Home Assistant MQTT Display Panel
Problem:
- Employees are frustrated with technology within conference rooms, decreasing efficiency, and wasting time / resources.
- Controllers are typically inconsistent between manufacturers and can be a waste of time to learn between every meeting.
- Technology needs to be streamlined for each system in a universally readable and consistent manner.
TECHNOLOGIES:
- Linux
- Docker
- MQTT
- Home Assistant
- Raspberry Pi
- Paho-MQTT
- Portainer
- Crontab
- VMWare ESXI
- Python
- RS-232
- ICMP
SOLUTION:
- Server running VMWare ESXI, hosting a Home Assistant Docker container. Home Assistant Container is running an MQTT Broker that Publishes MQTT payloads to our Raspberry Pi.
- Portainer is organizing Docker containers to ensure communication between them in GUI environment.
- Pi is running crontab job hosting Python MQTT listener script receiving payloads, reads them, and correlates message to send corresponding RS-232 serial command to TV.
- The Home Assistant dashboard is configured with simple buttons that publish MQTT payloads.
- Video source buttons ping the TV , verifying power status. If TV is powered off, Pi will power it on, and make input command.