Release Notes
- v1.3.0 (9/24/2022) - Added support for distance estimation for Eddystone-UID beacons. Added beacon type when listing beacons in app. Changed to log errors if cannot parse gateway data. Fixed to remove beacons that were detected but never added from app state. Now sets type on beacon device. Added debug logging statement to April Brother gateway.
- v1.2.0 (9/23/2022) - Added support for AltBeacon and Eddystone-UID beacons. Added auto processing of beacon advertised data by the app (makes building gateway drivers even easier). Now rssi and power available on beacon device, and distance estimated in feet for enhancing home automation with beacons.
- v1.1.0 - initial public release
Original Post
Hello Hubitat Community,
I created a new app and device driver that allows you to integrate BLE beacons with Hubitat using a BLE Gateway. I built this because I saw a handful of solutions out there, but I wanted something that would work with a commercially available product. The other solutions I saw required building devices with raspberry pis and writing code, and I figured that was too difficult for the non-developer Hubitat user. This app helps you add your beacons to your Hubitat Hub using Virtual Presence device drivers. From there, you can then build automations (e.g., using the Rule Machine) that trigger events to occur based upon the presence (or absence) of a beacon.
The app (with documentation) can be found here: GitHub - ajardolino3/hubitat-ble-gateway: BLE Gateway Manager App for Hubitat.
The current version of this app works with an April Brother BLE Gateway (v4), which runs around $40. The current version also supports iBeacons, only. However, I designed the app so the gateway itself is its own driver, with a specification so others can build other drivers that can be used with other gateways on the market. You can purchase the April Brother BLE Gateway here: AB BLE Gateway 4.0 – April Brother CO.,LTD
So far, this is working well. I have it to a point where its functional, so I made my repository public so I can share it with the community, and posting it here so people know it exists. My hope is that other developers will help me improve upon this, either by building support for additional gateways or other beacon types. I am open to suggestions and improvements, just let me know. I definitely want to make this work with the Hubitat package manager, so I hope to do that in the near future, but have provided documentation on how to install and configure as it is today in the README.md section of the repository.
As far as my use case, I wanted my garage doors to automatically open/close based upon the presence of our vehicles. Since we have separate garage doors for each vehicle, using the presence of our phone is not appropriate, since its the vehicle arriving or departing that should drive the opening and/or closing of the garage door, not the person. My plan is to put a USB RadBeacon (iBeacon) in each vehicle, and use that to detect the presence of each vehicle. I will install the gateway in the garage so that it can detect the beacons as the vehicles approach the garage doors. From there, I can then use the Rule Machine to automate the opening/closing of the garage doors. (I am using a Meross garage door automation device.)
Hope you enjoy. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please let me know.