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Can I use iBeacon in my car to automatically open correct garage door


Andre Douyon

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I would like to know if I place an iBeacon in my car, can I then tell ISY to open garage door 2 when that beacon comes into range.

I currently have ISY programmed to recognize my iPhone and open garage door 1. I would like to be able to let ISY know what Car I am driving and therefore what garage door to open. Can this be done with an iBeacon, and which one is recommended that works well with ISY994i.

 

Thanks

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The ISY won’t talk directly to any sort of beacon, which work via Bluetooth. You’d need an app on your phone like Locative (no longer being developed, but still available and working) to see the beacon and tell the ISY via a REST call.

In theory, it should work with strategic beacon placement and tuning of the beacon signal strength. In reality, beacons have only led to frustration for me and I’ve abandoned them as anything but a curiosity. They’re just not at all reliable for me.

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  • 7 months later...

I've read that people are using CAO Wireless Tags in their cars and mailboxes (I don't use them for this purpose, so I can't speak to their effectiveness), and there's a very useful Polyglot nodeserver that makes use of them.  The range of these devices is certainly better than bluetooth, so they might provide what you're looking for.  They can be used with 4.x.x versions of ISY firmware using network resources, but the nodeserver approach requires ISY 5.x.x firmware and additional hardware to run a nodeserver (usually a Raspberry Pi).  I've had good success with these tags when they've been placed in my garden near the end of my driveway (maybe 150' from the tag manager), but I don't know how quickly they handshake with the tag manager when they come back into range, nor do I know how well the signal propagates from a car.  Others may have better information.

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  • 2 months later...

Hi All,

Couple questions on iBeacon and Mobilinc so I thought this existing thread might be appropriate.

1. Anyone have any experience with MobiLinc on the iOS and iBeacons (from Estimote)?  As an experiment I am thinking of purchasing a couple to check out their use for a proximity based trigger to my ISY through MobiLinc HD on iOS.

2. If I understand iBeacons, they sense every n seconds / minutes and this would impact their battery life, so wondering how long an iBeacon from Estimate would last in a house that would unlock a door, turn lights on, open garage based on pulling into the driveway?  I have a geofence enabled that performs these actions, but wanted to see if an iBeacon would be more accurate.

3. To understand the flow of data from an iBeacon, is the following correct?

  1. iBeacon is sensing every n seconds / minutes, iOS device with MobiLinc HD crosses the proximity fence.
  2. MobiLinc senses the iBeacon and via MobiLinc Connect and in turn through the cloud to a ISY triggers a program.
  3. ISY program takes the actions defined in it, such as unlocking the door, turning lights on, opening garage door, ect.
  4. Optionally, ISY program sends out a push notification to the iOS device with MobiLinc HD
  5. Do I have the steps above correct?

 

Thanks for any experience, thoughts, comments.

 

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