This article details 7 ESPHome projects that enhance smart home functionality, including washing machine state detection, water leak detection, presence detection, Bluetooth proxy, custom smart speakers, cheap yellow displays, and ePaper dashboards.
The author details their journey from commercial smart speakers like Google Nest and Amazon Echo to building custom open-source voice assistants using ESP32-based hardware, ESPHome, and Home Assistant, highlighting benefits like privacy, control, and cost savings.
Stream Assist is a Home Assistant integration that allows users to turn almost any camera and speaker into a local voice assistant, offering privacy and customization benefits over commercial solutions like Alexa or Nest. It uses components like Stream, Assist pipeline, openWakeWord, Whisper, and Piper to process voice commands and control smart home devices.
Seeed Studio has revealed the TRMNL 7.5" DIY Kit, a 7.5-inch e-ink display kit compatible with Home Assistant and Arduino, offering a cost-effective solution for smart home enthusiasts. It includes a 7.5-inch 800x480 monochrome e-ink display, XIAO ESP32-S3 PLUS driver board, 2000 mAh rechargeable battery, and 10cm FPC extension cable. It is currently available for preorder for under $45.
