Comfort UPNP <-> SmartThings <-> Amazon Echo

[DavidJ]

Really guys. If i can get it working anyone can. Matt was mega helpful with issues and suggestions. It took half an hour at most. A pi cost around 30 quid complete. Got to be worth a go.

[wexfordman]

Just to clarify, Matt, the smart things hub is a requirement here also?

[DavidJ]

Its built for Smartthings so yes. It enables integration within the smartthings environment.

[wexfordman]

[user=1738]DavidJ[/user] wrote:

Its built for Smartthings so yes. It enables integration within the smartthings environment.

Yeah, but my query is if you need the St hub to connect to comfort, or can you do it without St? 
Do I need to buy a St hub to get this up and running? 

[DavidJ]

Yes and an RPI

[wexfordman]

[user=1738]DavidJ[/user] wrote:

Yes and an RPI

Cool, thanks, on the Christmas list now :-)

[lwillerton]

Would this be ok from amazon? Raspberry Pi 3 Official Desktop Starter Kit (16Gb, Black)

[DavidJ]

Any RPI works fine.  I\'m using a version 1. So yes the V3 is fine.  Dont forget you will also need a power supply and an SD card.  

[mattbrain]

Hi Guys
Sorry, not been on the forum for a couple of days and see a bunch of questions have arisen.

1. Which RPi [Raspberry Pi]?
Any RPi with Ethernet will work (avoid model A), I believe David is running on the first version of a Model B which has been superseded several times - the new Model B v3 has twice the memory and >4x the processing power.
If you are new to Raspberry Pi\'s i suggest this is a good starter kit: https://thepihut.com/products/raspberry-pi-3-starter-kit but there are many out there equally good.

2. Do i need SmartThings?
Current, the UPNP interface requires SmartThings as this is the only automation hub I have written handlers for. If I can get hold of a Vera hub, and there is sufficient demand, I can do the same for that. However, ST is where I have personally invested and although it isn\'t perfect, it does a lot for me.
To add native support for Google Home, Amazon Alexa and others I am working on WeMo emulation. This will undoubtably make it easier to get going but the limitations of using emulation will mean that it will be less functionally complete.
By using SmartThings, it can be linked to a huge variety of third party devices and services including Alexa - I get a kick out of being able to use Alexa to control comfort, it\'s a really neat interface.

3. Can I make it easier to install?
This is a priority item for me. At the moment it takes 30 mins and a bit of experience with the command line to install. I would like to get to a position where you simply plug it in and it works out of the box. An intermediate position might be I offer disk images or SD cards which can be used to prime a RPi.
I guess to judge the demand [and therefore whether I should pursue this over WeMo emulation or additional features] it would be useful to get some feedback. 
What do people want as a priority?


A. Raspberry Pi Bundle with SD Card so it is plug and play
B. SD Card to buy which is pre-configured
C. SD Card image to download and install myself (will cut out much of the initial command line install)
D. WeMo Emulation for native Alexa / Google Home support
E. Additional comfort functions to be exposed [please indicate]

A & B will have to be priced to account for my time dedicated to your individual build. There is no charge (from me at least) for C -> E.


If Cytech or a third party distributor are in a position to make this more accessible, I would be more than happy to have a conversation with them


Thanks again,

Matt

[wexfordman]

Matt, thanks a million for all if this it sounds very exciting and I also can\'t wait to get voice control of my comfort.
What I have at the moment, if you don\'t mind me explaining, is I have comfort, which controls my home heating ajfbkighting also via Velbus ucm.
My thinking is that it will be a while before Venus interface to echo will be about, so a comfort interface is the way to go (in addition to the fact, that I will be able to control security and home automation doing it this way).
Anyway, here is my thinking if you could tell me whether you think it\'s the right thinking or not.
1) I have a Google home device on the way for Christmas, I decided on this as opposed to echo.2) I will purchase a smart things hub, but mainly just to get integration to comfort.3) once I have Google home and smart things hub, I will be able to use your rpi interface to get control of comfort, and the Venus network via comfort? 
Is this a fair assessment? 
I  taking the smart things hub will allow me add more off the shelf products as well over the longer term? 
Regards
Eamon