This project proposes a solution of a voice controlled smart home system implemented through two microcontroller boards targeted for IoT based applications Arduino Uno and NodeMCU ESP8266, which are interfaced with a mobile application, various sensors, electronic devices, and a real-time database.
The aim of this project is to design a simple and cost effective voice controlled home automation system, that can be used to gather sensory data and control home appliances with ease.
This project presents the development of a solution for a real-world application for smart home systems built around the NodeMCU ESP8266 development board, the Arduino Uno board, Firebase real-time database and external electronic devices and sensors. In this project the Arduino Uno microcontroller was interfaced with the NodeMCU ESP8266 microcontroller via serial communication to gather sensory data around the home environment. Also, the NodeMCU ESP8266 microcontroller was set up to send data to a real-time database and then to the mobile application in order to display the sensory data gathered. Moreover, the NodeMCU ESP8266 microcontroller was set up to host a web server to be able to make sense of the HTTP requests received from the mobile application through WiFi and turn on/off the electronic appliances of the home environment.
The system was tested using different techniques to assess the performance of the whole system in terms of feasibility in real-life scenarios and efficiency. The hardware section was tested using a multi-meter, the MegaunoLINK serial capture tool and different methods were used to calibrate each sensor. The software section was tested using both black box testing and white box testing.
From the results produced the proposed solution was deemed to be feasible and efficient. In real-life scenarios this system would be a very good candidate to choose, when implementing a voice controlled home automation solution.
Student: Owen Micallef
Course: B.Sc. (Hons.) Computer Engineering
Supervisor: Prof. Edward Gatt