Many people ask me what the difference is between this switch and the passive infrared switches already available. Well, the switches available are really pathetic and resets a timer every time it sees you move. When it doesn't see you and the timer times out the light turns off. To turn the light back on you have to wave at it for 15 seconds before the light turns back on. When you leave a room the lights usually stays on for 30 minutes or more, wasting energy. My switch will count people enter or leaving a room and turn the light off when the last person leaves. It will have a full color AMOLED touch screen display that can be changed to fit the decor of the room, and many other settings to make it very user friendly including an optional WIFI connection.
you have herd of cbus and bacnet?
ReplyDeletecbus offers simular features at the moment with a retro fit option for existing houses with ability for devices to interact with each other via wireless means.
i install them or use to.
Jonny, cbus and bacnet are all using passive infrared devices. All their switches are wasting energy. My light switch is all about saving energy. Walk into a room, the light is on, walk out of a room the light is off. The touch screen and the ability to talk to each other is just there to modernize the switch, make it human friendly and make it adjustable for any environment you put it in.
ReplyDeletedo you plan to do a reflective marker setup like everyone carrys a reflective tag or a infra red led grid type setup for depth of field type tracking or some sort of cmos camera?
ReplyDeletesmart wires aka ebos did a smart tag wireless setup to turn on lights and change back ground mucic quite some time ago but it was squashed when pdl was purchased by snider electric. it used an rfid tag setup.
omron do a camera tracking setup to inter grate into a plc but it is like $5000 nzd we used it for a pick and place setup on a production line.
No cameras...too expensive and no reflective tags...very unpractical. I cant say too much at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI am guessing dual infrared light beams or sonar based beams shooting towards the entrance to the room. The device would be able to detect if the person is entering or leaving the room based on which beam is broken first. Count the people coming in and only turn the lights out when the last person leaves.
ReplyDeleteI work in a theatre and we just fitted the IR type switches which aren't the best way to go. I really like your idea of counting the people going in / out and then switching off. As we use these in the Foyers and have alot of people in and out and quite often hanging around the doors (ladies) how would that go.
ReplyDeleteDo you plan to sell these as a completed unit or designs with PCB for retrofit?
With people hanging around doors the switch will still work perfectly and not count them until they enter or exit. These switches can talk to each other and can be used on rooms with multiple doors. I am planning to sell them as completed units.
ReplyDeleteI see that this thread is a few years old... any updates about this item becoming available? It's exactly what i am looking for.
ReplyDeleteI am testing this switch at the moment and will probably put it on kickstarter.com within the next year
ReplyDelete