

Show HN: Wovyn, physical world sensors for developers - randall
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1004464718/wovyn-weaving-your-internet-of-things/

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huhtenberg
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 measure the magnetic field flow and a wind speed in a
bathroom.

And I am convinced that the first company to produce a no-nonsense WiFi-
enabled drop-in replacements for conventional wall switches, junction boxes
and sockets will wipe the competition clean.

Ahem... now, back to your regular programming of raising $1M off geeks who get
all excited about a random sensor having its own Twitter feed :)

~~~
webwright
Getting an SMS if one of my doors opened during the day might be nice.

Drop in on light switches would be huge... But how do you manage drop in? If
the consumer has to actually replace the switch with a "smart" switch, that's
DOA (requires wiring, messing with the breaker box, etc).

~~~
huhtenberg
> _Getting an SMS if one of my doors opened during the day might be nice._

And what will you do in response? :)

> _that's DOA_

I don't know what DOA is, but replacing a light switch is the same whether it
comes from the Home Depot or from a home automation start-up.

~~~
webwright
If I got an SMS that my front door was opened in the middle of the day, I'd
call my wife to see if she went home early. If she didn't, I'd call my
neighbors and/or the cops.

My point on light switches is that (unlike outlets, which could just have a
pass-through unit) they require someone actually un-attach and re-attach
wires, which many/most home owners aren't super comfortable with. Even if they
are, it's a meaningful time investment in comparison.

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noonespecial
How are these little startups dealing with the FCC regulation of consumer
products that are classified "intentional radiators"? I'd really like to get
back into this so this is a question I really would like to find an answer to.

The last time I looked into adding wireless to a device we were building, I
was advised that any little nit that burps a frequency above 9Khz
intentionally should expect an 8 week $30,000 trip through independent testing
and regulation purgatory to get an FCC ID # and permission to sell to the
general public. Not doing so and selling anyway was serious federal crime
territory.

Granted this was years ago, but nowadays it seems that every other technical
kickstarter is a whole bag full of different (which would be different models)
"ninja boxes"(1) that tweet wireless data. How are they clearing (or
sidestepping) this regulatory hurdle?

(1) A real product, virtually identical
[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ninja/ninja-blocks-
conne...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ninja/ninja-blocks-connect-your-
world-with-the-web). Funded huge.

~~~
humancell
The easiest way to do this is to utilize RF modules that have already been
certified ... so then you don't have to go through that part. :-)

~~~
noonespecial
Thanks. That's a good answer. I don't think anything like this was cost
effective in the early 2000's.

A quick google turned up this:
[http://search.digikey.com/us/en/products/MRF24J40MA-I%2FRM/M...](http://search.digikey.com/us/en/products/MRF24J40MA-I%2FRM/MRF24J40MA-I%2FRM-
ND/1867972)

A module from Microchip that looks relatively easy for someone who already
monkeys with micros to add low speed wireless to a project for about $8/unit.
Very Nice.

I am inspired.

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X-Istence
This reminds me of another Kickstarter that has already come and gone and are
now in production Twine:

[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supermechanical/twine-
li...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supermechanical/twine-listen-to-
your-world-talk-to-the-internet)

~~~
notatoad
I'm sure I've seen 5 or 6 of essentially this same thing on kickstarter over
the last couple weeks. It seems to be a popular idea, but until the price
drops enough for them to be disposable I don't really see the point.

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Falling3
I actually work as a programmer for home automation gear. You'd be surprised
the extent to which (non-geeky) people want to control their homes. You'd also
be surprised at the crazy number of automation startups.

This one looks pretty interesting, but so few actually go anywhere at all.

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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&...](http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg37/scaled.php?server=37&filename=wovyn.png&res=landing)

~~~
noonespecial
"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.

~~~
humancell
We _do_ have our own boards in our gateways. Yes, in our initial platform
release we are in OEM partnerships with several companies - one of them Monnit
for the sensor modules.

Although you can go purchase the Monnit sensors themselves, our IP is in the
multiprotocol sensor/control gateway/router technology, and eliminating the
need for software developers to understand the lower levels of hardware
operation.

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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'.

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tenaciousV
How are these sensors different from these ones on this site:
<http://www.monnit.com/products/> I think is the same amount of money and I
can get them faster.

~~~
humancell
Monnit is our first OEM partner on the sensors, but our core focus in the
sensor/control integration aspect. If you want to do your own low-level
development for these specific sensors for a vertical solution, you could.
We're providing a much broader solution and doing a lot of the software
implementation work for you.

As for the ship date, Kickstarter is working hard to ensure that we give dates
(that we are pushing to beat) that are realistic and do not slip like some
projects have.

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damncabbage
Interesting. Looks similar to the (successfully Kickstarter-funded) Ninja
Blocks: <http://ninjablocks.com/blocks/>

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delinquentme
Is there no communication between all the individuals working on the 'internet
of things' ?

I mean this hardly is an exotic problem and you'd be wise to use standards.

~~~
humancell
This is _exactly_ what we are doing with Wovyn. The issue is that there are
numerous standards being used, and we're implementing a wide range of
protocols to support the key platforms people are wanting to integrate with.
This is exactly the space our IP exists in.

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iandanforth
This is really cool. I'll definitely be chipping in. A world of streaming data
is a world full of fun data analysis!

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auggierose
That's extremely cool. And also extremely creepy :-)

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dccoolgai
How is this different/better than Arduino + xBee?

