Smart Home Dashboard with ThingsBoard & ESP32: Real-Time Monitoring, Device Control, IP Cam & Alerts

Summary

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a smart home dashboard to monitor real-time temperature, humidity, and energy consumption. The dashboard will allow you to control various devices, check connectivity and Wi-Fi information, and even integrate an IP camera for surveillance. You'll also set up alarm rules to track high temperatures or humidity levels. Using an ESP32 device, PlatformIO, and ThingsBoard, you’ll configure sensors and simulate data to see live updates on your dashboard. This comprehensive guide will help you build a fully functional smart home monitoring system with custom widgets and real-time control.

Takeaways

• 😀 You will learn how to create a smart home dashboard to monitor real-time temperature, humidity, and energy consumption.
• 😀 The project involves controlling various devices, checking connectivity status, and displaying Wi-Fi information.
• 😀 A key feature is the real-time energy consumption graph and the ability to monitor air conditioner temperatures.
• 😀 You can connect an AP camera to the dashboard and track high temperatures or humidity levels using an alarm table.
• 😀 The project uses an ESP32 device simulator and all the required templates and files are available on GitHub.
• 😀 You can clone the GitHub repository, import necessary files into ThingsBoard, and set up your ESP32 device for the dashboard.
• 😀 Custom widgets can be created and edited using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS for a personalized experience.
• 😀 The ThingsBoard widget library allows you to import image assets for the dashboard and customize them for display.
• 😀 Simulating the ESP32 device in Platform IO involves connecting it to ThingsBoard with the correct device token and Wi-Fi credentials.
• 😀 The project includes setting up alarms for high temperature and humidity values, which are monitored through the dashboard.
• 😀 Additional features like camera widgets and alarm configuration are also part of the setup, allowing you to integrate real-time video feeds and alerts.

Q & A

What is the purpose of this tutorial video?

The purpose of the tutorial is to guide viewers on how to create a smart home dashboard using the ThingsBoard platform and an ESP32 device. The dashboard allows monitoring of real-time temperature, humidity, energy consumption, device control, Wi-Fi status, and more.

How can I access the necessary files for this project?

You can access all the required files by cloning the repository from GitHub. The repository contains the ThingsBoard templates, widgets, and the ESP32 code needed for this project.

What platform is used for the smart home dashboard in this tutorial?

The tutorial uses ThingsBoard, a popular open-source IoT platform, to create and manage the smart home dashboard.

What custom widgets are used in the dashboard setup?

The custom widgets include components for displaying temperature, humidity, energy consumption, device status, and an IP camera stream. These widgets are imported from a widget bundle provided in the repository.

How do I link the ThingsBoard dashboard to an ESP32 device?

To link the dashboard to the ESP32 device, you need to create a new device in the ThingsBoard platform, import the necessary widgets into the dashboard, and then assign the device to each widget.

What do I need to modify in the ESP32 code for it to work with ThingsBoard?

In the ESP32 code, you must replace the placeholder values with your ThingsBoard access token and your Wi-Fi network credentials (SSID and password). This ensures that the ESP32 device can connect to the ThingsBoard platform and send data.

How does the camera widget function in the smart home dashboard?

The camera widget allows you to embed live video streams from an IP camera into the ThingsBoard dashboard. You can connect your IP camera to the provided URL service and embed this URL into the widget settings.

How can I set up alarms in the ThingsBoard dashboard?

To set up alarms, you need to configure alarm rules in the device profile. For example, you can create rules that trigger alarms when the temperature exceeds a specific threshold or when humidity goes above a certain level.

What kind of alarms can be configured for this smart home system?

Alarms can be set for various conditions, such as high temperature and high humidity. The alarms can be categorized with different severity levels, such as critical for high temperature or warning for high humidity.

Can I use my own sensors with this setup?

Yes, you can use your own sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, or energy consumption. The tutorial uses example sensors, but you can connect your own sensors to the ESP32 device and update the code accordingly to capture and send sensor data to ThingsBoard.