Connecting an ESP8266 to AWS IoT

During my day job I make a lot of use of Amazon Web Services. And because of this, I recently attended the AWS Summit in Amsterdam. Of course, a day like that can’t end without some tinkering …

MusiCubes:

The Software

Two weeks ago I finished up the electronics of the MusiCubes controller. So now it’s time to discuss the software side of things. Buckle up, and get ready for the long ride!

Automatic Curtains:

HomeKit Curtains

4 months ago I finished the last hardware part of my automatic curtains. And as mentioned in that post, the final step in finishing up this project, is developing an iPhone app. But let’s face it: using an App to control the curtains is simply too cumbersome. There must be a better way …

The MQTT Bug Hunt!

Now that I’ve got my home fully MQTT connected, it’s time to use the data I gather from my sensors. Since I’m a big Node.js lover, I wrote some scripts that handle the data and do some magic. Unfortunately I ran into an annoying bug …

HomeSensor:

Connecting my house to MQTT.

With the new hardware ready, I continue to rebuild my Home Sensor system. Last week I replaced the Raspbery Pi for an ESP8266, this week I’ll be working on the new protocol my Home Sensor will be using.

HomeSensor:

New brains for my Alarm

A little over 2 years ago I worked on a project in which I connected my alarm’s sensors to the web using my first Raspberry Pi. And while it still didn’t help me to lower the crime rate in my peaceful village, it turned out to be a very handy toy. Unfortunately, the system had some minor flaws, so it’s time to work on an improved solution.