I would like to make you aware of a range of devices that I’ve been developing for the last two years together several other home automation communities (Domotica, OpenHAB, FHEM, Domoticz).
They can be plugged to any private Home automation system and report key environmental data like CO2, Dust (PM 2.5, 10), Temperature, Pressure, Humidity, and also Light via HTTP or MQTT over WiFi or via RF 433/315 MHz (RFXCom).
I am currently distributing them via my online shop. Until 15.Jan.2017 i am also running a promotion campaign with Free Shipping and 3-8% off. You can read more about the promotion and details about the device here.
This is how the device looks like (about 70mm x 110mm), and how the configuration is done
It is VERY customizable. You can choose exactly what kind of sensors you like and manage your cost (e.g. from 15€ for LUX only Meter, to 140€ for Dual-Sensor CO2, Dust, Temperature, Humidity, Pressure and Light and RF 433).
It is configured via WiFi or USB Cable and connects to Home Assistant via MQTT.
Up to now i’ve actively developed it with feedback from several online communities for home automation. It would be great if you also find value in some of my products. I would appreciate all feedback and new ideas for future gadgets!
Thanks :slight_smile
The 140 euro can be achived, when you select more options in the product page to customize it. It is a bit confusing.
Yeah - i want to throw away this site, but in the past months i’ve been constantly busy with extending the device and fixing some bugs. I hope to get more time for marketing soon
Hello,
Very interesting. Could you tell me from where are you shipping? Because i’ m afraid about custom costs to europe. Could you also tell me when voc module would be ready?
Thank you.
In fact i am shipping from Bulgaria
but also when i send outside of the EU, i put 10 eur on the customs form and up to now nobody has complained to have paid taxes (or they pay them silently)
The VOC sensor, i hope within the next two months. I have the actual chips, i just need to create a PCB, have them somewhere soldered, and understand how to interpret the data from the chip. It is this one http://www.figaro.co.jp/en/product/feature/tgs8100.html
But once i do it, it will be i2c based, as the rest of the sensors in the device, so it will be very easy to add it, just connect couple of jumper wires. I assume it will be somewhere ~20 eur.
But i still need to play with it and see whether it can report data consistently and reliably
Amazing! I was about to buy a foobot but your device is very interesting and not in cloud! Could you tell me about update intervals? Does It happen every X seconds or once the value of a sensor changes?
If i understand correctly, i can buy the device now and add the voc sensor in the feature on my own?
yes, you can add the VOC feature later. In addition i have also plans for a battery-operated version. If you once decide you want to give it a try - then you only need to buy the base board (which would be in the range of 10-15 eur) and a battery, and simply transfer all the sensors. (i am following the concept of timeless design, where expensive parts can be reused and replaced easy )
As for update intervals - currently it only supports static intervals - X seconds.
In one of the upcoming firmware updates i plan to add support for thresholds. (in fact i had it, until my device had only one CO2 sensor, but now with multiple sensors it is a bit more complex to manage this). But especially for the battery-operated version this will be definitely a prerequisite
About FOOBOT (guys, feel free to delete this post if you think it violates the guidelines!)
Just read a comparison against another overpriced product Awair:
It is quite overpriced, and after spending 2 yeards trying to biuld and promote my device i can tell you exactly where the money goes
For Dust measurement they use one and the same crap optical sensor made by sharp. It costs less than 5 eur, and the output that it gives is quite relative
All in all i would bet the electronics in their box cost < 20 eur. Awair has added some basic auto-adjusting NDIR CO2 Sensor (at best), which makes the BOM ~ 40 eur.
Usually prices of stuff are twice less if you order 1000s, compared to 50s (like i do ), so maybe i cannot even estimate the low border
All the other money that you pay to them goes for:
IFTTT registration - 3000+ eur / year
Injection molding tools - 10000 eur
Mobile app - 20000 + eur
Nice enclosure - 10-20 eur per device
Amazon fee (10%) - 20 eur (if you sell on amazon, you cannot sell cheaper on your shop)
Packaging - 5 eur +
6.-10. Marketing - Decent video is 3000 eur +, site design, reviews is also not cheap
So if you are going to buy one of those devices and are not going to use IFTTT, the mobile app, their coud, would throw the packing away, and do not care that much of the looks - that leaves you with a 30-40eur worth a device.
There is a big market for those as they are quite consumer oriented and to get to them, you need to pay this money and advertise. But people in the HomeAutomation communities are rather pro-sumers, and have their own idea how to integrate with the device
Wow, this sounds amazing. I was thinking of building something like that using mysensors.org (just way less refined) for a long time, but could never find enough spare time to start.
I’ll buy one as soon as I understand all the different options.
I also like your vESPrino series. This is genius for someone like me who would like to experiment with IoT sensors, but has very limited time available. I’m well versed in coding, but a novice in hardware. One question: On the indigogo page, there are way more sensors/actors listed than in your online shop. Are they still somehow available?
Great Yeah… this really requires a serious amount of time, and if you want to get it right - even more. About the sensors, i haven’t listed them in the shop, but i have at least dozen from almost any of them, and the firmware supports all of them (apart e.g. the Character Display, but i just need a couple of hours free time to integrate it)
I have plans to add more documentation for all of this, unfortunately the other device line is taking most of my spare time in the last couple of months
