Re: Occupation sensor that works with people sitting still?

[Marc_F_Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 9 Feb 2007 23:46:23 -0800, techman41973@xxxxxxxxx wrote in message
<1171093583.375830.80290@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

>I am searching for an occupation sensor to control lighting that can
>sense occupation even if the person is remaining still (watching TV in
>bed, sitting behind a computer).
>Are there any solutions for this application?

1) DIY RF sensor : The People Detector at www.bik.com

"The People Detector (also known as the "Electric Field Proximity Sensor") is
an micro-electronic based device that can detect the presence of both moving
and stationary objects through solid materials.  Its ability to operate
through any non-conductive material permits complete invisibility. The sensor
functions by detecting small changes in an ultra-low-power electromagnetic
field generated between two remotely located antenna electrodes.  Its range
is adjustable from inches to over 12 feet."

I have a built board that may eventually end up in my porch sale although
parts of my setup were left in the walls of a previous house.

And a schematic, bill of Material including component sourcing information,
instruction manual, answers to Frequently Asked Questions and printed circuit
board artwork are available for download.

Note the following description and caveat:

"The People Detector was developed in cooperation with the MIT Media Lab and
in many respects can be described as a development tool for home automation
enthusiasts.  The multiplicity of calibration adjustments, which must be
manually performed, can be confusing even to technical personnel"

If you can imagine trying to use the output of a theremin to establish the
position of your hand(s), you can get a sense of what "multiplicity of
calibration adjustments ... can be confusing even to technical personnel"
might mean in practice.

2) RFID:   There is a turn-key long-range HA RFID system for Crestron and
Homeseer based on Wavetrend  www.Wavetrend.net  hardware from iAutomate.
http://www.iautomate.com/rfid_starter.html. It is pricey, especially if one
adds multiple receivers to increase spatial resolution. I've never tried it.

3) Bluetooth:   There is a 3rd party Bluetooth plug-in for HomeSeer.
http://board.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=798. It's on my ToDo list to try
(my Treo 680 is usually somewhere on my body).

... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org