![]() With the Bleu beacons, you use the iOS setup app to control the power, and with a homebrew Mac-beacon, you can set the transmit power in the code. With both the Bleu beacons and the BeaconOSX method, you can set the power of the signal to control the range of the beacon (within a margin of error 1). ![]() I’ve gotten far enough to have written my own prototype apps for triggering my lights, but the most constructive solution I’ve found so far is to use the GeoHopper app. I’m using Bleu Station beacons for the most part, but I learned you can also set up a BTLE-equipped Mac as a transmitting beacon with little effort. I’ve been through many iterations at this point. It’s also tailored to AppleScript and Indigo, but you can use this method to perform any actions you want on a computer when your phone comes into range. My scenario requires a local web host, so the examples provided will only be of interest to Mac users who have the knowledge (or search engine skills) to set up a local server. The technique I’m using can be set up on any web host, depending on what actions you want to trigger. It’s also easier on mobile device batteries than Bluetooth, which is relevant in this case because a setup like this requires polling and broadcasting on the mobile device. iBeacons use Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) and can provide more precise Bluetooth proximity detection than any other method I’ve tried. It still wasn’t as accurate as I wanted it to be. Originally, I hacked around with Proximity to accomplish this, but ultimately found EventScripts to be a better solution. I always have my iPhone on me, so I’ve been using Bluetooth to handle this. I have it on a single core mini, with a mail server, iTunes, HAM Bridge, FTP server, PyTiVo server, and a couple of other server apps I am using for business, with never a hiccup.I have been working for a long time to make lights in my house follow me around with accurate proximity detection. You can have long pauses in rules, or waits before or after rules execute, and can be if-then’d based on state variables or times, or state of other devices. Another advantage is that rules don’t need to be run in the limited time that SmartThings restricts you to. If you want solid schedules, motion events without latency, and saved states (modes) that actually work, Indigo on a cheap Mac Mini connected to a UPS is an ideal solution. So I have never subscribed to their service, instead using SmartThings and my bridge app to communicate with Indigo from outside my home. The only drawbacks to it over SmartThings is that it is more difficult to create a plugin for an unsupported device, and internet based access requires a subscription fee (and their mobile app that uses it is iOS only - I’m an Android guy). The full edition also supports AppleScript, so there is additional functionality there for those that want to code. ![]() While the system is not as programmable as SmartThings, most of what anybody would want to do is in there, without having to write code. Indigo continues to run most of my schedules and modes (via the global variables) as SmartThings still seems incapable of doing this reliably. I even wrote a bridge app to integrate SmartThings with it. It includes so much functionality that SmartThings is missing, including:Ībility to enable/disable rules based on any action/schedule I’ve been using Indigo for over a decade, and it has been rock solid. ![]()
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