which suppliers support given standards in their devices. This information is vital to designing a comprehensive Home system without conflicts.In this book you will find the information to decode the confusing interplay of commercial offerings for your Home and be able to mix and match devices, communication standards, and command codes needed to fill out the custom package that will serve your personal idea of a living assistant that is your Home.Beware though, these Home support devices are expensive, tricky to integrate, and can break your security if you are not experienced in understanding electronic systems. I have an EE degree and over ten years experience in designing electronic systems and software to help me recognize the issues and solutions contained in this book. You should have a few years of experience in configuring and using complex audio and computer installations to make the best use of the information contained here. Or you can find a friend who has that background.The book contains the most thorough compendium of information on Home Automation device details at this time. I am currently developing a Rasberry Pi as the replacement sprinkler controller at my house. I'm using this book to help me connect a sprinkler monitoring application to the Raspberry Pi controlled AC power devices and improve the security and convenience of this modern home activity. The older system is failing because it has been exposed to the stormy exterior environment outside the House. And it is manually intensive. The new design will be automatic, computer centric, and be remotely controlled by phone just as any properly designed Home aspect should be in the 21st century.Join the revolution and get your home to serve you instead of the reverse. Five stars isn't quite enough.

Lots of good information but very little on Raspberry Pi . I think it was put there as a buzz word to get attention more about X10 and the authors are very good and very smart but I read the title wrong . I would send it back

Good reference and detail for home automation, but really not much detail on the Raspberry Pi.

Steven Goodwin, a London-based expert in Home Automation, Linux, Physical Computing and Open Source has harnessed an incredible variety of technologies in the service of Home Automation and the Hardware, Software and Networking techniques he has demonstrated and explained in this book have wide applicability not only in home automation but in any intelligent distributed system employing sensors and actuators. Mr. Goodwin is also the originator of Minerva, an Open Source suite of Linux utilities, and a command line shell and GUI for control of Home Systems.This hands-on text includes descriptions of systems that communicate via power lines, infrared, Ethernet, radio links such as Zwave, Zigbee and Wifi that control appliances, lighting, CCTV, multimedia and security systems. The programming tools he demonstrates and combines in the service of these home automation tasks includes: C, BASH Shell Scripts, PHP, PERL as well as Arduino and Minerva scripting. The technology integration skills he demonstrates and instructs in have application well beyond home automation but in any system applying Sensors and Actuators in a Linux control task. I personally hope to employ the Linux Automation skills he teaches in a Home Health and Internet of Things Application. He fully illustrates techniques for using these skills with a Raspberry PI embedded application as well as skills with Arduino and other Physical Computing Devices.A fully engaging and well illustrated tutorial in Linux based control techniques and Home Automation. I highly recommend it for anyone working with sensors, actuators, Physical Computing, Linux or the Internet of Things.__Ira Laefsky, MS Engineering/MBA Consultant on Information Technology and Human Computer Interaction Researcherformerly on the Senior Consulting Staff of Arthur D. Little Inc. and Digital Equipment Corporation