Have you ever stuck an Arduino in a hard to get place such as under the house and then realised that you want to upload a firmware revision? This can be a very frustrating situation, however, with the simple addition of a Bluetooth module it is possible to avoid this problem. Amazingly it is possible to program an Arduino over Bluetooth. For added flexibility there is even an Android app, “Bluino Loader” which allows you to upload a sketch to an Arduino from your smartphone. For step by step details of how this is possible, checkout the following link.
If you are looking for an easy way to add Bluetooth connectivity to your Arduino why not check out the Freetronics Bluetooth Shield?
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Inspired to start work on this project? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
It is already possible to easily control devices in your house using an app on your phone, but what if you could turn on the lights or open the blinds with a simple movement of your hands? This is exactly what Joaquim has done using an MYO gesture control armband.
Joaquim has explained his project in great detail, but the results certainly have to been seen to be believed. To find out more check out the following link.
Fundamental to almost all home automation project is the ability to connect devices to Wifi. If you are wondering how to connect your Arduino to Wifi, why not checkout the Freetronics ESP-01 WiFi Module shield for Arduino. The shield has a socket that’s perfect for the ESP-01 module (a very common and cheap wifi module), and addresses all the needs of the ESP8266 including supplying the correct power and connections to your Arduino. Don’t fiddle with jumper wires or sub-standard power supplies – order your Freetronics ESP-01 WiFi Module Shield today! They’re in stock right now for only $14.
Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!
Inspired to start work on this project? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
Surface mount parts can be so small that assembling surface mount projects can seem like magic! However, nowadays with the increasing prevalence of surface-mount technology (SMT) knowing how to put SMT projects together has become an increasingly important skill. Luckily Freetronics have put together a great tutorial to help you get started with SMT assembly. To get started assembling your own SMT boards in no time checkout the following link.
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Inspired to start work on this project? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
At SuperHouse we take great joy in seeing the amazing projects that our followers put together. We are starting a new “project showcase” blog segment, not only so we can see all the cool projects that our followers create but also so that we can share these awesome projects with the rest of the world, and use them to inspire others to make their own projects!
Our first showcase project is from Keiran who has started building his own home automation system. Keiran currently uses his system to control the fountains and lights in his pool and some of the lights in his house. He also has been working on using MQTT to interact between Arduino and Home Assistant running on a Raspberry Pi. Keiran has lots of ideas to keep adding to his system including motion activated lights and a power monitoring system. If you want to find out more about Keiran’s project you can read about his progress on the Freetronics forum.
Thanks to Keiran for sharing his awesome project with us. If you would like us to feature your project in our blog please get in contact with us on either Facebook or Twitter.
Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!
Inspired to start work on this project? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
Bursts of bad weather keep flooding the bottom of our garden, so I need to “pause” the Automower. I can’t send commands to it directly (yet) so I need another solution. I’ve connected a Belkin WeMo WiFi power controller to the base station, so that I can use my phone to disable the mower without splashing around in the rain.
If you are getting bored of your current clock why not have a shot at making your own? Barzok has put together a great tutorial explaining how you can use a number of small LED matrix to build your own professional looking clock. Although the time display looks fabulous, it is the Arduino and real time clock module found inside which are responsible for ensuring the correct time is displayed. If you like the look of this project check out the following link to find out more.
If you are looking for a real-time clock module to complete this project (or any other project which requires precise timing) checkout the Freetronics Maxim DS3232 real-time clock IC module.
Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!
Inspired to start work on this project? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
One difficulty facing hobbyists who undertake home automation projects, is finding a common platform to centrally control all aspects of their smart home. Justin Unterreiner has attempted to solve this problem with his smart home dashboard.
The project uses a Raspberry Pi and a Touch screen to run a customizable interface to control different smart devices. To find out more about this project check out the following link.
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Have you been reading about cool projects like this and would like to understand more? Checkout the Freetronics Experimenter’s Kit for Arduino.
Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!
Inspired to start work on this project?
Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
The Husqvarna Automower relies on a boundary wire to tell the mower when it needs to stop and turn around. This is *really* important if you have a drop-off in your garden, like I do at the moment! If the mower can’t detect the boundary, it could drive itself right over a tiny cliff, or into a pond, or something dangerous like that. So what happens if the power fails while the mower is operating, and the boundary wire stops working? Let’s try it and see what happens!
Undetected gas leaks can have extremely nasty consequences. Unlike a leaking tap, a gas leak can be at risk of explosion and in the case of carbon monoxide, poisoning and even possibly death. One way to avoid these consequences is to acquire a gas detector, or even better make your own! This is exactly what Stefan G has done using a Particle Photon, gas detector and a buzzer. To find out more about this project and to learn how you can make your own gas detector checkout this following link.
If you’re looking for a buzzer module to use in this project check out the Freetronics sound and buzzer module.
Although you can use the sound and buzzer module to generate sounds, it can also be used as a knock-detector input to sense events and react to them. This means it is perfect for this project! For more information and to order, please visit the product page.
Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!
Inspired to start work on this project? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
One of the great things about the Arduino is the ability to expand your board using shields which provide all sorts of additional capabilities. Interestingly, you can even “stack” shields so that you can have lots of different combinations of added features. Whilst it might look easy to simply stack shields together, not every combination of shields can be stacked together and there are a number of complications that should be considered. Fortunately our friends at Freetronics have put together a great tutorial which explains the ins and outs of stacking Arduino shields. This tutorial should provide you with really useful information if you have been stacking Arduino shields in your home automation projects. Checkout the following link to find out more.
Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!
Have you successfully stacked shields in the past? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
