Laser Business Systems

Kwong Li

Laser will display some of the latest editions to their on-line home automation catalogue.  These include items like the new wireless version of the Barix Exstreamer network MP3 player.  Also the  AudioTron and the new (and exclusive to Laser ) Curtain Controller and variations

Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.laser.com

AV Compression

Mark Harrison

Mark will investigate the usefulness of current compression technologies in reducing the storage needs for whole-house audio and video servers.  He will use blind listening/watching tests and then publish results after the meet on how the various codecs (MP3, DivX etc) compare with the original source material.  Mark will be using high quality Meridian components during these tests.

Presentation - Saturday afternoon/evening (end of the day?)

Autom8it

Jim Brett

Jim Brett is launching V1.0 of his exciting new UK based Home Automation software at UKHA2003! He will be demonstrating the core features of AutoM8it along with key plugins.

Presentation - pm each day - Saturday & Sunday

Plus Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.autom8it.com/

FirM

Graham Howe 

Firstly FirM stands for Franks Infra Red Messenger . It was a project that came about after several posting on the UKHA_D list regarding zoned ir both tx and rx using HomeVision. I already had a homebrew zoned ir tx /rx system so I thought I would give it a go. After building and testing tx and rx prototypes the FirM Controller is the result ,an 8 zone tx and rx unit.

Presentation - each day - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.users.bigpond.com/armagh/page19.html

Harmony v3.0

Darryl Mattocks

Harmony is a PC software system that allows you to control many different aspects of your home from a single, easy to use interface. Using the web to interface into the system, it truly does allow you to sit on the beach in the Bahamas and look around your home using our surveillance products and switch devices on or off using your web enabled phone whilst sipping your martini. Rewritten with integral web server V3 now includes integrated VBA for very powerful macros for X10 devices, plus integrated CCTV functions 

Presentation - each day - Saturday & Sunday

Plus Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.simplyautomate.com

Home Automator

Graham Howe 

The free software that interfaces your touch screen controller (eg iPAQ, Epods etc) to HomeVision.  Demonstrated by Graham Howe, who in co-operation with Andy Powell has been working on this software for over a year now.

Presentation - each day - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.homeautomator.co.uk

HomeVision 

Ken Watt

Ken Watt shows off HomeVision - the long-term favourite stand alone HA Controller of the UKHA community. He will be demonstrating the differences between the LD11 and the lamp modules and also hooking up a PIR to it to give the basics on occupancy detection.

So if you are considering buying one of these mini-marvels (or the recently announced Pro version) and you want an overview or a play with the real thing first now's your chance.

Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.csi3.com

INTAMAC

Scott Crowther

Intamac will be demonstrating their monitoring service using a Visonic Powermax and controlling X10 devices over the phone.

Scott will also be announcing some important new developments with Intamac's products and services.

Presentation - pm each day - Saturday & Sunday

Plus Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.intamac.com/

KAT5 

Keith Doxey

The annual report on the progress of the KAT5 range of products.  Development news on the Mark2 modules which include IR and the latest news on how the switcher prototype is shaping up.

Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.kat5.tv

Roomba

Mark Harrison 

The recently introduced Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner caused a storm with its break through pricing.  Mark Harrison brings one of the little critters along to the meet to demonstrate the effectiveness of one of the most wife-friendly pieces of home automation technology yet!

Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.roombavac.com/

Mark Harrison, Patrick Lidstone, Kevin Hawkins, and Stuart Poulton

xAP is an open protocol intended to support the integration of telemetry and control devices primarily within the home - it is the glue that supports the interconnectivity of Home Automation devices.

For installers and end-users, several members of the xAP team will be demonstrating how use the xAP protcol makes it easy to integrate such diverse systems as Comfort, X-10, various MP3 players (Exstreamer, SliMP3), laptops, a variety of screens and output devices and hi-fi components.

For programmers, we will also be running a series of coding clinics showing how existing applications can be xAP-enabled in languages as diverse as C, VB and Perl on both the Windows and Linux platforms."

Presentation - pm each day - Saturday & Sunday (xAP for Home Automators)

Static Display - Saturday & Sunday (Coders Clinic)

http://www.xapautomation.org/

Xbox Media Player

Des Gibbons

The xbox has become so much more than a games console.  The open source "xbox media player" has turned it into a superb network DivX player, with support for VOB files, MP3s, JPGs etc etc all available to be played from your server straight to your telly.  Its GUI is perfect for TV and the affordable xbox IR remote makes it even easier to use.  With new versions constantly being released with enhanced and new features, the xbox is becoming a serious contender for the best (and cheapest) network whole house Audio and Video player.

Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.xboxmediaplayer.de

TiVo Upgrades

Paul Gordon

There will be a "TiVo Clinic" at the meet.  Bring your TiVo (if your family will let it out of the house!), and a big hard drive and let Paul and his team increase your recording capacity or fit your TurboNet card.  Please note no responsibility will be taken if your TiVo dies on the table! 

Available throughout both days - 1st come, 1st served

http://www.freeranger.co.uk/TiVo/HowTo.htm

HomeBrain

David Buckley - Electric Solutions Ltd

HomeBrain is the new Home Automation Controller for the new millennium, which will receive its first public viewing at UKHA2003. HomeBrain is a "box" controller, intended to be permanently installed, much as is an alarm system. HomeBrain breaks lineage with existing "box" controllers as it is open architecture (yes - you can write your own drivers), communicates via "bus" technologies, such as EIB (InstaBus), xAP/xPL, CBUS, RCS etc, using RS232 and RS485. It also has native Ethernet TCP/IP! There is no requirement (or benefit) for a PC running 24/7 to "assist" HomeBrain - it does it all for itself. (Note: Not all this stuff is completed yet, but hopefully it will be by May. There are lots of other features as well, some of them new, but best leave some surprises...)

Presentation - pm each day - Saturday & Sunday

Plus Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.homebrain.com

xAP Relay Controller, Irrigation Ideas & Soldering Workshop

This is development at the cutting edge (well, if not cutting then at least frustrating edge). We have the Mollyology.com relay board and the new prototype xAP powered controller. This controller uses a microprocessor and communicates with any application that can generate and send xAP messages. For the demonstration this will be a simple PC application. The controller has 8 open collector outputs for driving the relays and 8 switch style inputs.

There will also be an irrigation setup to give you all some ideas of ways to keep SWMBO happy. This can be controlled by the controller above. Finally there will be the opportunity to try some soldering. This will be making a relay board and there will be a discount if any are bought. You will not have to buy one to try soldering.

Static Display - Saturday & Sunday

http://www.mollyology.com

xPL

Ian Lowe

xPL is a home automation protocol, originally inspired by xAP, designed to bring together the many and diverse components of a home automation system. It supports both broadcast and targeted messages in a slim and light weight way to provide the home automator and systems developer the ideal method for gluing together any device or application, both locally and across the world into a single workable solution.

The Presentation will focus on the technical aspects of the xPL Protocol, and the various plans for future development.

http://www.wintermute-ltd.com/xpl/

Vivian Watts, Karam Karam, Peter Warriner

IDRATEK will be demonstrating for the first time in public their highly capable networked automation system. IDRATEK’s masterless networking infra-structure and a comprehensive set of low cost application modules allow a wide range of automation functions to be configured with ease. An associated audio network provides for vocal control, feedback and communication features. IDRATEK’s Windows based ‘Cortex’ application adds a powerful integration environment allowing a much more holistic approach to home automation and also enabling higher level user interface functions, including telephony, speech recognition and Internet connectivity.

Static Display and Presentations - Saturday & Sunday