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HomePOD - ESP32 Environmental Monitoring System

A comprehensive IoT sensor platform built on ESP32 for monitoring temperature, humidity, light levels, and ambient sound in your home or office. The system features ESP32 sensor nodes that transmit data to a central Raspberry Pi server with a 7-inch touchscreen display.

Features

  • Multi-Sensor Support: Temperature, humidity, light intensity, and audio level monitoring
  • WiFi Connectivity: Send sensor data from multiple ESP32 nodes to a Raspberry Pi server via HTTP
  • Centralized Dashboard: Raspberry Pi with 7-inch display running touch-friendly web interface
  • Multiple Device Support: Monitor sensors from different rooms on a single display
  • Real-Time Updates: Live sensor readings with 10-second auto-refresh
  • Data Logging: Automatic logging of all sensor readings
  • Modular Architecture: Separate firmware options for different sensor configurations
  • Arduino IDE Compatible: Easy to flash and modify

Hardware Requirements

ESP32 Sensor Nodes

  • ESP32-D Development Board (one or more)
  • 4MB Flash Memory
  • WiFi 2.4GHz capability

Raspberry Pi Display Server

  • Raspberry Pi 3B+ or 4
  • 7-inch HDMI touchscreen display
  • MicroSD card (16GB+)
  • Power supply

Sensors (per ESP32 node)

  • DHT22 - Temperature and Humidity Sensor (GPIO4)
  • BH1750 - Digital Light Sensor (I2C: SDA=GPIO21, SCL=GPIO22)
  • MAX4466 - Electret Microphone Amplifier (GPIO35)

Wiring Diagram

ESP32-D Connections:
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  GPIO4  ──────────── DHT22 (Data)  │
│  GPIO35 ──────────── MAX4466 (Out) │
│  GPIO21 ──────────── BH1750 (SDA)  │
│  GPIO22 ──────────── BH1750 (SCL)  │
│  3.3V   ──────────── Sensor VCC    │
│  GND    ──────────── Sensor GND    │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Software Requirements

Arduino IDE Libraries

Install these libraries via Arduino IDE Library Manager:

  1. DHT sensor library by Adafruit (v1.4.6+)
  2. Adafruit Unified Sensor by Adafruit (v1.1.14+)
  3. BH1750 by Christopher Laws (v1.3.0+)
  4. ArduinoJson by Benoit Blanchon (v6.21.0+) (for WiFi version only)

Raspberry Pi Display Server

  • Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye or later)
  • Python 3.x
  • Flask (pip3 install flask)
  • Chromium browser (for kiosk mode)

Available Firmware Options

1. Basic Sensor Firmware

File: HomePOD_Sensor_Firmware.ino

Standalone firmware that reads all sensors and outputs data to Serial Monitor. Perfect for testing and development.

Features:

  • All sensor support
  • Serial output every 2 seconds
  • No WiFi required

2. WiFi-Enabled Firmware

File: HomePOD_WiFi_Sensor_Firmware.ino

Full-featured firmware with WiFi connectivity to send data to a Raspberry Pi server.

Features:

  • All sensor support
  • WiFi connectivity
  • HTTP POST to Raspberry Pi
  • Auto-reconnect on WiFi disconnect
  • JSON data format
  • Sends data every 10 seconds

Setup Guide: See WIFI_SETUP_GUIDE.md

3. Environmental Node

File: HomePOD_Env_Node/HomePOD_Env_Node.ino

Specialized firmware focusing on temperature and humidity monitoring.

Features:

  • DHT22 sensor only
  • Optimized for environmental monitoring
  • Lower power consumption

4. Light Monitoring Node

File: HomePOD_Light_Node/HomePOD_Light_Node.ino

Dedicated light level monitoring with advanced features.

Features:

  • BH1750 sensor only
  • Light condition categorization (Dark, Dim, Normal, Bright, Very Bright)
  • Configurable measurement modes

Quick Start

1. Hardware Setup

  1. Connect sensors to ESP32 according to wiring diagram above
  2. Connect ESP32 to computer via USB

2. Software Installation

  1. Install Arduino IDE

  2. Add ESP32 board support:

    • Go to File → Preferences
    • Add to "Additional Board Manager URLs": 
      https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json
    • Go to Tools → Board → Boards Manager
    • Install "esp32 by Espressif Systems"

  3. Install required libraries (see Software Requirements above)

3. Upload Firmware

  1. Open desired .ino file in Arduino IDE
  2. Select Board: ESP32 Dev Module
  3. Select your COM Port
  4. Click Upload
  5. Open Serial Monitor at 115200 baud

4. For WiFi Version (Optional)

  1. Edit HomePOD_WiFi_Sensor_Firmware.ino:
    • Update WiFi SSID and password
    • Set Raspberry Pi IP address
  2. Set up Raspberry Pi server (see WIFI_SETUP_GUIDE.md)
  3. Upload firmware and monitor connection

Usage

Serial Monitor Output (Basic Firmware)

================================
   HomePOD Sensor Firmware
   ESP32-D Initialization
================================

I2C initialized on SDA=21, SCL=22
Initializing sensors...
  [OK] Microphone on GPIO35
  [OK] DHT sensor on GPIO4
  [OK] Light sensor (BH1750) on I2C

Sensor initialization complete!
Starting sensor readings...

=== HomePOD Sensor Readings ===
Temperature: 23.5°C
Humidity: 45.2%
Light Level: 234.5 lux
Audio Level: 120 (Peak: 450)
================================

Raspberry Pi Dashboard

The Raspberry Pi server receives data from all ESP32 sensor nodes and displays it on a 7-inch touchscreen. Access the dashboard at http://<raspberry-pi-ip>:5000 or http://localhost:5000 on the Pi itself.

Features:

  • Touch-friendly UI optimized for 7-inch HDMI displays
  • Real-time sensor readings from multiple ESP32 nodes with 10-second auto-refresh
  • Multiple built-in apps:
    • Weather - Current conditions and 5-day forecast with OpenWeatherMap integration
    • To-Do List - Task management with add, complete, and delete functionality
    • Timers - Multiple countdown timers with real-time updates and alerts
    • Notes - Quick note-taking with timestamps
    • Music Player - Queue management with playback controls
    • System Stats - Raspberry Pi monitoring (CPU temp, usage, memory, disk, uptime)
  • Persistent data storage - all app data saves to JSON files
  • Room grouping for organizing multiple sensor nodes
  • Emoji icons for visual room/weather identification
  • JSON API endpoints for integration with other systems

Kiosk Mode Setup (Raspberry Pi)

To run the dashboard in full-screen kiosk mode on boot:

  1. Install emoji font support:

    sudo apt install fonts-noto-color-emoji -y

  2. Create autostart entry:

    sudo nano ~/.config/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart

    Add:

    @xset s off
@xset -dpms
@chromium-browser --kiosk --noerrdialogs http://localhost:5000

  3. Set up server to start on boot:

    sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/homepod.service

    Add:

    [Unit]
Description=HomePOD Dashboard Server
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /home/pi/HomePOD/homepod_server_v3.py
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/HomePOD
User=pi
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

    Enable: sudo systemctl enable homepod.service

  4. Reboot: sudo reboot

API Endpoints (WiFi Version)

  • GET / - Web dashboard
  • GET /latest - Latest data from all devices (JSON)
  • GET /latest/<device_name> - Latest data from specific device
  • POST /sensor-data - Endpoint for ESP32 data submission

Example JSON Response

{
  "device_name": "HomePOD-Living-Room",
  "timestamp": 45230,
  "sensors": {
    "temperature": 23.5,
    "humidity": 45.2,
    "light": 234.5,
    "audio_level": 120,
    "audio_peak": 450
  },
  "status": {
    "wifi_rssi": -45,
    "uptime_ms": 45230
  }
}

Configuration

Sensor Thresholds

Edit in the firmware to customize:

// Temperature/Humidity ranges
#define TEMP_MIN -40.0f
#define TEMP_MAX 80.0f
#define HUMIDITY_MIN 0.0f
#define HUMIDITY_MAX 100.0f

// Light level thresholds (lux)
#define LIGHT_DARK 10.0f
#define LIGHT_DIM 50.0f
#define LIGHT_NORMAL 300.0f
#define LIGHT_BRIGHT 1000.0f

// Audio settings
#define AUDIO_SAMPLES 64
#define AUDIO_NOISE_FLOOR 100

// Timing intervals (milliseconds)
#define SENSOR_READ_INTERVAL 2000
#define WIFI_SEND_INTERVAL 10000

Troubleshooting

Sensors Not Detected

  • Check wiring connections
  • Verify sensor power (3.3V)
  • Ensure I2C pull-up resistors if using long wires
  • Check sensor I2C address (BH1750 default: 0x23)

WiFi Connection Issues

  • Verify WiFi is 2.4GHz (ESP32 doesn't support 5GHz)
  • Check SSID and password are correct
  • Ensure ESP32 is within WiFi range
  • Check Serial Monitor for detailed error messages

Sensor Reading Errors

  • DHT22 requires 2 seconds stabilization time
  • BH1750 needs 180ms for first measurement
  • Verify sensor voltage (3.3V for ESP32)

Project Structure

HomePOD/
├── HomePOD_Sensor_Firmware.ino          # Basic all-sensor firmware
├── HomePOD_WiFi_Sensor_Firmware.ino     # WiFi-enabled firmware
├── HomePOD_Env_Node/                    # Environmental monitoring node
│   └── HomePOD_Env_Node.ino
├── HomePOD_Light_Node/                  # Light monitoring node
│   └── HomePOD_Light_Node.ino
├── raspberry_pi_server.py               # Basic Python server
├── homepod_server_v2.py                 # Enhanced server with weather & to-do
├── homepod_server_v3.py                 # Full-featured server with multiple apps
├── WIFI_SETUP_GUIDE.md                  # WiFi setup instructions
├── src/                                 # PlatformIO source files
├── include/                             # PlatformIO headers
└── README.md                            # This file

System Architecture

The HomePOD system consists of:

  1. ESP32 Sensor Nodes: One or more ESP32 devices with sensors placed in different rooms
  2. Raspberry Pi Display Server: Central server receiving data via WiFi and displaying on 7-inch touchscreen
  3. Web Dashboard: Touch-friendly interface with sensor readings and multiple productivity apps

Multiple Device Support

The system supports multiple ESP32 sensor nodes reporting to the same Raspberry Pi server. Each device should have a unique DEVICE_NAME configured in the firmware to identify different rooms or locations.

Auto-Start Server on Boot

Configure the Raspberry Pi server to start automatically on boot using systemd. See WIFI_SETUP_GUIDE.md for instructions.

Data Export

All sensor data is logged to sensor_data.log on the Raspberry Pi in JSON format, ready for analysis or import into other tools.

Future Enhancements

  • MQTT support for Home Assistant integration
  • Mobile app for iOS/Android
  • Database storage (SQLite/InfluxDB)
  • Grafana dashboard integration
  • Alert notifications (email/SMS)
  • Battery power optimization
  • Deep sleep mode
  • OTA (Over-The-Air) firmware updates

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues, fork the repository, and create pull requests for any improvements.

License

This project is open source and available for personal and educational use.

Credits

Authors: Ryan Li, Gary Sun, Ryan Wang, Ryan Giang Repository: https://github.com/sharkmet/HomePOD

Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions:

Built with:

  • ESP32-D Microcontroller
  • Arduino Framework
  • Adafruit Sensor Libraries
  • Flask Web Framework

About

HomePOD is an ESP32-based, multi-room environmental monitoring system that streams temperature, humidity, light, and ambient sound data to a Raspberry Pi touchscreen dashboard.

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