Van_Brain

🧠 The Van Brain

Overview

The Van Brain is Smart Van’s local automation engine. It lets you define rules that run automatically in response to events — without any cloud service, without an internet connection, and without you touching the app. Rules follow a simple WHEN / AND / THEN structure: when a trigger fires, and all conditions are met, execute a set of actions.

Rules are evaluated locally on the device, using real-time HomeKit state as the source of truth.

Opening the Van Brain

From the Smart Van dashboard, tap the status indicator pill (top-right, e.g. “Live ⋯”) and select Van Brain Rules. The automation list opens as a sheet.

Each rule in the list shows its name, a count of triggers/conditions/actions, and an enable/disable toggle. Tap any rule to edit it. Swipe left to delete it. Tap + to create a new rule.

How Rules Evaluate

Triggers use OR logic — if you add multiple triggers to a rule, the rule fires when any one of them occurs. Think of triggers as the list of events that can “wake up” the rule.

Conditions use AND logic — all conditions must be true at the moment the trigger fires for the actions to execute. If any condition fails, the rule is silently skipped.

Actions all execute — when a rule fires and all conditions pass, every action in the list runs.

A rule with no conditions always runs when triggered. A rule with no triggers never runs (it can’t be saved that way).

Creating a Rule

Tap + on the Van Brain list, or tap Create New Rule from inside a Mode Configuration sheet (where the rule is pre-populated with the mode-change trigger for that mode). The automation editor opens.

Name — give the rule a meaningful name. Required to save.

Enable toggle — rules can be toggled on/off without deleting them.

Add Triggers (WHEN)

Tap Add Trigger. A type picker appears with five categories:

Trigger: Device Event

“When a specific device does something”

Select a device from the categorised picker (grouped by type: Lights, Power, Climate, Security, etc.). Once selected, the event picker adapts to what the device can do:

Contact/door sensor — “Opens” or “Closes”
Motion sensor — “Detects Motion” or “Stops Detecting”
Leak sensor — “Detects Leak” or “Stops Detecting”
Temperature sensor — “Rises above” / “Falls below” + a temperature value in °C
Humidity sensor — “Rises above” / “Falls below” + a humidity value in %
Light/switch/outlet — “Turns On” or “Turns Off”
Lock — “Secures” or “Unsecures”

For combined temperature + humidity sensors (e.g. a climate sensor that reports both), you choose which reading to use first.

Example: “When the Roof Vent sensor Opens…”

Trigger: Spot Mode

“When the van’s perimeter changes”

Toggle between:

“Spot Mode is Active” — fires when the perimeter anchor is set (i.e. you switch to any stationary mode)
“Spot Mode is Inactive” — fires when the perimeter anchor is released (i.e. you switch to Driving Mode)

Example: “When Spot Mode Activates…”

Trigger: Van Mode

“When a specific mode is selected”

Choose from any of your configured modes (system or custom).

Example: “When Mode changes to Sleep…”

Trigger: Time Event

“When a specific time occurs”

Three options:

Sunrise — fires at the actual sunrise time for your current location
Sunset — fires at the actual sunset time
Specific Time — opens a time picker (hours and minutes)

Example: “When the time is Sunset…”

Trigger: Weather

“When a weather condition crosses a threshold”

Choose a metric, a comparison, and a threshold value:

Metric — Precipitation Chance (%), Wind Speed, or Temperature
Comparison — Greater Than, Less Than, or Equal To
Threshold — a numeric value

Example: “When Precipitation Chance is Greater Than 70%…”

Add Conditions (AND)

Tap Add Condition. Three condition types are available:

Condition: Time Window

“Only if the current time is within a window”

Define a start and end event, each of which can be Sunrise, Sunset, or a specific time. The condition passes if the current time falls between them.

Example: ”…AND time is between Sunset and Sunrise (i.e. overnight)…”

Condition: Van Mode

“Only if the van is currently in a specific mode”

Choose a mode from the list. The condition passes if the van’s current mode matches.

Example: ”…AND Van Mode is Camped…”

Condition: Device State

“Only if a specific device is in a specific state”

The same device and state pickers as the Device Event trigger, but checking current state rather than change events. Available states depend on device type:

Contact/door sensors → Open / Closed
Motion sensors → Detected / Not Detected
Leak sensors → Detected / Not Detected
Temperature sensors → Is above / Is below + value
Humidity sensors → Is above / Is below + value
Lights/switches → On / Off
Locks → Secured / Unsecured

Example: ”…AND Sliding Door is Closed…”

Add Actions (THEN)

Tap Add Action. Three action types are available:

Action: Execute Scene

“Run a HomeKit scene”

Choose any HomeKit scene from the picker. When the action executes, all of the scene’s configured states are applied simultaneously to your HomeKit Home.

Example: ”…THEN Execute Scene: Goodnight”

Action: Control Device

“Set a specific device to a specific state”

Choose a device from the controllable device picker (lights, switches, outlets, locks, thermostats, fans, garage doors). Configure the target state:

Lights/switches/outlets/fans → On or Off. For lights set to On, you can additionally:
- Set Brightness (slider, 1–100%)
- Set Colour (preset colour circles: white, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green)
Locks → Secured or Unsecured
Thermostats/heater-coolers → Target Temperature in °C

Each device control is a separate action entry. If you want to turn a light on at 40% brightness in warm amber, that’s three actions: Turn On, Set Brightness 40%, Set Color (orange).

Example: ”…THEN Turn Off: Roof Fan”

Action: Send Notification

“Push an alert to your phone”

Fill in:

Title — the notification headline (e.g. “Van Alert”)
Message — the notification body text
Critical Alert toggle — if enabled, the notification uses iOS’s “Time Sensitive” interruption level, which breaks through Do Not Disturb

Example: ”…THEN Send Notification: ‘Rain on the way’ / ‘Close the roof vent.’”

Example Rules

Automatic arrival scene with time condition:

WHEN: Mode changes to Camped
AND: Time is between Sunset and Sunrise
THEN: Execute Scene “Evening Arrival”

This runs the arrival scene only when you park up at night. Park up in daylight and nothing changes automatically.

Roof vent auto-close warning:

WHEN: Precipitation Chance is Greater Than 60%
AND: Van Mode is Camped
THEN: Send Notification — “Close the roof vent! Rain expected.”

Lights on when door opens:

WHEN: Sliding Door sensor Opens
AND: Van Mode is Camped
THEN: Control Device “Kitchen Light” → On, Brightness 80%

Auto-sentry when you leave:

WHEN: Spot Mode Activates
AND: Time is between Sunset and Sunrise
THEN: Execute Scene “Night Sentry”

Managing Rules

Rules are shown in the Van Brain list sorted by most recently created. Each rule shows its name, trigger/condition/action count, and a toggle.

Enable/Disable: Use the toggle on each row to pause a rule without deleting it.

Edit: Tap any rule to open the editor and change any part of it.

Delete: Swipe left on any rule in the list and tap Delete, or use the delete option within the editor.

Van Brain Rules Linked to a Mode

When you open a Mode Configuration sheet (long-press any mode in the carousel), the Van Brain Rules section shows all rules whose triggers include “Mode changes to [this mode]”. You can toggle, edit, or create rules directly from there without needing to open the full Van Brain list.