Introduction

Virtual devices help to extend the functionalities of the Ampio system by transmitting messages from other types of devices (eg. ZigBee modules).

Configuration in Ampio Designer

To add a virtual device to the project, select the + icon shown in the right-hand side of the DEVICES table.

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Assign the MAC address according to the device you wish to support. Select the functionalities and their number one by one, then press Add.

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Conditions

Conditions are created in the LOGIC tab. From the list of devices in the TRIGGERS column, select the device created in the previous step and create a condition as for traditional modules.

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Example use of virtual devices

Adding a virtual device makes it possible, for example, to integrate with external temperature sensors using Node-RED.

In this section of the guide, you will learn how to send the temperature from an external sensor to the Ampio system’s CAN network using Node-RED and a virtual device created in Ampio Designer.

Requirements

• Temperature sensor providing an API to retrieve temperature values.
• Ampio installation with access to Node-RED. You can find a full tutorial on Node-RED here.

Configuration in Node-RED

1. Launch Node-RED and log into the interface.

2. Add a sensor reading:

   • Configure an input block that will take data from your temperature sensor.
   • If you do not have a physical sensor, you can use the Inject block to simulate a fixed measurement (e.g. 27°C).

3. Add the MQTT Out block:

   • Drag the mqtt out block to the work area and link it to the sensor reading block.

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4. Configure MQTT Out block:

   • Open the settings of the mqtt out block.
   • Select an existing MQTT configuration or create a new one with the details of the MQTT server used by the Ampio system.
   • In the Topic field, type: ampio/to/broadcast/<MAC>/t, where <MAC> is the MAC address selected for the virtual device (in hexadecimal format, between 000 and FFF). Make sure that this address is not already in use in your installation. In our example, we will use the address 030.
   • Click Done to save the settings.

5. Save and run flow:

   • Click Deploy to save and run the configuration.
   • Check in the Debug tab that the connection has been made and data is being sent correctly.

Use of readings in the Ampio system

Now that the sensor data is available in the system, you can use it in a variety of ways:

• Displaying the temperature on touch panels or in the mobile app.
• Controlling heating zones by adding the sensor as a data source for thermostats.
• Creation of automations that respond to temperature changes, such as triggering ventilation or notifications when certain thresholds are exceeded.
• Integration with other systems, using sensor data in more complex scenarios.

Configuration in the Smart Home Configurator*

To add a new virtual device, you have to start by running the Ampio Smart Home configurator.

Adding a virtual device

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Picking the type, MAC address and name

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After accepting, you can see the new device on the list.

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Conditions

You can create condition from the virtual device but not to the virtual device.

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For example, in the case of Z-Wave you can create a condition from slave inputs using the virtual device, but controlling outputs is done through the function tab of the M-CON-ZWAVE-s module.