Hockey Goal Light and Phillips Hue

[remeng]

Hi all;

First off I am absolutely not a programmer, but someone that dabbles a little in it every now and again. I've been looking all over the internet for a way to simulate a goal light with my Phillips Hue lights. Unfortunately, the automated systems that use RSS are way too delayed (like by 15 to 30 minutes some times). I have looked at the IFTTT program which links to ESPN as well with little satisfaction from the results. The delay is also very long between a goal and the feed being updated.

Here are the objectives of the project:

A) When I press a Widget on my Android phone the following occurs:

1 - The program contacts the Hue's bulbs and gathers the color and brightness status of each and saves them as preset pre-goal settings
2 - (There are 4 lights in a ceiling fan) A loop function starts in which Light 1 & 3 = Red On to 100% and Light 2 & 4 = White On to 100%
3 - Time = 3 sec passes before the next action
4 - Light 1 & 3 = White On to 100% and Light 2 & 4 = Red On to 100%
5 - Time = 3 sec passes before the next action
6 - repeat steps 2 thru 5 a total of 5 times (5 cycles)
7 - Set lights back to Preset settings
8 - End Code

B) A hockey goal horn sound files is played then stops

Potential Expansion Issues:

While my system is setup with 4 lights now, I may add bulbs later on. Is it possible to have a basic user interface to control the two different groups? For instance Group A = bulbs 1 & 3 while Group B = bulbs 2 & 4


Resource documentation:
Here is a Link to the Phillips Hue Tool kit.

Here is the Link to the Java Multi-Platform and Android SDK tool kit.

I have never used Java before and my computer isn't setup with software yet for this project.

1st - what software package should I get for this little coding project?
2nd - Where should I start? What should I look at first so that I can go down a good starting path?

I know that for a novice this is going to be a big project since it is programming, user interface, and automation all in one. I want to thank you for the assistance up front.

Mike

 

[xwb]

Get the JDK from

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

You will need some form of editor/IDE. Loads to choose from - everyone has their own personal favourite: some like editors, some like IDEs, some like both. For something simple, try geany or notepad++. If you want something fancier try eclipse or netbeans

As for your second question - try something simple to start: these are one off programs, a bit like prototyping. Once you have them, you can use them for reference when you build your final project. Also, they are useful for little experiments when things go wrong. Do it in pigeon steps.

1) can you get a "hello world" going
2) Try switching on one bulb, leave it on for 5s and then switch it off
3) Try playing a sound