Confused with Occupancy Geofencing!

[GDavis01]

I recently upgraded from the ISDY to the Eisy and I am trying to setup some Geofencing for our mobile devices.

I am confused by which Geofence I should be using, Occupancy or Occupancy v2.0?

I chose Occupancy v2.0 because it looks like it should be the latest! However, in the online help link when setting up the Geofence I see that it refers to 'UDI Mobile' app which no longer exists! Despite this I tried to follow the instructions and did the following:

- Added geofence 'Home';

- Added Mobile Device - myiPhone; (the node shows as 'Home/myiPhone')

- Assigned Mobile Device to 'Home' and then Synchronized so that the nodes ('Home' and 'myiPhone') now show up on the Admin Console.

Here is the part that I am struggling with... the help section states:

In the Portal when I look at 'myiPhone' in Mobile Devices, I see that the Linked section shows as "No". So I click on the small icon and I am asked if I want to Generate a new 6-digit pin. However, reading the help text suggests to me that the pin is only to link the app UD Mobile to the Portal. But since I have been using the app for some time now I would assume that it is already linked to my Portal account. Furthermore, after I generate a pin I cannot see where in the UD Mobile app I can actually enter it! 

So, I would think that the Linked parameter for 'myiPhone' should say "Yes" but it doesn't.

In the UD Mobile app, I also set up a Geofence 'Home' and set the location. I then added a command that sends me an email whenever I enter or leave the geofence. This geofence works in that I receive the emails. However, there does not seem to be any synchronization with the app and the EISY for the nodes I created in the Portal!

Can someone point me in the right direction, because clearly I am doing something wrong.

 

[Javi]

UDI Mobile is not UD Mobile, I know it's confusing. Please provide the link to this documentation and I'll point users to UD Mobile setup.

See https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=UD_Mobile#Geofencing. for Geofencing instructions. There is a setup video at the top and Occupancy setup at the bottom of this section.

[dbwarner5]

Setting this up in UD Mobile is actually very easy. Post back if you are having problems, once you look through the Wiki above. 

[glacier991]

I have experienced exactly what the OP has. I generate the 6 digit code but NOWHERE does anything, phone etc, does it give md a place to enter it. Yet my phone shows up in the AC.

[dbwarner5]

3 hours ago, glacier991 said:

I have experienced exactly what the OP has. I generate the 6 digit code but NOWHERE does anything, phone etc, does it give md a place to enter it. Yet my phone shows up in the AC.

Are you using JUST UD Mobile?  First set up a variable that you want to toggle in the AC.. Then follow these screen shots. It should be very straightforward:

THEN.....

Then....name it and set the variable for 1 for enter and 0 for exit. hit save

After hitting ADD, navigate to the variable that you set up earlier and enter the value you want for entry and exit. 

Hit save. that is all it should take to sett up. 

[glacier991]

Thank you. I know it took some time and energy to craft that response. I will follow it to the letter, and report back. Much appreciated.

 

Ps. I am assuming that the 6 digit code thing is for whatever reason irrelevant?

[dbwarner5]

17 hours ago, glacier991 said:

Ps. I am assuming that the 6 digit code thing is for whatever reason irrelevant?

yes.. it will never come up if you follow the above

 

[glacier991]

Your instructions worked perfectly!  Again, thank you for your patience!

[dbwarner5]

27 minutes ago, glacier991 said:

Your instructions worked perfectly!  Again, thank you for your patience!

The one thing I did not comment on is the size and location of the actual geofence (circle). 
 

if you play with it you should be able to figure it out but if not, just holler

[GDavis01]

Quote

On 1/21/2024 at 4:29 PM, dbwarner5 said:

Are you using JUST UD Mobile?  First set up a variable that you want to toggle in the AC.. Then follow these screen shots. It should be very straightforward:

 

Thanks for the clear explanation. However, if I understand correctly, your explanation does not actually set up a node on the ISY / EISY, it only allows you to trigger actions when you enter or leave the geofence.

What I like about having occupancy nodes on the Admin Console is that I can have a geofence called 'Home' and geofences nested under 'Home' for my phone and another for my wife's phone ('Home/myiPhone' and 'Home/heriPhone'). This way I can have programs testing if 'Home' is True (when one of us is home) or False (when we are both away from home). I don't believe that simply following your instructions I can do that.

Using the Portal Occupancy tool only, I could not figure out how to do change the status of the nodes. So, I first set up the nodes on the Admin Console with the Portal Occupancy V2.0 tool; then, using UD Mobile (your steps above) I created a Geofence on each phone; then, using the Geofence Commands in the UD Mobile app I set the action to turn ON the myiPhone node when I enter the geofence or OFF when I leave and the same for my wife's phone.

Perhaps this is what was contemplated when using UD Mobile to trigger the geofences but, if so, it wasn't very clear. Anyway, thanks for your help as I can now do what I want.

[dbwarner5]

21 minutes ago, GDavis01 said:

Thanks for the clear explanation. However, if I understand correctly, your explanation does not actually set up a node on the ISY / EISY, it only allows you to trigger actions when you enter or leave the geofence.

What I like about having occupancy nodes on the Admin Console is that I can have a geofence called 'Home' and geofences nested under 'Home' for my phone and another for my wife's phone ('Home/myiPhone' and 'Home/heriPhone'). This way I can have programs testing if 'Home' is True (when one of us is home) or False (when we are both away from home). I don't believe that simply following your instructions I can do that.

Using the Portal Occupancy tool only, I could not figure out how to do change the status of the nodes. So, I first set up the nodes on the Admin Console with the Portal Occupancy V2.0 tool; then, using UD Mobile (your steps above) I created a Geofence on each phone; then, using the Geofence Commands in the UD Mobile app I set the action to turn ON the myiPhone node when I enter the geofence or OFF when I leave and the same for my wife's phone.

Perhaps this is what was contemplated when using UD Mobile to trigger the geofences but, if so, it wasn't very clear. Anyway, thanks for your help as I can now do what I want.

I think what you are saying is extremely easy to do, if I understand it correctly. 

For example: I have my geofence in UD mobile linked to a State variable called Dougs_iphone_Home. When it's a 1, I am home. When it's a 0 I am outside of the fence. My phone, via UDMobile communicates with the ISY to change this variable as I enter and leave and enter and leave... 

Now in any programs I want to run, or any folders I want to run when I am away, I simply add this variable as a condition. ie: if Dougs_iphone_Home = 0, then .... else... 

So for example, I have an alarm that sets automatically each night at 10, if I am home...Is part of the conditions for the folder to even run each night.  

 

Another example is a fire place that starts in the morning, only if both myself and spouse are home. 

Morning Fire - [ID 0046][Parent 0012]

If
        Time is  7:15:00AM
    And (
             $Dougs_iPhone_home is 1
          Or $Wendys_iPhone_home is 1
        )
 
Then
        Run Program 'Morning Fire On LD' (If)

 

The point is that once you have someway to tell the ISY if the phone is home or away ; (your way--> node is on /off, or my way--> a viable is 1 or 0), then the sky is hte limit on what you can do with that info in the ISY.

One important thing though is to be sure to Init the variable to itself each time it changes, so that if you lose power it doesn't reset to 0 while you are home and screw things up. 

Doug Phone Init - [ID 014D][Parent 03C3]

If
        $Dougs_iPhone_home is 0
     Or $Dougs_iPhone_home is 1
 
Then
        $Dougs_iPhone_home Init To $Dougs_iPhone_home
 

If this doesn't make sense, or I missunderstood your concern, let me know

 

 

[GDavis01]

Quote

1 hour ago, dbwarner5 said:

I think what you are saying is extremely easy to do, if I understand it correctly

Your method definitely works as does the method I explained. What I like about having the nodes set up on the Admin Console, the way I explained, is that I do not have to create and update a variable for each phone. Nor do I have to update the init value. The UD Mobile geofence, using the command changes the status of the specific phone node which in turn affects the status of the 'Home' node. My program simply tests the status of 'Home' to determine what to do.

I also found interesting that changing the status of the 'Home' node acts like a state variable in that it triggers a program without having to query the node. So this program works as soon as the status of the 'Home' node changes.

I also have another use where this approach makes programming simpler... we have a vacation home and we have a lot of family members coming and going; by having each member setting up their phone this way (as a separate sub-node) a simple program like this example runs when any member triggers the entry geofence.

So either method works but with slightly different approaches. Thanks again for your detailed explanation in the earlier post. That explanation helped me realize that I needed to use the geofence command, from the UD Mobile app, to change the value of the Occupancy node (True / False) in the Admin Console. I had thought that the node would be updated somehow using the Occupancy tool in the Portal, but that does not appear to be the case.

 

[dbwarner5]

13 hours ago, GDavis01 said:

Your method definitely works as does the method I explained. What I like about having the nodes set up on the Admin Console, the way I explained, is that I do not have to create and update a variable for each phone. Nor do I have to update the init value. The UD Mobile geofence, using the command changes the status of the specific phone node which in turn affects the status of the 'Home' node. My program simply tests the status of 'Home' to determine what to do.

There really is no difference. In either case we are BOTH using a "trigger" to let the ISY know of a status that we want to monitor. 

The ISY does all the work.  Yes you have to create variable for each phone. Yes you have to set up one simple program that INITS the variable each time it changes. But after that, the result is 100% the same. 

Your programs can then test each variable independently or in whatever combination you want, versus the node,  to determine the status you want to react to. 

good luck! 

 

[gzahar]

I have been using the Occupancy node server (not 2.0) and the built in nodes/logic it creates for some time.  The one problem (at least for that version) is after a reboot the nodes are all undefined until the geo-fences are crossed again (and the main Home node doesn't initialize until all devices go to an away state).  This can cause erratic behavior in programs that use those nodes.  To get around this, I ended up creating the state variables as @dbwarner5 mentions and using an inti value to holdover during reboots to get around this.  Works much better now.

[GDavis01]

1 hour ago, gzahar said:

I have been using the Occupancy node server (not 2.0) and the built in nodes/logic it creates for some time.  The one problem (at least for that version) is after a reboot the nodes are all undefined until the geo-fences are crossed again (and the main Home node doesn't initialize until all devices go to an away state).  This can cause erratic behavior in programs that use those nodes.  To get around this, I ended up creating the state variables as @dbwarner5 mentions and using an inti value to holdover during reboots to get around this.  Works much better now.

Interesting... I had not considered that. By the way, I am running on an EISY.

So, I tried to a few things: 

- simply pulled the power cord out of the EISY to simulate a power outage; and

- rebooted the EISY from the Admin Console a few times.

Each time when the system came back up, the 'Home' node and sub-nodes were still populated with True or False. So, for whatever reason, it appears that I still do not need to use the variables. 

[gzahar]

32 minutes ago, GDavis01 said:

Interesting... I had not considered that. By the way, I am running on an EISY.

So, I tried to a few things: 

- simply pulled the power cord out of the EISY to simulate a power outage; and

- rebooted the EISY from the Admin Console a few times.

Each time when the system came back up, the 'Home' node and sub-nodes were still populated with True or False. So, for whatever reason, it appears that I still do not need to use the variables. 

That's nice.  Sounds like the 2.0 plugin works differently.

[glacier991]

I am using the 2.0 version and state variables, no issues so far once I got it figured out.