DuqueDeTuring/arduino_3d_dimmer_exploration

Exploring the idea of controlling a Home Assistant light with an Arduino accelerator or gyroscope via MQTT

Proof of concept for a bigger idea.

Hardware:

• Nano 33 IoT.

Description

The Arduino's sketch is part of a setup involving an automation in Home Assistant for controlling the brightness of a light via an Arduino's gyroscope (LSM6DS3 module: datasheet PDF) .

The Arduino's code is completely independent from Home Assistant, it just posts attitude changes in the Y axis to one MQTT topic, so it can be used for anything.

In addition to the Arduino:

1. MQTT broker. For exploring ideas, I am just running a simple installation of Mosquitto on a Pi.
2. Home Assistant with the MQTT integration installed and configured.
3. A Home Assistant MQTT switch tied to the topic where the Arduino sends the messages. (/ha_switch.yaml)
4. A couple of automations in HA: one for increasing the brightness and one for decreasing the brightness of the light (/arduino_ha_automation_test.yaml).

End result

The brightness of the light increases when you rotate the Arduino upwards and decreases when it is rotated downwards (over its X axis), but to activate this the Arduino must be turned at least 80 degrees left over the Y axis and then to lock the reading it must be turned "right" at least 80 degrees (this makes sense if the Arduino boots horizontal like the board sitting on a table and the antenna pointing away from you).