Hey everyone! I wanted to share a project I’ve been working on for the last couple of days. It’s a DIY proximity-based room presence detection system that integrates with Home Assistant. I’ve been looking for a reliable room presence solution since I started using Home Assistant, and after some research, I decided to roll my own solution.
The system uses Raspberry Pi Zero W devices to track the proximity of my phones and smartwatches via Bluetooth. The relative proximity is determined by querying the RSSI (signal strength) of the tracked devices. This data is then pushed to a MQTT Broker running in Home Assistant, where I can set up sensors to determine presence or relative distance in a room.
Here’s how it works:
- Raspberry Pi Zero W: Acts as a Bluetooth scanner, tracking nearby devices.
- Node.js Script: Queries the RSSI of tracked devices and calculates a proximity value.
- MQTT Broker: Publishes the proximity data to Home Assistant.
- Automation: Uses the proximity data to trigger actions like turning lights on when someone enters a room or adjusting the thermostat based on presence.
The project has been a great learning experience, and I’m excited to see how it can be further optimized. If anyone is interested, I’ve shared the project details and step-by-step instructions on GitHub. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or suggestions!
Cheers,
[Your Name]