Just discovered arduino and I have a question wheter it's possible to use this.
We work with 2 in a practice and we would like to get informed when the front door opens (when somebody gets in).
There's already a sensor that closes a circuit, and on that circuit I have attached an 9V battery and a buzzer. But we can only hear the buzzer in that room.
So, I already saw it's possible to connect an arduino to the sensor and send an notification to a smartphone. But here comes the challenge, is it possible to only send an notification when my collegue or I are within 100 meters of the practice? So when i'm not at the practice i won't get a notification?
I could install in the 3 other rooms another buzzer, but then I have to use etra wires and I live above the practice, so there i have also to place a buzzer. So I think with arduino it will be easyer.
Where the buzzer is now, i have also an ethernet connection, but there's also Wi-Fi.
I think you can find a wireless doorbell that can have multiple remote alarms. you would need to add a simple switch to activate when the door opens, but that should be very easy to add.
you might find a door chime with a built in sensor and remote.
Either way, you could have one in different rooms.
most likely, if you get two of the same units they will work on the same frequency so you would get as many remote indicators as you like.
However, I am not sure if they interface with a smart phone directly. You may need to get a remote alarm and then have that send data to the smartphone.
to get the alert only if you are within a certain distance would require knowing where the phone is in relation to the building. since all phones have some form of GPS for tracking, you might be able to program the phone to know when it is withing the target area and only accept messages when withing that area.
This sensor is already in place and functioning ...
And i have found that with a push service like "Notify my android" i can get notifications on a smartphone, such as the project at http://www.instructables.com/id/Notify-My-Android/. The only thing i would like different is that i only receive those notifications when i'm at home. So that's the biggest problem.
I don't think the solution with the extra wireless doorbels is teh best solution. When i have to put in each room in the practice a wireless doorbel (3) and upstairs on each floor (2), each time there will be 5 bells ringing simultaneously. And when my girlfriend is at home and i'm working she doesn't have to hear each time the door opens ( aprox 10 - 12 times in 1 hour) a bell ringing. But thanks for the input.
What about a dedicated phone or tablet that you ONLY carry in the area and return to a shelf behind the door you exit so next time you can pick it up again? Will this solve the "how to detect proximity of YOUR phone"? If it won't work, try the bluetooth solution. Arduino only sends a message if its bluetooth is connected to your phone. But that only works with ONE phone. A bluetooth slave can't connect to multiple masters (your phones), unless you get one module for each master.
is it possible to only send an notification when my collegue or I are within 100 meters of the practice? So when i'm not at the practice i won't get a notification?
you already have a door sensor
you already send to the phone
the problem is to determine when you phone is near the practice and only when it is near, to send the information.
or, to set the phone that that it will ignore that specific incoming message unless the phone is near the practice.
you might find an app that can tie location into receiving and ignoring incoming texts.
it might be easier to write an app that uses your gps location to alert you of activity while you are in a certain area.
the problem for an arduino would be to know when you are within the range.
it might be possible to have an arduino only send you data from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
and also have an app on the phone that would automatically delete messages from 7:00PM to 8:00 AM
dave-in-nj:
you might find an app that can tie location into receiving and ignoring incoming texts.
it might be easier to write an app that uses your gps location to alert you of activity while you are in a certain area.
an app like Tasker for android...
I have also seen folks here use their arduino in concert with their router to detect if a client is attached to their network. You may want to look into that.
Thanks everyone for the input!
A dedicated phone is no option because i'm not alone working here, and carying 2 phones with me everywhere in the house and don't forget to charge them will go wrong
I like the bluetooth idea. So, correct me if i'm wrong, it is possible to use a bluetooth detector and only if he finds my phone I could program the arduino to send an notification (bluetooth notification/push notification).
If it has to be paired, i could use 2 bluetooth detectors.
The solutions of BulldogLowell or dave-in-nj are also an possibility. I will look in them.
Thanks again!
