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Garage Commander

Made by gusgonnet / Home Automation

About the project

Control your garage door from wherever you are.

Project info

Difficulty: Easy

Platforms: Adafruit, Blynk, IFTTT, Particle

Estimated time: 1 hour

License: Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0)

Items used in this project

Hardware components

	Grove - NFC Tag	x 1
	Servo Trigger Trigger you can use either a relay shield or a single high trigger 3.3volts relay (you do not need both)	x 1
	Particle Relay Shield you can use either a relay shield or a single high trigger relay (you do not need both)	x 1
	LilyPad Reed Switch	x 2
	Particle Photon you can use a Photon or a Core (you do not need both)	x 1
	Particle Photon you can use a Photon or a Core (you do not need both)	x 1

Software apps and online services

	autovoice
	tasker
	trigger
	IFTTT DO button
	Blynk

Story

What's new

There are plenty of garage door openers in the web these days and each one is special in its own way.

So what is special about this one? The following, I hope:

NFC tags: scan an NFC tag to open your garage door

voice: use Google Now voice commands to control your garage door

push notifications: get the status of the garage door instantly as it changes (or request its status at any time)

You will find step-by-step instructions in the Code section below.

Garage Commander in action

Intro

Ever since we needed a new remote for our garage at home, I resisted the temptation of buying a "classic" remote.

This time I wanted an Internet of Things remote to open and close my garage door from my phone, and I wanted to build it myself. Not only to brag about it with my friends and family, but to learn about this Internet of Things crazy movement.

Ahhh the Internet of Things! it gives you the power to connect an enormous amount of devices to the internet to log their data and control them from wherever you want.

So in this project that thing "wanting" to get connected to the internet becomes the garage door. Here we go!

The prototype

Since I was new to this Particle Photon (at the time Spark Core), I wanted to give myself an easy challenge to pick up steam, so I hacked something quickly with a maker kit I had around.

In a breadboard, I mounted the Photon, a relay and a led. I soldered two wires right behind the micro push button on the wall button to open the garage and connected the relay there.

At the time, I used this Android App to send a rest request to the Particle Cloud to activate the relay. I loaded the Particle with code to close the relay for one second and then release it, simulating in this way a person hitting the button on the wall.

The garage door would open and close whenever I wanted!

The first prototype

The limitations

This first prototype was very good to show me that I could build what I wanted, but it had few limitations.

First, if I was away and by mistake I hit the app and sent the rest request, I had no clue if the door was now open or close. My bragging rights were very limited when friends were not at my place!

I also didn't know if the request worked or not, if the door started to move after I pressed the send request in my phone, unless I was in front of the house.

In other words, it was missing the user feedback...

The user feedback

With a switch that gets activated when the door is completely close or open, one is able to know the status of the garage door remotely.

So this is what my project needed. I chose and installed two reed switches and wired them to my project board. You could also choose to install another type of switch, or even a microswitch.

Now, I needed that information on my phone, so what could be better than using Pushbullet.

The Android app

Note to iOS users: you can control this project with your iPhone or Ipad, by using the DO button or the blynk app.

Since I also wanted to learn about Android programming, I embarked in creating my very first Android app. The app is not finished nor polished, but it already allowed me to learn the basics and made me happy in that sense.

You can alternatively use the DO button app to control your garage door, you have this project and this other project as references. You can also use the Blynk app, of course.

My very first Android app!

Find the source code of the app in the software section below.

NFC tags

I wanted to have in my project something similar to that little keypad that some garage doors have on the side.

So I glued an NFC tag on the side of the garage door, where I would tap my phone to scan it and the door would open.

In the Android world, this can be achieved with Tasker and Trigger.

If you know similar apps in the iOS world, please leave a comment below.

Scan an NFC tag and open your garage

Find instructions on how to implement this in the software section below. I now wrote a complete article about it here.

Voice

Another thing that I wanted to have in my project was the possibility of opening and closing the garage door with my voice.

This would allow me to drive home and one block away just say "Ok Google" and "Open Garage", effectively opening the garage door without me touching my phone.

In the Android world, this can be achieved with Google Now, Tasker and Autovoice.

Again, If you know similar apps in the iOS world, please leave a comment below.

Say "Ok Google" and then "open garage" to open your garage

Find instructions on how to do this in the software section below. You can also refer to the article I posted here.

The push notifications

We will use the same mechanism for push notifications as the one described in this project. Please configure pushbullet and the webhook exactly as shown there.

I have also now created an article about pushbullet notifications, and you can find it here.

We can reuse exactly the same webhook for pushing different notifications to our devices from different projects. This is great, since there is a max of 20 webhooks we can create in the particle cloud.

Push notifications in all your devices thanks to Pushbullet and the Particle Cloud

Issues

Reed switches: I have found these little beasts to require precise alignment to work properly. Yes, they have to be close - I think you can leave a gap of max 5mm between them - but not only that, you have to really align them horizontally! Other people have replaced the magnet side of the reed switch with a Super Neodymium Disc Magnet, which I think is a great idea.

NFC tags: pay attention to where you glue these things. Don't put them over metallic surfaces, for instance, since your phone won't be able to scan them.

The end

So, did you build something similar? are you planning to? any questions?

Feel free to leave me a note below,

Gustavo.

Psst: please find my other projects here.

Help

If you require professional help with your projects, don't hesitate to write me a line about your needs at gusgonnet@gmail.com. Thank you!

Schematics, diagrams and documents

Wifi Garage Commander Schematic

the relay here represents the single high trigger relay or one of the relays in the particle relay shield

Code

MyActivity.java

java code for my first Android app

package com.example.gusgonnet.myfirstapp;

//TODO: now
// - app has to have a get and a post function
// - app has to refresh status at beginning
// - have a settings page
// - store Access Token and Device ID
// - make the spark return open/close status in one call

//TODO: later
// - store email, password, Device ID
// - get an access token from email and password


import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Context;
import android.net.ConnectivityManager;
import android.net.NetworkInfo;
import android.os.AsyncTask;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuInflater;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.LinearLayout;
import android.widget.RelativeLayout;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;

import java.io.DataOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.Reader;
import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
import java.net.URL;

public class MyActivity extends Activity {

    public enum AppStatus { REFRESHING, OPENING, CLOSING, OPEN, CLOSED, UNKNOWN };

    RelativeLayout DefaultLayout;
    RelativeLayout WaitingLayout;

    Button actionButton;
    TextView waitingTextView;

    public static AppStatus appStatus = AppStatus.CLOSED;

    @Override
    public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
        // Inflate the menu items for use in the action bar
        MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
        inflater.inflate(R.menu.my, menu);  //this was main_activity_actions -> my
        return super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
    }

    public void actionButtonClickHandler(View view) {

        //replace 121345678901234567890 with your particle photon id
        String url = "https://api.spark.io/v1/devices/121345678901234567890/garage_open";

        ConnectivityManager connMgr = (ConnectivityManager) getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE);
        NetworkInfo networkInfo = connMgr.getActiveNetworkInfo();
        if (networkInfo != null && networkInfo.isConnected()) {
            appStatus = updateAppStatus(appStatus);
            updateLayout(appStatus);
            new sendCommand().execute(url);
        } else {
            Toast toast = Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Something wrong\r\nno internet connection?", Toast.LENGTH_LONG);
            toast.show();
        }
    }

    // Uses AsyncTask to create a task away from the main UI thread. This task takes a
    // URL string and uses it to create an HttpUrlConnection. Once the connection
    // has been established, the AsyncTask downloads the contents of the webpage as
    // an InputStream. Finally, the InputStream is converted into a string, which is
    // displayed in the UI by the AsyncTask's onPostExecute method.
    private class sendCommand extends AsyncTask<String, Void, String> {

        private static final String DEBUG_TAG = "HomeCommander";

        protected void onPostExecute (String result) {
                //check that the response indicates success
                if (result.toLowerCase().contains("\"return_value\": 0") ) {
                    Toast toast = Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Success!", Toast.LENGTH_LONG);
                    toast.show();
                    appStatus = updateAppStatus(appStatus);
                } else {
                    Toast toast = Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Something went wrong! \r\n" + result, Toast.LENGTH_LONG);
                    toast.show();
                    appStatus = rollbackAppStatus(appStatus);
                }
            updateLayout(appStatus);
        }


        @Override
        protected String doInBackground(String... urls) {

            // params comes from the execute() call: params[0] is the url.
            try {
                return sendCommandToSparkCloud(urls[0]);
            } catch (IOException e) {
                return "problems with the url?";
            }
        }


        // establishes an HttpUrlConnection and sends a command to the Spark cloud
        // it returns the response as a string
        private String sendCommandToSparkCloud(String myurl) throws IOException {
            InputStream is = null;

            try {
                URL url = new URL(myurl);
                HttpURLConnection conn = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();
                conn.setReadTimeout(10000 /* milliseconds */);
                conn.setConnectTimeout(15000 /* milliseconds */);
                conn.setRequestMethod("POST");
                //replace 121345678901234567890 here with your particle auth token
                conn.setRequestProperty ("Authorization", "Bearer 121345678901234567890");
                conn.setDoOutput(true);

                // sends the request
                conn.connect();

                //get the response code
                int response = conn.getResponseCode();
                Log.d(DEBUG_TAG, "The response code is: " + response);

                // get the response content
                is = conn.getInputStream();
                // we are interested in only the first 500 chars
                String responseAsString = stream2string(is, 500);
                Log.d(DEBUG_TAG, "The response content is: " + responseAsString);

                return responseAsString;

                // This makes sure that the InputStream is closed after the app is
                // finished using it.
            } finally {
                if (is != null) {
                    is.close();
                }
            }
        }

        // Reads an InputStream and converts it to a String.
        public String stream2string(InputStream stream, int len) throws IOException, UnsupportedEncodingException {
            Reader reader = new InputStreamReader(stream, "UTF-8");
            char[] buffer = new char[len];
            reader.read(buffer);
            return new String(buffer);
        }

    }

        @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_my);

            DefaultLayout=(RelativeLayout)findViewById(R.id.DefaultLayout);
            WaitingLayout=(RelativeLayout)findViewById(R.id.WaitingLayout);

            actionButton = (Button)findViewById(R.id.actionButton);
            waitingTextView = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.waitingTextView);

            updateLayout(appStatus);

    }

    public void updateLayout(AppStatus appStatus) {
        switch (appStatus) {
            case OPENING:
                waitingTextView.setText(getString(R.string.opening_garage));
                DefaultLayout.setVisibility(View.GONE);
                WaitingLayout.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
                break;

            case CLOSING:
                waitingTextView.setText(getString(R.string.closing_garage));
                DefaultLayout.setVisibility(View.GONE);
                WaitingLayout.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
                break;

            case REFRESHING:
                waitingTextView.setText(getString(R.string.refreshing));
                DefaultLayout.setVisibility(View.GONE);
                WaitingLayout.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
                break;

            case OPEN:
                actionButton.setText(getString(R.string.close_garage));
                DefaultLayout.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
                WaitingLayout.setVisibility(View.GONE);
                break;

            case CLOSED:
                actionButton.setText(getString(R.string.open_garage));
                DefaultLayout.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
                WaitingLayout.setVisibility(View.GONE);
                break;

            case UNKNOWN:
                actionButton.setText(getString(R.string.open_close_garage));
                DefaultLayout.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
                WaitingLayout.setVisibility(View.GONE);
                break;
        }

    }

    public AppStatus updateAppStatus(AppStatus appStatus) {
        switch (appStatus) {
            case OPEN:
                return AppStatus.CLOSING;

            case CLOSING:
                return AppStatus.CLOSED;

            case CLOSED:
                return AppStatus.OPENING;

            case OPENING:
                return AppStatus.OPEN;

            case REFRESHING:
            case UNKNOWN:
            //TODO: not sure what to do here, so for now we don't change the appStatus
        }
        return appStatus;
    }

    public AppStatus rollbackAppStatus(AppStatus appStatus) {
        switch (appStatus) {
            case CLOSING:
                return AppStatus.OPEN;

            case OPENING:
                return AppStatus.CLOSED;

            case OPEN:
            case CLOSED:
            case REFRESHING:
            case UNKNOWN:
                //TODO: not sure what to do here, so for now we don't change the appStatus
        }
        return appStatus;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
        // Handle action bar item clicks here. The action bar will
        // automatically handle clicks on the Home/Up button, so long
        // as you specify a parent activity in AndroidManifest.xml.
        switch (item.getItemId()) {
            case R.id.action_settings:
//                openSettings();
                Toast toast = Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Settings are coming soon...", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT);
                toast.show();
                return true;
            default:
                return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
        }
    }
}

How to read an NFC tag and open your garage

step 1:
-------
Install the Trigger and Tasker apps in your phone.

step 2:
-------
In the Tasker app we create a task that will send an HTTP POST request to the Particle Cloud to open or close the garage door.

Please take a look at this thread to see how to enter information in Tasker:
https://community.particle.io/t/solved-using-tasker-for-android-to-post-an-api-request-to-spark-core/4724/17

step 3:
-------
In the Trigger app we will create a task to fire off a task in Tasker. At the end of the task creation, the app will ask us to scan the NFC tag so it can save the task in it.

You can take a look at great full tutorial here:
http://www.androidauthority.com/nfc-trigger-tasker-409686/

particle webhook

Follow instructions to setup this webhook in this project:https://www.hackster.io/gusgonnet/water-detection-system-227b08

{
  "eventName": "pushbullet",
  "url": "https://api.pushbullet.com/v2/pushes",
  "requestType": "POST",
  "headers": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer 123456789012345678901234567890",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  "json": {
      "type": "note",
      "title": "{{SPARK_EVENT_VALUE}}",
      "body": ""
  },
  "mydevices": true
}

Particle code

flash this code in your Particle

// IO mapping
// D0 : relay: garage_BUTTON - this output is connected to the garage wall button or the garage remote
// D1 : relay
// D2 : relay
// D3 : relay
// D4 : garage_CLOSE : high means contact open (garage door opened), low means contact closed (garage door closed)
// D5 : garage_OPEN : high means contact open (garage door opened), low means contact closed (garage door closed)
// D6 :
// D7 :

// A0 :
// A1 : 
// A2 : 
// A3 : 
// A4 :
// A5 :
// A6 :
// A7 :

#include "application.h"

String _version = "0.01";

#define PUSHBULLET_NOTIF "pushbullet"

#define GARAGE_READ_INTERVAL 1000
#define GARAGE_OPEN "open"
#define GARAGE_CLOSED "closed"
#define GARAGE_OPENING "opening"
#define GARAGE_CLOSING "closing"
#define GARAGE_NOTIF "GARAGE"
unsigned long garage_interval = 0;
int garage_BUTTON = D0;
int garage_CLOSE = D4;
int garage_OPEN = D5;
String garage_status_string = "unknown";


void setup() {

 Particle.publish("device starting", "Firmware version: " + _version, 60, PRIVATE);

  pinMode(garage_BUTTON, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(garage_OPEN, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(garage_CLOSE, INPUT_PULLUP);
  
  bool success = Particle.function("garage_open", garage_open);
  if (not success) {
      Particle.publish("ERROR", "Failed to register function garage_open", 60, PRIVATE);
  }
  
  success = Particle.function("garage_stat", garage_stat);
  if (not success) {
      Particle.publish("ERROR", "Failed to register function garage_stat", 60, PRIVATE);
  }

}

void loop() {
 
  //read garage status every now and then
  if( millis() - garage_interval >= GARAGE_READ_INTERVAL ) {
    garage_read();
    garage_interval = millis();
  }

}

/*******************************************************************************
 * Function Name  : garage_open
 * Description    : garage_BUTTON goes up for one second
 * Return         : 0
 *******************************************************************************/
int garage_open(String args)
{
    digitalWrite(garage_BUTTON, HIGH);
    delay(1000);
    digitalWrite(garage_BUTTON, LOW);

    return 0;
}

/*******************************************************************************
 * Function Name  : garage_read()
 * Description    : reads and publishes the status of the garage, intended for using it with a service like ifttt
 * Return         : 0
 *******************************************************************************/
int garage_read()
{
    int open = digitalRead(garage_OPEN);
    int closed = digitalRead(garage_CLOSE);
    String previous_garage_status_string = garage_status_string;
    
    //input goes low when the reed switch is activated
    if ( not closed ) {
        garage_status_string = GARAGE_CLOSED;
    }

    //input goes low when the reed switch is activated
    if ( not open ) {
        garage_status_string = GARAGE_OPEN;
    }

    //if both inputs are high, it means that the garage is moving
    // so if it was open, we believe it's closing now
    // and if it was closed, we believe it's opening now
    if ( open and closed ) {
        if ( previous_garage_status_string == GARAGE_OPEN ) {
            garage_status_string=GARAGE_CLOSING;
        }
        if ( previous_garage_status_string == GARAGE_CLOSED ) {
            garage_status_string=GARAGE_OPENING;
        }
    }
    
    //if status of the garage changed from last scan, publish the new status
    if ( previous_garage_status_string != garage_status_string ) {
        Particle.publish(PUSHBULLET_NOTIF, "Your garage door is " + garage_status_string, 60, PRIVATE);
    }

    return 0;
}

/*******************************************************************************
 * Function Name  : garage_stat  // function name cannot be longer than 12 chars otherwise it wont be registered!
 * Description    : reads and publishes the status of the garage, intended for using it with a service like ifttt or pushbullet
 * Return         : 0
 *******************************************************************************/
int garage_stat(String args)
{
    int opened = digitalRead(garage_OPEN);
    int closed = digitalRead(garage_CLOSE);

    if ( not closed ) {
        garage_status_string = GARAGE_CLOSED;
    }
    if ( not opened ) {
        garage_status_string = GARAGE_OPEN;
    }
    
   Particle.publish(PUSHBULLET_NOTIF, "Your garage door is " + garage_status_string, 60, PRIVATE);

    return 0;
}

How to use Google Voice to open your garage

step 1:
-------
Install the Autovoice and Tasker apps in your phone.


step 2:
-------
In the Tasker app we create a task that will send an HTTP POST request to the Particle Cloud to open or close the garage door.
Note: if you already created a task to open your garage with an NFC tag, we will use the same task.

Here is what I entered in Tasker:
- create a new Task called "OpenGarage"
- add an Action
- select Net
- select HTTP Post
- enter in Server:Port
      https://api.particle.io/v1/devices/<PARTICLE DEVICE ID>/garage_open
- enter in Data/File
      access_token=<YOUR PARTICLE ACCESS TOKEN>
-note that garage_open is the function we want to trigger with this POST request

Please take a look at this thread to see how to enter information in Tasker:
https://community.particle.io/t/solved-using-tasker-for-android-to-post-an-api-request-to-spark-core/4724/17


step 3:
-------
In the Tasker app we will create a Profile to trigger that task when we speak "open garage". 

Here is what I did in Tasker:
- create a new Profile
- select Event
- select Plugin
- select Autovoice -> Recognized
- tap on Configuration
- tap on Speak Filter
- record your voice command
- choose your voice command from the list
- hit the check at the top then hit back in Tasker
- select the task you want this command to trigger, it should be OpenGarage
- you are done!


You can also follow the instructions on the video in the Google Play page:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joaomgcd.autovoice&hl=en


step 4 (optional):
------------------

Repeat steps 2 and 3 to create a GarageStatus action and CloseGarage actions in Tasker and the respective voice commands to get a full voice interface to your garage.

How to read an NFC tag and open your garage

step 1:
-------
Install the Trigger and Tasker apps in your phone.


step 2:
-------
In the Tasker app we create a task that will send an HTTP POST request to the Particle Cloud to open or close the garage door.

Here is what I entered in Tasker:
- create a new Task called "OpenGarage"
- add an Action
- select Net
- select HTTP Post
- enter in Server:Port
      https://api.particle.io/v1/devices/<PARTICLE DEVICE ID>/garage_open
- enter in Data/File
      access_token=<YOUR PARTICLE ACCESS TOKEN>
-note that garage_open is the function we want to trigger with this POST request

Please take a look at this thread to see how to enter information in Tasker:
https://community.particle.io/t/solved-using-tasker-for-android-to-post-an-api-request-to-spark-core/4724/17


step 3:
-------
In the Trigger app we will create a task to fire off a task in Tasker. At the end of the task creation, the app will ask us to scan the NFC tag so it can save the task in it.

Here is what I did in Trigger:
- create new task
- hit next on the "Add one or more triggers" screen
- add an action
- select Tasker -> Tasker Task then next
- hit the magnifier so you can select the task in Tasker
- select OpenGarage and tap on "ADD TO TASK"
- hit Done
- hit NFT in "Add one or more triggers" and Next
- hit done in "Add restrictions" -> Next -> Next -> Done (there is no need for a second, switch task)
- Scan your NFC tag to save the task date in it
- Hit Done on top
- you are finally done


You can take a look at great full tutorial here:
http://www.androidauthority.com/nfc-trigger-tasker-409686/

Credits

gusgonnet

If you need professional help with a project, contact me at gusgonnet@gmail.com

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Garage Commander

About the project

Project info

Items used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

What's new

Intro

The prototype

The limitations

The user feedback

The Android app

NFC tags

Voice

The push notifications

Issues

The end

Help

Schematics, diagrams and documents

Wifi Garage Commander Schematic

Code

MyActivity.java

How to read an NFC tag and open your garage

particle webhook

Particle code

How to use Google Voice to open your garage

How to read an NFC tag and open your garage

Credits

gusgonnet

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