Open Source Automation has been created with the sole purpose to make home automation available to everyone. Currently there are many home automation programs on the market, but they are all very expensive. This makes it difficult for the average user to set up a professional home automation system without taking out a second mortgage. On top of the cost, these programs are very restrictive. Users are forced to use only the hardware that is supported and without an open extendable architecture they are at the mercy of the software company to develop new interfaces.
The Open Source Automation project overcomes these two major problems with the home automation software industry. First and foremost, OSA is free and open source. Anyone with an internet connection can download, install and get up and running without spending a dime. Even more exciting is the open extendability of OSA. Anyone can use the open source API included with OSA to develop new plug-ins and expand the functionality of the system. With the openness and community focused vision the development of new and exciting plug-ins is sure to push the limits of the imagination.
This project is still in its infancy, but is being developed at a feverish pace and there are many exciting things on the horizon. be sure to check back soon for more information on this exciting project.
Want to contribute? Great! There are many ways to contribute.
Open Source Automation is built entirely on a plugin architecture. The best way to extend OSA's functionality is to create a plugin to support some new hardware or service. Plugins are relatively easy to create and there is a guide to creating one in the wiki.
If you are not of the programming persuasion another way you can contribute is to add and/or update the OSA documentation. The wiki contains a lot of good documentation, but can always use more to help out other users.
If there is some hardware that you would like to see OSA support, but you are not able to create a plugin for it yourself you can donate the hardware to a developer so they can create a plugin for it.