Articles
A DIY quadcopter drone
When I was a university student, drones were starting to get popular so I decided to make my own. I made two attempt at the idea: The first attempt involved designing the most of drone from scratch, its mechanical design as well as its electronics, including the remote controller. After that attempt proved less than satisfactory, I designed a new version of the drone, this time with off the shelf electronics.
DHT and PIR sensor module
This project consists of an HC-SR501 PIR motion sensor and a DHT22 temperature and humidity sensor connected to a Wemos D1 mini, an ESP8266 breakout board.
Sign holders for COVID-19 prevention
Compared to other countries, Japan did not enforce a strict lockdown on its population during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, most bars and restaurants continued their operations as usual. However, in order to prevent the spread of the virus as much as possible, the staff of my local pub printed out signs asking customers to not leave their table without wearing a mask.
Web based approval system
With the COVID-19 and the introduction of remote work, a many Japanese companies were struggling with the approval of documents, since those needed to be physically stamped with one's personal seal named Hanko.
I decided to solve this issue by creating a web application to keep track of approvals
Raspberry Pi based NAS
This is a simple Raspberry Pi based NAS. Tt features, as the name suggests, a Raspberry Pi as well as a 1TB 3.5'' HDD, interfaced with a USB to SATA converter.
ESP32-CAM firmware
The ESP32 supports ov2640 cameras, which makes it an ideal platform for a DIY IP camera. For this purpose, I wrote a customized firmware for the ESP32 which provides the following features:
Barking alarm
Dogs are great at detering burglars from entering one's home. This system brings the same advantage, without the need for an actual dog.
3D printed bracket for fume extractor
I got myself a fume extractor but it takes a rather large amount of real-estate on my desk. I decided to mount it on an arm so that I could easily move it out of the way so I designed and 3D printed an attachment bracket for it.
Odroid XU4 server
Having one's own server provides the ability to run web services 24/7. However, having a computer running all the time can significantly increase one's electricity bill. The objective of this project was to build a low power home server capable of running common software (Apache, Node.js, etc.) while only consuming little power.
BLE presence detection
I wanted my home automation system to detect when I arrive home so as to unlock my door automatically or let me know if I leave the apartment without turning the A/C off. I figured my smartphone could be used to achieve this since it is equipped with a vast array of sensors and connectivity options. For example, I could use an app like OwnTracks which would send an MQTT message once I enter a certain perimeter around my apartment. However, constantly monitoring one's GPS location is wasteful in terms of battery life. Another option would be to ping my phone's IP address to check if it is connected to the WiFi, but smartphones can sometimes take a while to connect. So, I decided to use BLE advertising, which does not use too much battery while still remaining constantly active.