

Internet of Things startup: electric imp - kellegous
http://electricimp.com/

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savrajsingh
This is cool. At wattvision, we've essentially built our own version of this
for the energy monitoring vertical -- would be interesting to see if they
expose an API for devices generally. For example, if we can control imp
devices through our UI, things get interesting! Or I guess we could consider
the strengths/weaknesses of adopting their platform entirely. Looks like a
stellar team with great backers, and they even used energy monitoring as one
of their examples.

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jnorthrop
Honestly I don't see the draw to this type of technology. It's a cool piece of
hardware but it basically just allows for remote control and monitoring of
electronics. Past the "that's cool" stage I don't see many people finding
long-term use for such technology. The hacker in me hopes they prove me wrong,
but I see this type of product continue to live serving a niche market.

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noonespecial
For makers, its huge. The first time I put a garage door opener on the
internet so I could open it with my smartphone was early 2007. At that time it
required a chain of ill suited hard to program parts totaling nearly $300. Its
was $90 just for a module to "get it on the internet" via RJ45 ethernet.

I did it again 3 months ago with a TP-Link 703 running openwrt. $22. Built-in
wifi AND RJ45, usb port for io. (although I used the GPIO hooked up to is LED
to save a few bucks). So that made it cheaper than buying a new remote at
sears. Now I can see if the door is open and open and close it from anyhere.
And give my friends temporary access to the door on Facebook.

Why is it important? Its the difference between "$297 of patented KCD IP, LLC
technology"(1) requiring a monthly subscription to use doing almost but not
quite what I wanted, and spending an weekend making it perfectly what I wanted
for $22 with what I already had.

(1)
[http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/dap_10155_12602_DAP_Garage+Do...](http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/dap_10155_12602_DAP_Garage+Door)

~~~
rgoodwintx
I would love to see your process for building this. I'm about to start a
commute again after working from home for a while, and that damn garage door
is one of my weak points :)

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bockris
Make magazine has a similar project featured this month.

[http://makeprojects.com/Wiki/30#Section_12_000_Mile_Universa...](http://makeprojects.com/Wiki/30#Section_12_000_Mile_Universal_Remote)

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crazy_eye
We live in an exciting time. So many ideas haven't seen the light of day
because tech like this hasn't hit the tipping point yet. Once it does, the
physical creativity of the hackers will be unleashed. Hell, maybe we'll have
hoverboards by 2015 after all.

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Symmetry
If you want a real internet of things, may I suggest a lower power protocol
like ZigBee? Mesh networks come free with the spec!
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zigbee>

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pdx
I share your distaste for 802.11. DECT also is lower power, longer range and
even offers audio if you want it.

Bottom line, however, is that there is a huge installed base of 802.11. Every
phone, home, and business already has it. You either stubbornly fight the
tide, or you roll with it and use it to your advantage.

~~~
Symmetry
Well, ideally you have a 802.15.4 bridge hooked up to your network so that
your laptop can talk to your home automation network from the internet. Both
Comcast[1] and Nest[2] seem to be positioning themselves as providing that
sort of gateway, if we're talking about normal consumers.

[1][http://www.cepro.com/article/xfinity_reveals_pricing_rollout...](http://www.cepro.com/article/xfinity_reveals_pricing_rollout_for_security_and_home_automation/)
[2]<http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/22/nest-arm-zigbee/>

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dougb
This looks interesting. A big downside for me is that it sounds like they
route all communications through their website. I would rather run a server on
my local network and keep communications between me and my imps private.

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rajbot
IOBridge is a similar product/platform that has been around for a while:
<http://iobridge.com/>

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Tichy
Given that a simple Ethernet shield for Arduino costs upwards of 40$ (last
time I checked), this sounds very interesting to me (wannabe for-fun hardware
hacker).

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pierrebouchet
A Wi-Fi module like the RN171 from Roving Networks which has a full TCP/IP
stack embedded is less than $35.

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jayliew
Neat. Like a real-life + hardware version of ifttt.com

