One platform, different automation tasks
Zigmation explored the idea of a reusable device platform that could be programmed for different environments. The historical description uses gardening, irrigation, lighting and room monitoring as examples of the needs such a platform could address. Those are application examples in the original concept, rather than a verified record of deployments in each setting.
The mainboard and its interfaces
We approached the platform as a combination of embedded software and practical hardware connections. The recovered specification lists Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, 1-Wire, CAN bus and power-line communication alongside relay control, ADC inputs and opto-isolated inputs. Storage, display options, programmable buttons and an Arduino header were also documented.
The board-interface artwork is valuable because it makes the integration intent visible. It shows the relationship between communication, inputs, outputs and the controls available to an application.
Original Zigmation board-interface design illustration. This is design documentation, not a claim of current product specification.
Embedded programming and connected probes
The source identifies Microsoft Micro Framework as the programming interface and describes the mainboard communicating with probes over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or a wired connection. The aim was to support useful automation without making each application start from an unrelated hardware platform.
This is an example of our interest in connecting software architecture with physical interfaces: decide which behaviour belongs in code, which signals the hardware must expose and how the application will communicate with the device.
From technical layout to product concepts
The archive contains enclosure concepts alongside the system diagrams. Those assets show that the work considered how a programmable board could become an understandable product, not just an electronics exercise.
The original page describes beta-stage material. We preserve that development context rather than presenting the concepts as a currently supplied or certified device.
The challenge
The project aimed to make an automation platform reusable across different tasks, reducing the need for a separate hardware design or collection of extension boards for every application.
The approach
We designed around a programmable mainboard, connected probes and multiple interfaces. The archive documents Microsoft Micro Framework, wireless and wired communication, relay control, sensor inputs, storage and enclosure concepts.
The contribution
The recovered system diagrams, board-interface artwork and enclosure concepts document a historical prototype/beta project. They show the integration approach, while leaving final product availability and deployment scale unconfirmed.
