Subject
5 entries
Home Automation
Bookmarks
Smart Home Components: A Systems Engineer's Setup
Michael Stapelberg's deep-dive into his home automation setup — a systems engineer's perspective on choosing components for a local-first, open smart home without cloud dependencies. Covers protocols, hubs, and the tradeoffs between ecosystems.
Portable Python Projects: Home Automation on Raspberry Pi
A Pragmatic Programmers book teaching home automation with Raspberry Pi and Python — projects like smart lighting, temperature monitoring, and voice control, most completable in an hour. Bridges the gap between Python programming and physical home control without requiring electronics expertise.
DIY Home Automation Using Twilio, PowerSwitch, Arduino, and Pusher
A 2012 Twilio blog post showing how to build DIY home automation using Twilio for SMS control, an Arduino with PowerSwitch Tail relay for electrical switching, and Pusher for real-time status updates. An early blueprint for the hacker home automation pattern.
UC Berkeley Shuts Down Student's Ridiculously Automated Dorm Room
A UC Berkeley student wired his dorm room with automated lighting, temperature, music, and door controls — then got investigated by university officials and told to remove it. An early 2012 story of institutional friction with maker/hacker ingenuity in residential spaces.
Hack Your Housing: Berkeley Freshman's Ridiculously Automated Dorm Room
TechCrunch profile of a UC Berkeley freshman who wired his dorm room with sensors and scripts — including an 'Emergency Party' button — as an early consumer IoT project. A 2012 maker-culture story about students treating their environment as a hackable system.
