DIY Home Automation Using Twilio, PowerSwitch, Arduino, and Pusher

Time to read: 11 minutes

August 21, 2012
Written by
Jonathan Gottfried
Contributor
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Phone-controlled TwilioBot

You may have seen my recent blog post about building a Phone-controlled Robot using Twilio. Since then, I’ve had ideas for new Twilio + Arduino mashups pouring in from the community. Today is the second post in our new series of Twilio Hardware mashups – build your own home automation solution using Twilio SMS, PowerSwitch, Arduino, and PusherApp.

Last week I left the A/C in my apartment on while at work. All day, I was wishing I had remembered to turn it off for the sake of my electric bill. But alas, I was out of luck. If only my A/C were able to be controlled from some sort of distributed network.

Lucky for me, Al Gore invented the Internet (100% better than ARPANET for home automation). While there are consumer home automation utilities out there such as Belkin’s WeMo, I decided that it would be more interesting and enjoyable to build my own. It would have been selfish of me to keep this to myself, so I wrote it up in the tutorial for the good of the internets.

First off, here is a video of the final, working version of the project (I recommend watching it in 1080P so you can see the debug console output):

As we release more of these tutorials, you’ll notice that some have more complex hardware and some have more complex software – I’ll do my best to keep them varied and interesting for all of you amazing hardware hackers out there. For those of you looking for the flying robot that Techcrunch mentioned…don’t worry, its coming.

When you finish this tutorial, you will be able to turn on and off a power outlet using Twilio SMS or a simple web application. Also, please note that electricity is dangerous – I recommend that you don’t crack open your PowerSwitch, it is designed to safely handle 120vac power but human bodies are not. That being said, lets jump right in!

The Parts

You will need the following parts to build your application – while its a decent upfront investment, all of the parts are reusable for future hardware experimentation and fun:

Note that the one part you do not need is the FTDI Cable, but I found it very useful for debugging my Arduino over alternative Serial pins while using the WiFly chip, which takes over the standard hardware Serial.

The Hardware

The hardware setup is pretty basic and requires no soldering. The first few steps are very similar to the robot tutorial as they cover basic initial setup – feel free to skip to Step 3 if you’re comfortable setting up an Arduino.

Arduino Uno

Step 1: Plug the Wireless SD Shield into your Arduino

Wireless SD Shield Plugged Into Arduino Uno

Step 2: Plug your LED into digital pin 13 and GND. Note that the shorter pin on the LED is GND.

LED Plugged Into Arduino

Step 3: Plug a yellow cable into digital pin 12 and a black cable into GND – these are to connect your Arduino to the PowerSwitch. Then use your flat-head screwdriver to secure the cables in your PowerSwitch.

Yellow and Black Cable Plugged Into Arduino

Step 4: Plug the other end of the yellow cable into +in (pin 1) on the PowerSwitch and the other end of the black cable into -in (pin 2) on the PowerSwitch.

Yellow and Black Cables plugged into PowerSwitch

Step 5 (Optional): Plug a green cable into digital pin 3 on the Arduino and a brown cable into digital pin 2 – these are to connect to your FTDI Cable for SoftwareSerial debugging.

Green and Brown cables plugged into Arduino for FTDI

Step 6 (Optional): Plug the other end of the green cable into the port where the FTDI cable’s yellow wire ends (RX). The other end of the brown cable goes next to it, where the FTDI cable’s orange wire ends (TX). These are the 2nd and 3rd from the green end of the FTDI cable.

Green and Brown Wires Connected to FTDI Cable

Step 7: Plug the RN-XV WiFly into the slot on the Wireless SD Shield. You may wish to postpone this step until you have uploaded your sketch onto the Arduino – the WiFly chip can interfere with the sketch upload.

RN-XV Plugged Into Arduino

Step 8: Plug the device that you wish to control (I’m controlling these awesome Woot-off lights) into the PowerSwitch and plug the PowerSwitch into an outlet. Your hardware setup is now completed!

Completed Twilio + Arduino Power Outlet

It’s Software Time

Firstly, you will need the Arduino software to download your code onto your chip. Then you will need some libraries to communicate with your RN-XV WiFly chip.
For this tutorial, I decided to use the WiFlyHQ library by harlequin-tech and to borrow their examples as a boilerplate. This library allows the Arduino to connect to a WiFi network via the RN-XV module. We then connect to the Pusher service which will trigger an event when an SMS is received or a form button is clicked on a website. I used Pusher rather than a simple TCP server because I found it easier to debug and more stable, I also wanted to experiment with using Arduino and WebSockets.

In order to get the Arduino to connect to Pusher successfully, I forked krohling‘s ArduinoPusherClient (designed for the Ethernet shield) and modified it to work with the WiFlyHQ library. I also included the WiFlyHQ library in my repo for ease of use so you do not need to download them separately.

First things first, you will need to download my modified ArduinoPusherClient library and place it in your Arduino library directory. Then we can dive right in to the sketch, just start out by opening up a new file in the Arduino IDE and add the following code:

#include <WiFlyHQ.h>
#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include <PusherClient.h>
 
const char mySSID[] = "my$ssid"; //use $ to represent spaces in your ssid or passphrase
const char myPassword[] = "my$pass$phrase";
 
const char pusherKey[] = "abc123";
 
PusherClient client;
 
SoftwareSerial wifiSerial(2,3); //we will use these pins for debug output
 
int poweroutlet = 12; //pinout for the powerswitch
 
int led = 13; //status indicator led
 
WiFly wifly;
 
void setup() {
//initialize our digital pinouts
pinMode(poweroutlet, OUTPUT);
pinMode(led, OUTPUT);
 
//turn off the poweroutlet and led starting out
digitalWrite(poweroutlet, LOW);
digitalWrite(led, LOW);
wifiSerial.begin(57600);
 
Serial.begin(9600);
if (!wifly.begin(&Serial, &wifiSerial)) { //start up the serial connection to our wifi, tell the WiFlyHQ lib to use our softwareserial for debug
wifiSerial.println(F("Failed to start wifly"));
wifly.terminal(); //if the wifly fails to start, give us access to a direct serial terminal to the RN-XV
}
//paste next block of code here
}
//paste loop function here

 
The beginning of this sketch is straightforward – we initialize our output pins for the PowerSwitch and our status LED, and we initialize our WiFly to ready it for instructions. I am using SoftwareSerial as a workaround to get debug output while the RN-XV occupies the hardware Serial pins (0/1) that the Arduino normally uses for debug output. You will need to put in your WiFi credentials and Pusher API key in the defines at the top of this sketch. Next you can go ahead and add the following code to the end of our setup() function. This snippet joins a WiFi network and then connects to pusher, subscribing to our robot_channel channel. It then binds to the powersms event which will be triggered upon receiving an SMS.

//paste next block of code here
if (!wifly.isAssociated()) { //check to see if we are already associated with the network before connecting
wifiSerial.println(F("Joining network"));
if (wifly.join(mySSID, myPassword, true)) { //using the true flag at the end of wifly.join indicates that we are using WPA
wifly.save();
wifiSerial.println(F("Joined wifi network"));
}
else {
wifiSerial.println(F("Failed to join wifi network"));
wifly.terminal();
}
}
else { //if we are already associated with the network
wifiSerial.println(F("Already joined network"));
}
client.setClient(wifly); //initialize the pusher client with our
if(client.connect(pusherKey)) { //connect to our pusher account
client.bind("powersms", powerSwitch); //bind the powersms event to the powerSwitch callback function
client.subscribe("robot_channel"); //subscribe to our pusher channel
}
else { //if we fail to connect, just loop
while(1) {
}
}

 
Our setup() function was the most complex part of our sketch, in fact our loop simply monitors the incoming TCP requests for events and then turns on the LED if we have a successful connection:

//paste loop function here
void loop() {
if (client.connected()) {
digitalWrite(led,HIGH);
client.monitor();
}
 
}
//paste powerSwitch function here

 
All that is left now is to add our powerSwitch() callback function, which receives event data from Pusher and responds by turning on or off our power outlet. You will note that we are using a PusherClient function called parseMessageMember – this is an extremely basic parser for the JSON event data being sent along by Pusher. There is an Arduino JSON library but it was exceedingly complex for this application. In the following function we are taking the data string and retrieving the command parameter from it, which is what tells us whether to turn the outlet on or off – in a production example, you will likely want to implement some sort of security check here so that you make sure only verified users are controlling your device:
 

//paste powerSwitch function here
void powerSwitch(String data) {
String cmd = client.parseMessageMember("command", data);
wifiSerial.print("Command: ");
wifiSerial.println(cmd);
 
if (cmd == "on") {
digitalWrite(poweroutlet,HIGH);
}
else {
digitalWrite(poweroutlet,LOW);
}
 
}

 
You can now upload your sketch to the Arduino using the included USB cable (plug the fat end into the Arduino and the USB end into your computer) and then plug in the RN-XV module if you have not done so already! You can find the full sketch file here for reference.

(Optional): In order to get debug output from your FTDI cable via SoftwareSerial, you will need to install the FTDI Drivers first. You will want the VCP version of the drivers.

The Server

The server is a very basic application written in Ruby using Sinatra and hosted on Heroku. The first thing to do is set up basic configuration with our Gemfile and Procfile:

source :rubygems
gem 'sinatra'
gem 'pusher'
gem 'twilio-ruby'

web: bundle exec ruby twilio-power-outlet.rb -p $PORT

Now you can go ahead and create twilio-power-outlet.rb and add the following code:

require 'sinatra'
require 'twilio-ruby'
require 'pusher'
 
configure do
Pusher.app_id = ENV['PUSHER_APP_ID']
Pusher.key = ENV['PUSHER_KEY']
Pusher.secret = ENV['PUSHER_SECRET']
end

 
In this snippet we are setting up our Pusher configuration variables and including necessary gems. We will set up the environment variables later when we push to Heroku. Next we can go ahead and set up our ‘/control/’ route, which receives incoming SMS or form submissions from our basic web page. You’ll notice that we output errors to TwiML SMS or web depending on how your request was submitted.
 

post '/control/?' do
output = "Message transmitted" #sms/html output message
#try to trigger a pusher event based on the Body of the incoming SMS or submitted form
begin
Pusher['robot_channel'].trigger('powersms', {:command => params['Body'].downcase})
rescue Pusher::Error => e
output = "Failed: #{e.message}"
end
#if the web form was submitted, render our erb template
if params['SmsSid'] == nil
erb :index, :locals => {:msg => output}
else
#otherwise return TwiML to send an SMS
response = Twilio::TwiML::Response.new do |r|
r.Sms output
end
response.text
end
end

Last but not least, we need to define our index route, which displays our index.erb template containing a form to control the power outlet from the web:

get '/' do
erb :index, :locals => {:msg => "Control the Outlet"}
end

Once your twilio-power-outlet.rb file is completed (check it against the complete example here) you can create a views directory and set up our index.erb file, which displays a form to control the power outlet from the web:

<h1><%= msg %></h1>
<form action="/control/" method="POST">
<select name="Body">
<option value="on">Turn On</option>
<option value="off">Turn Off</option>
</select>
<br /><input type="submit" />
</form>

 
Now that our scripts are complete, we can retrieve our Pusher account credentials, set up our Twilio number, and push our app to Heroku. First things first, you will need to install the Heroku Toolbelt, which includes git and heroku. If you have never used Heroku before, I recommend checking out Heroku’s Getting Started document that shows you how to set up an account and log in for the first time.

Once you have that installed and set up, you can execute the following commands to add your files to a new git repository:

git init
git add .
git commit -am "Initial commit"

Then you can run these commands to create a new Heroku application and push your code to the server:

heroku create --stack cedar
git push heroku master

 
When your git push is finished executing, you should see a line similar to this: “http://blazing-galaxy-997.herokuapp.com deployed to Heroku” – that gives you the URL of your new Heroku application.
Take this URL, add /control/ to the end, and enter it into the SMS Callback URL for your Twilio phone number.

If you are brand new to Twilio I recommend watching our SMS Quickstart Screencast which shows you how to buy a number for the first time.
 

Set Up Your Twilio Phone Number

Next you can head over to your Pusher dashboard and get your API Access Key. If you have not used Pusher before, you can sign up at pusher.com. Note: Never share your API credentials (I changed mine after taking this screenshot, don’t worry)

Pusher API Access Dashboard

And last but not least you need to set up some Heroku environment variables. First, you should go back to your Arduino sketch and update your pusherKey variable with the information from your Pusher dashboard.

Then take the app id, key, and secret from Pusher and replace where necessary in the following shell commands, then run them from your Terminal:

heroku config:add PUSHER_APP_ID=12345
heroku config:add PUSHER_KEY=abc123456789
heroku config:add PUSHER_SECRET=abc123456789

Your output should be similar to this: “Setting config vars and restarting twiliopoweroutlet… done”

Now you should be all set to go. You can head over to your Heroku URL and should see the form to turn your Arduino on and off. If you’re curious about whether the Arduino is actually connecting to Pusher, you can use your Serial Monitor for debug information or use the Pusher Debug console for information on their end.

Optional: Debugging with your FTDI Cable

As I mentioned throughout the tutorial, you can use your FTDI cable as an alternate Serial port to get debugging output from your Arduino. In order to do this, you will need to follow the optional wiring steps above, and then plug the USB end of the FTDI cable into your computer after installing the FTDI USB driver. To see the output, have your Arduino plugged into your computer via both the included USB cable (for downloading sketches) and the FTDI cable. Then, when you are in your Arduino IDE (the Arduino should be on), go to the Tools menu, then the Serial Port submenu, and select /dev/tty.usbserial-##### – this is the FTDI USB port.

Then, under the Tools menu select Serial Monitor. On the bottom of this window, where it says 9600 baud by default, change it so that 57600 baud is selected.

Then, when you restart your Arduino you should start seeing debug output! Note that if you need to download an updated sketch, you will need to change the selected Serial Port under the Tools menu back to tty.usbmodem### (uploader) instead of tty.usbserial (debugger) before attempting to upload your sketch. You may also need to remove the RN-XV or flip the small switch on the Wireless SD shield from Micro to USB in order to upload a new sketch onto your board.

You can find the full source for this project on GitHub at jonmarkgo/TwilioPowerOutlet and the required libraries at jonmarkgo/ArduinoPusherClient. I’d like to see you go out and build your own home automation solutions using Twilio and Arduino!

If you have any questions, feedback, or angry rants about how your robot burned your morning toast please feel free to Tweet @jonmarkgo or e-mail me at jonmarkgo@twilio.com

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