Learning what automations are
Generally speaking, an automation could be defined as a process that uses some kind of logic or intelligence to produce an action or output automatically depending on an input or event. In the context of the home, automation refers to using the information provided by input devices such as sensors and processing this information by verifying whether the data input meets some decision criteria. If this is the case, the Home Automation Server (or in our system, the Raspberry Pi with Home Assistant installed) sends a command or a data output to the actuators or other devices. Usually, the automation runs in an infinite loop, reading and analyzing the information and making the proper decision. When an automation is configured to operate without feedback or monitoring from the output actuators, it is referred to as having an open-loop configuration. Figure 5.1 shows a flowchart representation of a typical open-loop home automation.
