A smartphone-controlled pool cover

By Sébastien Rinsoz, in Android, DIY and Internet of Things, june 19,2014.

If you own a swimming pool, you have probably implemented a method to save kids from falling into the pool. One popular method is the use of an automatic pool cover, but often these systems can only be driven using a mechanical switch. This week we will show how to control a system like this using your smartphone.

Automatic Garden Watering using a BeagleBone Black

By mvuilleu, in DIY, Internet of Things and Tiny PC, april 17,2014.

The sun is back. It is time to start thinking about a good automated watering system for the garden if you need to have it up and running when it's going to get real warm. Do you already have a central garden watering system ? Then let's see how you could make it smarter using a BeagleBone Black and a Yoctopuce device.

Controlled-environment cultivation

By martinm, in Internet of Things and Measures, april 11,2014.

As illustrated in a previous post, you need only a few Yoctopuce modules and a very simple logic to regulate an environmental factor such as humidity. Starting from there, why not generalize the principle and produce an environment fully optimized for a specific aim, such as growing plants? We decided to test this principle to grow mushrooms. Mushrooms, rather than tomatoes or pumpkins, because mushrooms grow fast and in the dark. It's therefore quite easy to make a time-lapse of their growing if you control lighting well...

A network humidifier in an afternoon

By Sébastien Rinsoz, in Internet of Things, march 13,2014.

When we founded Yoctopuce, one of the aims was to provide a fast, easy, and reliable solution for any geek DIY (controlling the coffee machine from your computer, knowing when to fetch the mail, and so on). Other solutions were already available, but none was simple enough for everything to work in half a day. This week, we had to quickly install a system to control humidity in a bedroom, and we had only an afternoon to do it. Here is what we did...

The return of the Yoctopuce mailbox

By martinm, in Internet of Things and DIY, february 21,2014.

Do you remember the laser mailbox? It works quite well, but we noticed a very annoying defect. Because the mailbox is made of metal sheets, it tends to slightly deform itself depending on temperature changes. This deformation changes the laser beam trajectory inside the box, sometimes to the point of bringing it off the light sensor target. Therefore, we had to regularly adjust the mailbox to solve this issue. After a while, we had enough and we came up with another idea to fix this. But this time, we are seeing big: we are going to render our mailbox autonomous thanks to a solar panel and a Wifi connection.