THIS IS A COMMERCIAL OPERATION THAT DEPENDS ON WATER SECURITY. THE ALMOND SYSTEM IS ALLOWING ME TO MANAGE WATER SECURITY REMOTELY, AS WELL AS MAKING THE ENTIRE OPERATION MORE EFFICIENT.
throw at them. If you’re installing wireless links as the B1SmartHome boys are doing here, then you need to think about attaining and retaining line of sight and minimising the intrusion of metal shields or barriers. As Tony explains, the security component of the system is comprehensive. “What we are working on adding here in the main equipment shed is PIR sensors, reed switches for doors, door controllers for roller doors,” he explains. “Node zero is simply an Almond hub – that’s all that’s required - 4G comms is integrated into the hub. All the sensors are Zigbee so integrating these is very simple. You can see here a 3D printed mount for the hub which is a concept mount that SCSI and the manufacturer has made specially for this application – it shows their commitment to what we are doing. “From hub via the cloud to smart devices communications is 4G. Locally the hub communicates with links and sensors via wireless. In this application much of the plant is remote from this location and remote from the hub in the de-sal plant – the pump house and de-sal plant are connected via wireless at least 150-200 metres away. We’ve also wired some low-level plant switches to wireless links in order to integrate those inputs with Almond. This part is quite complex.” We drive down to the de-sal plant. There are some substantial dams on the property – the distance between the de-sale plant and the pump house is considerable. In the de-sal plant there
is another Almond hub and this communicates locally by wireless to switches via Zigbee wireless communicators – these are located adjacent to controllers and are hardwired into them on the plant side – it reports low pressure on the de-sal plant and the Almond then reports the event to Con. We also test the length of time it takes for a signal to reach Con’s phone when he opens the pump house door and it’s probably one third of a second – very low latency. According to Viktor, the labelling of inputs and outputs in the app is a key aspect of management. “The way we are using the automation – the complexity of the systems we are supporting – means it’s important to get the naming of inputs and outputs right with the Almond and that’s something we are working on with SCSI and the manufacturer to increase the customisation,” he explains. “I think they did not imagine the sorts of possibilities we are exploring when it comes to applications, but the level of development is excellent. Correct naming makes managing Almond much easier for Con. The 3S is designed to provide security and automation for commercial and domestic premises but it doesn’t specifically know what it’s switching,” Viktor says. “The key is that inputs and outputs are properly labelled so they can be managed in the app.” Viktor explains that the B1SmartHome team thinks of the pumps as the head end and the solenoids as the field devices when conceptualising Yarra Station’s system. “Almond can control all of them with actions
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