ESP8266_Blindmaster

This is server software which is installed on a ESP8266 (preferrably Feather HUZZAH) and which controls a motorized blind (or other bi-directional motor) over WiFi. As I used a Feather HUZZAH with a DC Motor FeatherWing, this code uses the corresponding Adafruit library (see below). It is of course possible to use some other motor controller.

Software

This firmware is flashed using the Arduino Core for ESP8266.

###Prerequisites The following software is absolutely necessary in order to compile this firmware in its current form. The WiFiManager could be excluded, but in that case WiFi credentials would have to be hardcoded.

• Arduino IDE 1.6.2 or higher
• ESP8266 Arduino Core (I suggest installing with Tools > Board > Boards manager: https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino )
• Adafruit Motor Shield V2 Library - Download and install in your Arduino/libraries folder (remove .github folder inside to suppress warning)
• WiFiManager - Great tool. If the ESP8266 is flashed with this and can't find a network to login to, it will enable WiFi-AP mode. It is then possible to connect to it and specify network/password. It is also possible to save other settings, see examples on their Github.

Hardware

This is all the hardware I used for the PoC. PSU, UBEC and motor may be exchanged for other items.

• Adafruit Feather HUZZAH with ESP8266 (PID: 2821) - No introduction required, I expect. This lovely little device is the magic brain WiFi thingy.
• Adafruit DC Motor FeatherWing (PID: 2927) - Will work for any 4.5-13.5 VDC bi-directional DC motor, and probably up to 4 motors (code only controls one)
• UBEC DC/DC Step-Down Converter - 5V - This little circuit can be used to transform 5-23 VDC into 5 VDC. I used one of these to provide power to the Feather HUZZAH, since it can not be powered from the FeatherWing.
• 12 VDC PSU - I used a 12V/1A power supply. It is connected directly to the FeatherWing, and also to the UBEC which in turn provides 5VDC to the Feather HUZZAH (over the USB/GND pins).
• Blind motor - Bofu ES1612 is suitable. But as long as you have the correct PSU, any 4.5-13.5 VDC motor will do.

Plans for the future

• Better UI - I'm not a web designer. The current design works (NEW! It scales!), but the UI could probably look better and scale better on mobiles.
• Sensor control - Automate the motor controller based on input from sensors, HTTP etc.
• ??? - Profit?