MicroPython Forum (Archive)

Hi,
just to kick-off some wipy discussions. I recently investigated the possibility of home automation and was surprised by the prices for hardware from different manufactures. A single wireless power plug can easily go for Euro 150.

Thus, I was wondering if I could create an own system. Before you shout out, yep, I know about the security risks.

For a general usable smart power plug I would like to see:
Two-Phase switching preferable zero-crossing switching
Status LED RGB full programmable
Power measurement resp. current measurement
If possible dimming
Mesh networking to guarantee full range covering
reasonable encryption

Do you thing we could break down the wipy to build such a smart power switch? For a full home you might want to use a lot and hence the price is not unimportant too, to get a good WAF....

Another idea would be the usage of those dirt cheap ESP8266 but I have a feeling that the CC3200 will receive a better micropython support for the future.

Interesting application!

As I see it more of the challenges are in getting the AC side of the hardware right. I am pretty sure that this is all doable with the WiPy.

Status LED RGB full programmable
If possible dimming

There are single RBG SPI driver chips, but you can use 3 of the 4 PWM channels in the WiPy to control the RGB LED. The 4th channel can then be used for dimming purposes.

Mesh networking to guarantee full range covering

AFAIK WiFi doesn't support mesh networking yet...

reasonable encryption

Do you mean SSL/TLS? or extra encryption at the application level (like AES)?

to get a good WAF....

LOL but it's true...

danicampora wrote:Interesting application!
As I see it more of the challenges are in getting the AC side of the hardware right. I am pretty sure that this is all doable with the WiPy.

Yep, it has to be safe and safe and well be safe and then ideally still being small enough to fit with the wipy behind a standard power outlet into an installation in a pattress box. I think the AC side is ok, but the wipy board needs 3.3V to 5V DC and that means each unit requires a main-power to DC convert as well.... ideally without consuming to much power (high efficiency)... not an easy task.

Mesh networking to guarantee full range covering

AFAIK WiFi doesn't support mesh networking yet...

Not sure as far as I understood Adhoc Wifi could work with Meshing. There are several algorithms under investigation which try to implement meshing (in different ways).
E.g. see http://www.open-mesh.org/projects/batman-adv/wiki/Wiki
Does the Wipy support Adhoc connections?

reasonable encryption
Do you mean SSL/TLS? or extra encryption at the application level (like AES)?

For the start, I would not make it more complicated then necessary. SSL/TLS should be ok. Just that not everyone from outside can simply snoop into the system. Later on one might want to add an additional layer of security to avoid attacks inside your wifi network (e.g. by a compromised computer or smartphone).

Does the Wipy support Adhoc connections?

Yes. It's called P2P or WiFi-Direct now (the WiFi alliance seems to have issues with naming).