IoT

SmartGarage

Desktop monitoring and control for a Raspberry Pi garage.

Completed PrototypeEmbedded IoT Garage AutomationDesktop & Embedded Systems Developer
Smart Garage on GitHub
Working Smart Garage prototype with Raspberry Pi, sensors and actuators
Close-up of the Smart Garage servo and Raspberry Pi assembly
The friction
1Windows Forms UI2UART Protocol3Raspberry Pi Controller4Sensors and Outputs
Judgement, made visible.
Problem

Why this needed to exist.

The project required one desktop interface to monitor garage sensors and control physical outputs such as a servo door, fan, heater and lighting through a Raspberry Pi.

Context
School Project
Platform
Windows · Raspberry Pi
System

Complexity, given a direction.

  1. 1Windows Forms UI
  2. 2UART Protocol
  3. 3Raspberry Pi Controller
  4. 4Sensors and Outputs
Decisions

The work behind the interface.

Text-based serial protocol

Readable commands such as `BRANDA OPEN FAST` and `GET STATUS` were used between the PC and Raspberry Pi.

Communication could be inspected through the built-in debug console.

Hardware abstraction in Python

Servo, fan, lighting, heater and sensor behaviour were separated into hardware-specific control modules.

The main control loop remains easier to understand and modify.

Evidence, not theatre.

Completed as a working physical garage prototype with live sensor monitoring and actuator control.

01

Physically built garage prototype

02

Servo-controlled garage mechanism

03

Live temperature, rain and light sensing

04

Fan, heater and lighting control