Hacker News with Generative AI: Home Automation

Show HN: AI Baby Monitor – local Video-LLM that beeps when safety rules break (github.com/zeenolife)
Your second pair of eyes, powered by local video LLMs. Because, you know... it does take a village.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Security, Children, Home Automation

6 points by zeenolife 2 days ago | 5 comments

$30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024) (sifter.org)
In the spirit of my thermostat and dishwasher controller, I managed to cobble together a decent blinds opener in a short weekend almost entirely from spare parts on hand.

Home Automation, DIY, Engineering, Smart Home

328 points by busymom0 5 days ago | 149 comments

A kernel developer plays with Home Assistant (lwn.net)
Those of us who have spent our lives playing with computers naturally see the appeal of deploying them though the home for both data acquisition and automation. But many of us who have watched the evolution of the technology industry are increasingly unwilling to entrust critical household functions to cloud-based servers run by companies that may not have our best interests at heart. The Apache-licensed Home Assistant project offers a welcome alternative: locally controlled automation with free software.

Home Automation, Open Source, Linux, Security

138 points by pabs3 7 days ago | 7 comments

A kernel developer plays with Home Assistant (lwn.net)
The first article in this series provided an overview of Home Assistant, its community, and its capabilities. It was deliberately short on descriptions of interesting things that can be done with Home Assistant, though — the reasons why one might actually want to use this program. In this closing article, we'll look at how Home Assistant was used to solve some real problems.

Home Automation, Open Source, Linux, Software, Programming

193 points by pabs3 7 days ago | 212 comments

Mazda DMCA Takedown of Open Source Home Assistant App (consumerrights.wiki)
Mazda brand cars allow remote access to certain functions of the vehicle via servers owned by the company. To access these functions, Mazda provides an official app for the smartphone. After an open source project emerged that integrated support for Mazda vehicles into the Home Assistant suite, Mazda issued a false DMCA takedown notice causing the project to be abandoned.

Open Source, DMCA, Automobiles, Privacy, Home Automation

40 points by bestouff 9 days ago | 1 comments

My dream thermostat (2024) (leontrolski.github.io)
Is this too much to ask?

Home Automation, Technology, Design

48 points by leontrolski 17 days ago | 68 comments

Why the Ultrarich Are Unplugging from "Smart Homes" (hollywoodreporter.com)
With wifi-enabled, voice-activated appliances too clever by half, analog, app-free abodes are suddenly tempting A-list L.A. buyers. Welcome to the new “Dumb House.”

Home Automation, Technology, Lifestyle

44 points by billybuckwheat 33 days ago | 61 comments

Z-Wave is remaking itself into an open source protocol (theverge.com)
Now an open-source protocol and with a new long-range technology, the path forward for Z-Wave looks clearer, with a little help from Matter.

Open Source, Home Automation, Smart Home, Technology, Standards

64 points by elsewhen 47 days ago | 12 comments

ESP32 WiFi Superstitions (supakeen.com)
The ESP32 is a popular microcontroller to use for do-it-yourself home automation, sensors, and a variety of other bits and bobs that you might want to take care of around the house.

ESP32, Microcontrollers, Home Automation, DIY

141 points by supakeen 69 days ago | 80 comments

Show HN: GateOMatic – Ring 10 phones at once from your gate/buzzer instead of 1 (thegateomatic.com)
With the same system, Gate-O-Matic allows you to ring up to 10 phones at once.

Home Automation, Security, Hardware, Smart Home, Gadgets

3 points by bilalasd 109 days ago | 4 comments

OpenTherm: Universal protocol for smart home heating systems (opentherm.eu)

Smart Home, Home Automation, Heating Systems, Technology, Standards

12 points by singingwolfboy 118 days ago | 3 comments

How I Use Home Assistant in 2025 (vpetersson.com)
I’ve been using Home Assistant for about seven years now, starting back when I was living in a small apartment.

Home Automation, Smart Home, Technology, Future Technology

268 points by ingve 119 days ago | 306 comments

Adding Home Automation to KDE (davidedmundson.co.uk)

Home Automation, Linux, KDE

6 points by TangerineDream 140 days ago | 0 comments

Party Squasher: guest occupancy counter for homes (partysquasher.com)
Party Squasher™, the first guest occupancy counter for homes, is a low-cost, easy-to-use solution designed for short-term rental managers who want to be alerted to any large gathering at a property.

Short-Term Rentals, Home Automation, Security

39 points by teractiveodular 141 days ago | 62 comments

Reverse Engineering the Duco Connectivity Board (github.com/kokx)
My newly built house came with a promising feature: a DucoBox Energy Comfort D325 ventilation system with heat recovery. While the system efficiently preheats incoming air using outgoing air’s heat, its control options were limited to four basic modes through a simple button interface. I wanted more - specifically, integration with Home Assistant. The official solution? A Duco Connectivity Board. But when I noticed it was just an ESP32 in disguise, I knew there had to be a better way.

Reverse Engineering, Home Automation, ESP32, DIY Projects

35 points by kokx 147 days ago | 4 comments

Xiaomi Home Integration for Home Assistant (github.com/XiaoMi)
Xiaomi Home Integration is an integrated component of Home Assistant supported by Xiaomi official. It allows you to use Xiaomi IoT smart devices in Home Assistant.

Home Automation, Xiaomi, Smart Devices, Home Assistant

559 points by coherence73 158 days ago | 329 comments

Home Assistant can not be secured for internet access (frederikbraun.de)
Despite its robust feature set, home assistant's architecture makes it challenging to secure against internet threats.

Home Automation, Security

11 points by todsacerdoti 159 days ago | 38 comments

Show HN: Open-source private home security camera system (end-to-end encryption) (github.com/privastead)
Privastead is a privacy-preserving home security camera solution that uses end-to-end encryption.

Open Source, Security, Privacy, Home Automation, Hardware

551 points by arrdalan 174 days ago | 165 comments

My Dream Thermostat (leontrolski.github.io)
Is this too much to ask?

Home Automation, DIY, Personal Projects

27 points by leontrolski 183 days ago | 26 comments

Installed an open source garage door opener, and I'm loving it (arstechnica.com)
Like Ars Senior Technology Editor Lee Hutchinson, I have a garage. The door on that garage is opened and closed by a device made by a company that, as with Lee's, offers you a way to open and close it with a smartphone app. But that app doesn't work with my preferred home automation system, Home Assistant, and also looks and works like an app made by a garage door company.

Home Automation, Open Source, Garage Doors

141 points by ChumpGPT 189 days ago | 66 comments

Who Is Eric Wayne?: An Unsolved IoT Mystery (the-brannons.com)
I was capturing traffic being sent to my Raspberry Pi today, attempting to debug a SIP problem. And I noticed a really weird packet from someone’s Google Home Max on my network:

Security, Networking, Home Automation

15 points by todsacerdoti 191 days ago | 1 comments

Show HN: rallyup – Lightweight Wake-on-LAN Scheduler (github.com/darwindarak)
rallyup is a lightweight Wake-On-LAN (WOL) scheduler and dependency manager designed for small businesses and homelabs.

Software, Networking, Home Automation, Scheduling, Open Source

141 points by darwindarak 199 days ago | 25 comments

Notify a Slack room when Sonos music is playing too loud (github.com/SageBrushes)
This Python script monitors Sonos speakers on your network, adjusts their volume if it exceeds a specified maximum, and sends notifications to a Slack channel when the volume is adjusted.

Home Automation, Python, Slack, Sonos

36 points by donnik 241 days ago | 56 comments

Building an e-ink weather display for our home (kimmo.blog)
We almost always want to know today's weather before leaving the apartment. Often the whole event is quite a hassle: getting our daughter dressed, finding all our personal outwear, plus trying to find your phone to check the weather. To make the experience 1% better, the solution obviously needs engineering.

Home Automation, DIY Projects, Weather, Smart Home

6 points by srid 243 days ago | 0 comments

Filtered for home robots, fast and slow (interconnected.org)
This robot arm can do your tidying up.

Robotics, Home Automation, Artificial Intelligence

37 points by surprisetalk 245 days ago | 26 comments

The Rise of Self-Cleaning, Cat-Killing Litter Boxes (hackaday.com)
Machines that automate the various tedious tasks that come with being a servant in a cat’s household — like feeding and cleaning Mr. Fluffles’ litter box — are generally a godsend, as they ensure a happy cat and a happy human. That is, unless said litter box-cleaning robot kills said cat.

Robotics, Pets, Home Automation, Cat Care

10 points by howard941 248 days ago | 0 comments

Home Assistant Presence Simulation (github.com/slashback100)

Home Automation, Software, Security

144 points by edward 268 days ago | 100 comments

LLM Vision is a Home Assistant add on: I've automated bin night alerts (reddit.com)

Home Automation, Artificial Intelligence

13 points by edward 274 days ago | 0 comments

Apple Aiming to Launch Tabletop Robotic Home Device as Soon as 2026 (macrumors.com)