Zigbee or ZWave to garage or gate opener

[Petebitt]

Similar to the discussion on zigbee to IR for controlling existing air conditioners can you get a device that can be controlled through the Almond+ that will then send the RF signal to a garage door or an automated gate as the key fobs provided do.

[eldaria]

Well RF is a bit more tricky than IR, Usually IR is easy to copy, RF can have all kinds of encrytion on top.
However I suppose if you would use an actual KeyFob, then you could use it as a gateway to something else.

[Mishakim]

Linear is making a Z-wave garage door controller, to be sold by Lowe's (in US) any day now: http://www.linearcorp.com/product_detail.php?productId=1719. There are also ways to piece together a system using Z-wave or Zigbee relay controllers -- essentially, all you have to do is close a contact across the wired inputs for the local switch control for the opener. No need to copy the garage door remote RF. Check out the various home automation sites and you'll find instructions and even kits. E.g.:http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php?topic=22282.0
One issue, which Linear makes a big deal about, is the UL requirements for unattended garage door operation - you need lights, sirens, and sensors to warn people that it's being operated.  There is also a product that intercepts the garage door RF commands and triggers Z-wave scenes, so you can go the other way around: http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Dalton-WDHA-12R-HomeSettings-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B001HL3CS8

[wstocker]

That new thing that is supposedly coming to Lowe's this summer is cool, but it has had numerous delays already apparently.  From reading the link on MCV, I like this other unit as well for going backwards (car remote to ZWave)  to ZWave) http://www.amazon.com/Wayne-Dalton-WDHA-12R-HomeSettings-Wireless-Gateway/dp/B001HL3CS8.  After seeing the price on it, I wish I didn't buy the Zigbee Keyfobs here, but oh well, maybe I will give them to kids instead of keys?

[eldaria]

Actually, I never liked the idea of Keyfobs, especially not to kids.
They are even worse than keys since they usually also turn off the alarm at home.
And kids tend to loose things, and criminals have started going into schools to steal keys and phones, then go to the house and empty the house.

I recently got hold of a Yale Doorman door lock, it does not have a key, instead it has a tag reader and code pad, unfortunately it is not able to communicate with Zigbee or Zwave yet, but I hope it will come eventually. Currenlty I can use my cell-phone with an app to manage the lock, but I hope I can integrate it with the Home automation later.

But it has one very clever feature.

By default you can assign a 6 digit code, or tag+4 digit code.
So I give my kid a 6 digit code, no keyfob or key to lose or get stolen at school, but they can get in and out when outside playing and someone is at home.
I also have a 6 digit code myself that I can use so I don't have to pull out the tag every time I need to take out the trash.

But when the last person leaves the house, they activate the away mode by locking with the tag+4 digit code.
This not only prevents the lock from opening from the inside, but it also blocks opening with only the 6 digit code.

So even if the kid by accident tell the code to someone, they won't be able to get in as long as no one is at home as you can only unlock using tag+4 digit code.

[Pestus]

I've been using FortrezZ MIMOlite for garage door openers.  Technically it can do anything, from integrating into door bell circuits, to bridging old dry contacts, or outputs from stuff like septic systems, generators, etc.

http://www.fortrezz.com/index.php/products/mimolite

[LGNilsson]

Presumably that requires some coding on the controller/gateway side?
I assume you're using a Vera at the moment?

[Pestus]

Presumably that requires some coding on the controller/gateway side?
I assume you're using a Vera at the moment?

Yes and No.  It exposes encrypted Zwave traffic like a door lock would, but identifies itself to controllers as a conventional zwave appliance module. This seems to be meant to allow some basic universal compatibility.  (Works like a light switch)  This means an on/off functionality that can work in latching or pulse mode depending on a dip switch on the device.  Without further software refinement it may or may not work depending on the intended purpose, since this is a generalist's device.

It also exposes other interesting things.  You've got the actuator as described above, but also a dry contact input to establish state.  (Makes it ideal as you can buy these with a commercial grade garage door contact bundled with it)  You get a pulse counter so that you can gain some metrics on the device's function, and a few other tweak-able things.

This company also seems to be very sanguine in that they may be willing to help with adoption, if Almond+ wants to have a "universal" I/O module in it's list.

Yes, I'm using Vera.  The broken little computer that could.  In this case there's a basic driver to allow all of the various secondary functions.  Also, someone wrote an app to create a "lock/unlock" device that ties together all the exposed extras to make it behave like a proper garage door opener. 

http://wiki.micasaverde.com/index.php/MIMOlite
http://rts-services.com/Vera/Plugin/GarageDoor/

[LGNilsson]

Well, we're willing to work with anyone that wants us to support their devices, so if you can put us in touch with them, we'd be more than willing to implement support for their hardware.

I guess we could even do a few pre-defined profiles for some standard applications, although our current UI doesn't quite have support for that, but I can't see it being too difficult to implement. Let's see what can be done.

I've tested the Vera Lite and in as much as they have a lot of cool third party add-ons, I found it less than intuitive to use, something I've expressed elsewhere here in the forums. They do have impressive support for a wide range of devices though and it's going to take us some time to get there.

[Pestus]

Well, we're willing to work with anyone that wants us to support their devices, so if you can put us in touch with them, we'd be more than willing to implement support for their hardware.

I guess we could even do a few pre-defined profiles for some standard applications, although our current UI doesn't quite have support for that, but I can't see it being too difficult to implement. Let's see what can be done.

Contacting these folks is as simple as this;  http://www.fortrezz.com/index.php/contact   I've had a number of productive discussions by calling and asking.  I get the general impression that they aren't entirely aware of how the product is being used in the wild, although they seem to be keenly aware that people using Vera are using it for Garage door openers in particular.   Given that they appear to be a smaller company, I'd imagine they'd be quite willing to speak to anyone looking to have them publish instructions for the Almond+, and help with explaining their API to you guys when the time comes.

I've tested the Vera Lite and in as much as they have a lot of cool third party add-ons, I found it less than intuitive to use, something I've expressed elsewhere here in the forums. They do have impressive support for a wide range of devices though and it's going to take us some time to get there.

If I dare say so, I suspect this is the crux of the problem that Almond+ may stand or fall on.  I use Vera because of it's much advanced support list and it's inexpensive price point.   I agree completely about the awkward interface, and I hope they eventually do something about it.  I'd also like to see companies such as yourselves flourish, for the betterment of everyone concerned.  However, the main issue here is there's plenty of new entrants..  Just off the top of my head, you've got SmartThings, Revolv, Zwave.me, Almond+ etc trying to make it.  When you look into these products, they all show wonderful promise, but unfortunately companies like Micasaverde, Homeseer and Fibaro are so far ahead of the game in terms of support.  That means people with established HA systems may find it impossible to take the plunge. Unless the new entrants into this market do things differently (Points to Almond+ here) but also get their compatibility lists up, it may be hard to see adoption from this very niche market.  Consider the analogy of poor Blackberry or Windows Phone trying to get people to buy their stuff, when faced with the immensity of the iOS or Android app ecosystems.  It can be a bit of a chicken/egg situation.  I wish you all the luck and good fortunes, as the unending demand for support may seem impossibly large to even the most dedicated team.

Your marketing strategy thus might be better served by instead being a "better router than a router" with basic home automation features, as opposed to trying to be a full home automation competitor.  Try to get it in box stores and places, to compete against stuff like Linksys, Netgear and the like.  You could see people picking this up because it's far better bang for the buck when compared to other routers..    But in terms of automation systems, you were looking for a 'lighter' device to begin with and you should actually not try to compete with things like Vera at all.  It may be difficult to say "We have no plans to add support for this" but you may be forced to consider it for many of us impatient nerds looking to get stuff done.  I'm detecting the presence of many DIYers with good hearts on these forums who want the world from you guys, and want the Almond+ to do everything conceivable.  Occasionally myself included.  Apologies for that, but it's an entrenched habit for home automation types.

[LGNilsson]

I'll get in touch with them and see what they say.

As for the Almond+ and where we're heading, well, we're not going to be able to please everyone, but the goal is to make it a great home automation platform, although it'll still take a bit of time until we're there. You're tight that it'll be impossible for us to support every single device out there, but we're going to do our best to support as many ZigBee and Z-Wave devices as possible. We're looking at the option to enable support for a range of IP based devices as well, but it's a fair bit trickier than ZigBee and Z-Wave and will as such take more time to develop on our end.
Beyond that, we'll see how things develop, there has been a lot of big announcements recently and we're following all the big players closely to see how things pan out.

[jjbiese]

Any update on support for the FortrezZ MIMOlite? Does the Almond+ support the z-wave input and output as two instances?

I am also eagerly waiting to getup automation to my garage door openers.

[mrv777]

I will just throw my comment in here and say I would love to have the Almond talk to my chamberlain My-Q remote garage opener.
I know it's not Z-Wave, but I would think you could access it through it's IP Address and/or maybe an API?

[jjbiese]

There is also the Iris Z-Wave Garage Door Controller that was just released and is available at your local Loews.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_589237-78427-GD-00Z-1_0__?productId=50213045

[mrmike]

Any update on support for the FortrezZ MIMOlite? Does the Almond+ support the z-wave input and output as two instances?

I am also eagerly waiting to getup automation to my garage door openers.

Based on my testing the MIMOlite is only seen as an on off switch, the sensor read back is not displayed.