ioBridge Provides Web Connectivity Technology and Cloud Services for Pool Control Systems

February 28, 2012 By

If you happened to be at the Orlando Pool and Spa Show 2012 last week, you might have noticed all of the buzz around a new product from Zodiac Pool Systems called iAquaLink. Every aspect of managing a pool and spa is possible with iAquaLink by allowing for control from an iPhone, Android device, and any web browser. Users are now able to get the spa ready before leaving work, schedule cleanings, monitor pH, set the solar heater, etc. Pool and spa installers are also able to remotely maintain a user’s pool and provide new services.

Access to iAquaLink on any Device

Here’s a quick video introduction linked by Carecraft pool builders and retailers:

Zodiac contacted us about creating a remote monitoring and control device for their pool and spa control systems. We worked with their engineering and marketing team to create a new product that incorporates Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB, and RS-485 connectivity. We also extended our web services, created an API, and provided a streaming interface to monitor and control over 100k pool and spa systems efficiently. All of our combined efforts resulted in a highly secure, real-time, connected product that is targeted to pool professionals and consumers.

iAquaLink System Overview

The pool and spa industry is highly competitive. By adding Internet-connectivity and many new features, companies like Zodiac are able to maintain their competitive edge. “It’s critically important to Zodiac and our Jandy Controls business to maintain our reputation for highly dependable, intuitive pool and spa automation,” said David Goldman, Director of Product Development at Zodiac. “We’re delighted to raise the bar yet again by incorporating ioBridge’s technology.”

And, we are thrilled as well to be working with innovative partners like Zodiac. We have many other projects like this going on under the hood and we love being able to share this one with you.

“We are extremely proud to have been chosen by Zodiac to provide connectivity technology for their new iAquaLink intelligent pool control system,” said Dr. Robert Mawrey, CEO of ioBridge. “The flexibility and accessibility of the ioBridge platform allows companies to enhance the value of their products. We believe that the iAquaLink is a wonderful example of an Internet-enabled product and that it provides a competitive edge that sets Zodiac apart from other pool and spa control system providers.”

Visit http://www.ioBridge.com for more applications and information on how ioBridge works with manufactures such as Zodiac.

[via ioBridge Press Release]

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Tide Sensors, Hurricane Irene, and the Internet of Things

August 29, 2011 By

As we announced last year, we have been running tide level points around Cape Cod to more accurately alert boaters about high and low tides. Our tide sites are connected to the Internet via the ioBridge platform. We also provide real-time alerts and tweets to boaters in Cape Cod and surrounding marinas.

One of our many TideAlerts.com subscribers had the idea to “watch” the tide levels during Hurricane Irene. After analyzing the data, we observed something interesting. The period of the tides did not change, but the amplitudes (the high tide and low tide marks) were greatly exaggerated as Hurricane Irene passed through Cape Cod.

The ioBridge tide project is another example of how the Internet of Things is emerging. We started this project 3 years ago and it provides an extremely useful service and is only possible by aggregating tons of sensor data and sharing it with users, developers, and researchers. This application is based on open data from NOAA and users monitoring environmental information and tries to find more meaning than just being a collection site of data.

By the way, here is what the tides looked like during Hurricane Irene at one of our public monitoring sites:

Tide Sensor Charts During Hurricane Irene

The good news is that by the time Hurricane Irene made it to Massachusetts, the storm was weak and all of our tide sensor sites survived.

Check out the Technology Review article, Cape Cod is Tweeting, Thanks to the Internet of Things, for more information about our tide project or contact us at support@iobridge.com.

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Candy Dispenser is a Twilio, Twitter, and ioBridge Mashup

October 28, 2010 By

Halloween would not be complete without some novel electronics to spook the trick-or-treaters. Noel Portugal created a system that allows you to send text messages or tweets to his Halloween Candy Dispenser to drop some treats into your bag. Commands are relayed from the web via the ioBridge IO-204 to his microcontroller controlled candy dispenser. There’s a big red button in case you forgot your mobile phone in your Iron Man costume.

Internet-enabled Halloween Treat Dispenser

Internet-enabled Halloween Treat Dispenser

Noel wrote a web application using Oracle Application Express that connects all the parts together. At the heart of the design is an Arduino-based microcontroller that drives the servo-based dispenser mechanism. The commands are relayed from the web app to the Arduino using the ioBridge IO-204 via XBee radios. The Internet connectivity part is what allows tweets (@tweetfortreats) or text messages processed by Twilio to control the candy dispenser. The web application makes use of the ioBridge Widget API to parse commands from the Internet.

ioBridge IO-204 Module with XBee Radio

ioBridge IO-204 Module with XBee Radio

Just think of where this type of technology can go? Vending machines?

If you are interested in learning more, Noel has put together an Instructables so others can create their own DIY Halloween project this year. There’s also more information on Adafruit, MAKE, Hacked Gadgets, and Noel’s My Web of Things blog. Happy Halloween!

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ioBridge Tide Alerts on MIT’s Technology Review Blog

June 15, 2010 By

MIT’s Technology Review blog features an article about our tide level application. Along with a few ioBridge customers, we setup tide monitoring sites in Cape Cod that measure tide levels and environmental data in real-time. The data collected is used to alert people in the area of rising or falling tide levels, so you know when to bring your boat back to the dock. The sites are part of our growing sensor and control network all over the world built on top of the ioBridge platform.

Green Pond Tide Monitoring Site

Green Pond Tide Monitoring Site

Christopher Mims, journalist at the MIT Technology Review, writes, “We’re talking about the Internet of Things. Using an ultrasonic level sensor to bounce sound waves off the sea surface in order to determine its height, an XBee radio to send that data to a receiver on shore, and most importantly, an ioBridge IO-204 to relay that information to servers in the cloud, Cape Cod resident and ioBridge hobbyist Robert Mawrey is able to broadcast to his entire community near real-time data on actual sea level.”

The technology behind the tide monitoring sites is based around the ioBridge platform. We will be releasing our Pro hardware and web services soon available for commercial products and services. The tide alerts site is just one example of the new things we have in store.

We collect the data on our demo site for everyone to take a look at and sign up for email/SMS alerts. We will be opening up the feeds for others to build applications. Visit tidealerts.com to check it out.

Tide Level Charts

Tide Level Charts

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Wireless Robot with Web Controls

January 15, 2010 By

Any good SkyNet starts with a robot. Well, we are in luck…User “badcat89” posted in our forum about a Web-enabled, Wireless Robot that is controlled via a web interface. We can imagine a swarm of robots controlled by data received from the web.

Web Powered Robot

Web Powered Robot

The robot uses a pair of serial bluetooth adapters to form a wireless link with the ioBridge IO-204. The serial levels of the IO-204 are TTL and a circuit using the MAX-232 was required to allow the serial interface work properly. On the robot is a set of serial servo drivers that control the steering and speed.

IO-204 and Serial Bluetooth Adpater

IO-204 and Serial Bluetooth Adpater

The interface is standard web page using an embedded ioBridge.com serial widget to make the connection to the IO-204 base station module. You can control the direction and throttle by clicking on the itnerface and using the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard. The interface generates serial strings that the serial servo drivers react to when received. You can see the strings and the serial widget in the debug part of the web interface.

Web-based Robot Controls

Web-based Robot Controls

Here is a YouTube video of the web powered robot in action – looks like a lot of fun to drive. One step closer…

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