I have decided not to include audio ( microphones or speakers ) in the smart lightswitches i am creating.
The lunchboxes i am using to house my first home automation project have limited space. From research it seems speakers and microphones of quality would require more space and power. Motion detectors and switches are suited to doorways but I will not be facing that way when giving voice commands. I expect to listen to music or issue voice commands when i am seated in my lounge or laying in bed.
I’m re-framing my first goal as “smart lightswitches”. I will create modular smart boxes positioned over the light switches at the entrances to various rooms.My goal is for the boxes to detect and record which room I am in. They will enable smart control of lights, to track activity and occupancy.
I hope to include in each unit
- Fisheye NoIR Camera – to detect motion and light levels in each room – I am hoping to use a fish eye lens as wide coverage is more important than detail to me
- IR LED (940nm) – to send control pulses to tv and other devices , hopefully can also double as a IR light source when dark
- Rotary switch with push switch – to provide dimmer like control and other function selection.
- Adafruit 8×8 LED matrix (I2C) – to provide feedback of state etc
I still hope to add voice recognition and media playback to my home but I now expect to do that as a separate project as part of other units.