Published April 7, 2017 © GPL3+

Project Using the mcPlug for IoT Applications!

Using MQTT, Losant, IFTTT and the mcThings IoT platform to create feasible and real IoT automation solutions with the mcPlug.

BeginnerFull instructions provided30 minutes1,338

Things used in this project

Hardware components

mcThings mcPlug

A relay with an embedded mcModule120 that allows you to provide power to a 'plugged in' device/appliance/etc!

mcThings mcModule120 Dev Kit

We recommend a kit for this example so that you have multiple modules to gather information from (Not required but you will need at least one mcModule, one mcGateway and an mcDongle)

mcThings mcMod120 Module

You'll need at least one mcModule120 for this project

mcThings mcGateway110

You'll need an mcGateway for this project

mcThings mcDongle

You'll need one of these to complete your firmware updates! Be sure to update your firmware to the latest versions before starting

Software apps and online services

mcThings mcStudio

IDE for programming mcThings gear

Losant Platform

Comprehensive IoT cloud application

IFTTT Maker service

Used if you wish to send the information to another service using IFTTT

MQTT

Story

Using the mcPlug and mcThings Platform in Tandem

In this project, we're going to show you how easy the mcPlug and the mcThings platform is to create feasible, realistic, scalable and automated IoT solutions. For this example, we'll use a mcModule120 to check a temperature, and if it is too hot, it then sends a message to tell the mcPlug to turn on a fan! We'll be using Losant as our MQTT broker and also using IFTTT!

Use-Cases?

Using the mcPlug along with the rest of the mcThings platform gives the ability to create countless IoT solutions. Because you can use the mcModule to relay the temperature information, you can place the device anywhere due to the battery!

Smart Greenhouse - Automate a greenhouse or other temperature sensitive environment by controlling devices/appliances automatically with variables measured by other mcThings devices.

Agriculture/industrial - Powers water heaters, pumps, etc automatically based on any other variable you wish to measure.

Retail - Provides power to lights/displays/etc automatically based on other variables.

Home Automation - Wirelessly and automatically provides power to house appliances, holiday lights, Christmas tree, that neon bar sign that your wife hates, lamps, blenders, fans, etc.

The possibilities are endless!

How the Platform Works:

The mcThings platform includes 2 main components: mcModules and mcGateways. A powered and connected mcGateway creates the mcAir network (up to 200m range under optimal conditions) and bridges the information between the mcModules (within range) to and from the Internet. Using the IDE (mcStudio) and mcScript (ultra-low power programming language - a subset of VB.NET) allows you to wirelessly connect, debug, and program modules with your customized scripts.

Note - You also require a mcDongle to complete firmware updates on the modules/devices and gateways! We recommend looking at the mcModule120 Dev kit which includes everything you need to get going!

How the mcThings platform works

Programming the Plug and mcModule120

We programmed the mcModule120 to check the temperature every 30 seconds. If the temperature was over 25C, it then publishes a topic to Losant. Using the below workflow, another topic was published which allowed the mcPlug to provide power to the fan! If the temperature was below 25C, the plug would then turn off the fan.

See the code at the end of this project for both the mcModule and the mcPlug.

Setting Up a Workflow in Losant

We setup a workflow that received the incoming MQTT topic and then relayed an outgoing topic which provided power to the fan via the mcPlug.

*Check out the walk-through on connecting the mcThings platform to Losant's application. We also have examples in our other projects (including video!)*.

The topic on the right is the incoming topic from the mcModule

We also wanted to use the Losant 'Go' smartphone app, so we added a device to the workflow, selected the Losant Button, and then setup the device and the application. We also added a virtual button that allows you to activate the workflow directly from the workflow screen.

Setting up the Losant Button to use the phone app

Now you can turn on or off anything from anywhere using MQTT

You could also capture data on how often and how long the fan, appliance, device, etc. is running or not, as well as visualize that data using the Losant application.

Using IFTTT

Within the below code, we included a line so you can publish to the IFTTT service.

Lplan.IFTTT("YOURIFTTKEYHERE", "FanOn")

You could track the usage within a google spreadsheet, send a notification to your phone, or use any of the tons of IFTTT applets that are available!

Thanks for Reading!

The mcThings IoT hardware platform is perfect for creating real commercialized IoT solutions that are feasible, ultra-low power, scalable and battery powered to be placed anywhere.

We'd love to hear your ideas for other use-cases for the mcPlug and the mcThings platform in general!

Please become a member of our hub here on Hackster to stay up-to-date with new projects! We've got plenty more to come.

Thanks!

Code

Class FanTempSubscribe
    Shared Event Boot()
        Lplan.SetMidPowerMode(1)
        Lplan.Subscribe("mcThings/FanOn")
        Lplan.Subscribe("mcThings/FanOff")
    End Event
    Shared Event SubscriptionDelivery()
        Dim msg As Message = Lplan.GetDelivery()
        If msg.Topic= "mcThings/FanOn" Then
            Relay = True
        ElseIf msg.Topic= "mcThings/FanOff" Then
            Relay = False
        End If
    End Event
End Class

Class FanTempPublish
    
    'Set a constant MQTT topic
    Const mcPlugOn As String = "mcThings/PlugOn"
    Const mcPlugOff As String = "mcThings/PlugOff"
    
    'Optional to set module to mid-power mode if you wish
    'Shared Event Boot()
    '    Lplan.SetMidPowerMode(2)
    'End Event
    
    'Check temperature every XX seconds/minutes/days
    Shared Event CheckTemp() RaiseEvent Every 30 Seconds
        Dim TempC As Float = TempSensor.GetTemp
        Dim TempF As Float = TempSensor.ToFarenheit(TempC)
        'program logic for IFTTT and MQTT topic publish  
        If TempC > 25.0 Then
            LedRed = True
            Lplan.IFTTT("YOURIFTTKEYHERE", "FanOn")
            Dim payloadOn As ListOfByte = New ListOfByte()
            payloadOn.Add(1)
            'publish topic to MQTT broker
            Lplan.Publish(mcPlugOn, payloadOn)
            LedRed = False
        ElseIf TempC < 24.99 Then
            LedGreen = True
            Lplan.IFTTT("YOURIFTTTKEYHERE", "FanOff")
            Dim payloadOff As ListOfByte = New ListOfByte()
            payloadOff.Add(1)
            'publish topic to MQTT broker
            Lplan.Publish(mcPlugOff, payloadOff)
            LedGreen = False
        Else   
        End If
    End Event
End Class

Credits

mcThings

17 projects • 70 followers

Use mcThings to quickly & easily create, test and deploy IoT solutions for industrial, business/commercial and individual needs!

Project Using the mcPlug for IoT Applications!

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

Using the mcPlug and mcThings Platform in Tandem

Use-Cases?

How the Platform Works:

Programming the Plug and mcModule120

Setting Up a Workflow in Losant

Using IFTTT

Thanks for Reading!

Schematics

mcMod120 brief

Code

mcPlug Subscribe code

mcModule MQTT and IFTTT publish

Credits

mcThings

Comments

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Project Using the mcPlug for IoT Applications!

Project Using the mcPlug for IoT Applications!

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Story

Using the mcPlug and mcThings Platform in Tandem

Use-Cases?

How the Platform Works:

Programming the Plug and mcModule120

Setting Up a Workflow in Losant

Using IFTTT

Thanks for Reading!

Schematics

mcMod120 brief

Code

mcPlug Subscribe code

mcModule MQTT and IFTTT publish

Credits

mcThings

Comments

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