Software for automated drawer opening

[zijin_cheng]

Hi, my dad is trying to wire up a cupboard with individual drawers, and he wants existing software that does something like this:

He has eg 10 drawers all wired into solenoids, and when a user enters "Open drawer #5" then #5 opens but the rest stay closed.

Is there any software (preferably windows) that currently does that, or will he have to spend time writing it from scratch?

 

[postmark]

What is the interface to the solenoids? The application would be trivial to code but the interface between the software and controlling the solenoids would be more complex ( although still trivial for someone with experience)

 

[Kaido]

Couple easy options:

1. INSTEON: This is kind of plug & play smarthome stuff. You can a USB adapter for your computer (or they sell a standalone control hub) and then use an I/O relay to control the hardware:

http://www.insteon.com/31273-input-output-controller.html

http://www.insteon.com/31274-ezio-relay-controller.html

Then use some software on the computer to handle control translation:

http://www.insteon.com/houselinc.html

2. National Control Devices: These are basically network-connected relays. If it's just a one-off project & he doesn't need anything more fancy than control via a webpage, this is your ticket:

http://www.controlanything.com/Relay/Relay/WEB_RELAY_PROXR

So basically, wire up the solenoids to perform as you want, install the smart relay & hookup to his Wifi, and then just hop on the integrated webpage for control. If it needs a dedicated controller, just get a cheap Android tablet for under $99.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

You're overcomplicating. You could either use push buttons or individual motion sensors. No computer required.

 

[Kaido]

You're overcomplicating. You could either use push buttons or individual motion sensors. No computer required.

Yeah, but he said his dad wants a software solution for this particular project.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Yeah, but he said his dad wants a software solution for this particular project.

Then I guess it has to be home automation products. Just seems kluged like the Internet toaster.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

http://softwareforhomes.com/x10Software.htm Try the X10 software here.

 

[Leros]

Hooking this up to a computer is over complicating things. A cheap embedded computer is all you need. I'd look into getting an Arduino .You'll have to write it from scratch, but the code should be very short and simple.

The Arduino will make it almost trivial to interface with the sensors and solenoids. I can't imagine the control portion of the code would be more than 10-20 lines of simple code.