⭠

THE SMARTDORM PROJECT

12 microcontrollers networked over WiFi with an internet backend and lots of custom electronics and code come together to create a fully integrated smart college dorm room.

PROJECT FEATURES

IOT Devices
Google Assistant Integration
MQTT

THE SMARTDORM PROJECT

12 microcontrollers networked over WiFi with an internet backend and lots of custom electronics and code come together to create a fully integrated smart college dorm room.

PROJECT FEATURES

IOT Devices
Google Assistant Integration
MQTT
Worlds Smartest Dorm Room
I've long been interested in SmartHome products, but commercially available devices all suffer from the same problems: they're too expensive, they lack integration with devices of other brands, and scheduling/automation functionality varies wildly from product to product. So, like any engineer, I resolved to build a system from the ground up that would suit my needs in my Sophomore year dorm room.

DESIGN GOALS

01 
AUTOMATED
As many tasks as possible should be taken off my hands.
02 
TEMPORARY
Can't lose my security deposit.
03 
CHEAP
Make it work on a college student's budget.

HEXLIGHTS

Music reactive LED backlit paneling, you can read more about here.

SMART LIGHTS

With an ESP8266, a servo, and a 3D printed mount my lights could be switched on or off from anywhere.

SMART BLINDS

Using a stepper motor and driver for precise position control, along with another ESP8266 and 3D printed enclosure meant that my blinds were integrated as well.

ADAFRUIT IO

All the devices were added to a web dashboard through Adafruit IO, a third party MQTT service.

IFTTT

Integration with Google Assistant was done through IFTTT applets, which allow calls to the MQTT server when defined commands are given to my Google Home.

RASPBERRY PI DASHBOARD

When it wasn't hooked up to my laptop, my second monitor served as a permanent dashboard displaying calendar events, weather, and sports scores using MagicMirror2 on a Raspberry Pi 3B. The Raspberry Pi also ran scheduling, executing Python scripts at set times through the Cron Daemon.

Want to Learn More?
Contact Me