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Pluto: Linux-based Do-everything System
tazzzzz writes "Ever wanted an easy-to-configure, whole-house, internet-accessible, Linux-based VOIP PBX with video, PVR, firewall/router, security system, MP3 player, file server, personal web server, home automation (lights, thermostat) controller? I just came across the Pluto which claims to do all of this (and more, of course!). It'll set you back $15,000 if you're living in a small bachelor pad, but you didn't need that car anyway, did you?"
* load on the machine if it's used for everything at once, or at least two or more CPU/Memory intensive apps at once.
Other than the VoIP w/video, nothing in that list seems to processor intensive to me.
I should have given some more info knowing that the site would be slashdotted...
For that price, you get the Pluto Core, which is the Linux-based server. You get some number (unclear to me how many) of media distributors (PCs with DVD drives and network interfaces) that hook up to your TV and the Core to show video and play music. You also get "Orbiters", which are hand-held devices to which you can stream video from your security cameras and control the Pluto system.
So, we're not talking one Linux PC. It's a whole system of stuff. I've requested more pricing info, because I'm curious how much you have to pay for the various parts. $15K is a lot of money, but this can give technically unsophisticated folks a usable "home of the future" sort of setup.
Kevin
(This post is really for the folks who haven't seen what exactly is home automation. Before I started doing this stuff I was completely unaware how mature that home automation industry is. The Pluto is a very-low-end system that doesn't do a whole lot, and the price really reflects that.)
/any/ home entertainment/theater systems. We can integrate with climate control systems too, and along the way make it all web accessible. I work for a Crestron shop here, but many other folks uses AMX as well. It's pretty standard in this space.
While it is probably true that no other product integrates even 2 out of 5 of the home electronics systems, in the world of home automation and home integration, folks tends to pick the best-of-breed hardware and integrate them.
I can say this: I do this for a living.
For instance, one generally uses Vantage or Lutron for lighting or other high-voltage controls, Radionics and Pelco (among others) for fire/intrusion control. We can integrate with
The reality is that you can't do true home automation for $15K, or by yourself. Installing high-voltage, and sometimes low-voltage wiring, requires a electrician's license. (So you have to hire someone and pay labor.) Low-end AV equipment controlled by IR can be easily DIY, but to do the really cool stuff, there are many AV gears that can be controlled by RS-232. (Rotel and Meridian, for example.) With that you can get feedback of what the device is doing, and display that information on the UI; having that information helps you make much more reliable code too. (Try having your system find out the volume level on your IR-controlled AMP, for instance.)
The stuff is not cheap, but it's solid and well supported. We have projects between $200k to $2mil+, and there's no shortage of people who has that kind of money and are willing to spend it in their house. These systems has much better uptime than any of my Linux, OS X or Windows boxes; they are so stable, in fact, I heard that the BART in California uses Crestron and AMX as part of a redundant system.
You can go cheap too: If you just want an IR controlled home theater with existing IR controlled gears, RS-232 control of an alarm system, plus some minor goodies like web access, I can prob do it for less than $2000. (Notice no real wiring required here.) Start with a Crestron QM-RMC or MP2E.
Check out http://www.crestron.com/ and http://www.amx.com/
Its a creston/AMX contender in the high end home automation market. To give you an idea of how what the market is like, a 15" creston touchscreen can cost $15,000 (thats a client, not the whole system). Home automation installations on average cost 80-200k (some projects go on forever and cost millions).
I happen to be a developer on this project.
It is not just one machine. The system setup is different based on each customers needs.
Since I don't work in sales or marketing, I can't give you a full rundown, but the product does scale based on the customers specific needs.
It can do everything the Pluto adverises except home automation, but some X10 devices would take care of that.
not.
sorry, but home automation is much more complex than you think it is.
how about the fact you need to interface tons of input sensors and occupancy sensors (not motion detectors) plus be able to RELIABLY control the important things like heat? a RS485 thermostat is $300.00 for the el-cheapo one. the X10 thermostat from RCS is an absolute piece of junk.
plus you can easily overwhelm your X10 system in the house if you have lots of modules and command consoles.. oh and you had a $200.00 bridge and repeater installed right? X10 doesn't work work a crap without that.
Let's add in the weather station so the house can wake you 30 minutes early because of the snowstorm last night or alert you that the cover on the hot-tub has blown off because of high winds.
a few X10 modules and misterhouse is NOT a home automation system.
I strongly suggest you go and have a demonstration of a real home automation system, thne you will know what it really is.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.