• Author: Joita Anca-Stefania
• E-mail: anca_stefania.joita@stud.etti.upb.ro
• Master: ACES
• Source code, demo and PPT:

The motivation of this project is to implement a device that improves an usual doorbell.

When a visitor at the door presses the doorbell button, the device will send a notification the owner's phone with a link to the video streaming page where the owner can see the person at the door from anywhere in the world.

The owner can choose to answer the visitor with a few pre-recorded voice responses which are played through the doorbell, such as “Someone is coming at the door”, “No one can come at the door”, “Someone is coming to the door in 5 minutes”.

For the hardware part, an ESP32-CAM module is used for sending the live video stream. For transmitting the pre-recorded responses, I will use a DF-Player mini with a microSD card and a speaker.

The doorbell is controlled through Home Assistant, along with ESPHome.

For creating the doorbell, I used the following components:

• ESP32-CAM - module that integrates Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• OV2640 Camera - supports up to 15 fps of video in UXGA(1632×1232) resolution
• DFPlayer Mini and microSD Card - supports MP3, WAV and WMA files
• USB to TTL RS232 Converter UART CH340 - used to upload the flash code to ESP32-CAM module
• Speaker
• Push button
• Green LED
• Resistor - 470 Ω

In order for the Doorbell to work as expected, the software configuration created is shown in the figure below:

• Home Assistant - Open-source platform used for automating the application by controlling it remotely through the phone application
• ESPHome - Open-source platform used for creating the firmware of the application and automating the entire behaviour of the Smart Doorbell
• WSL2 - Hyper-V virtual machine for configuring the Home Assistant Core

I successfully configured Home Assistant with Nabu Casa Cloud, ensuring accessibility and control of the Smart Doorbell from the web browser and mobile phone as well. In this project, Home Assistant is used for receiving the notification with the live camera stream whenever someone presses the doorbell and to answer the doorbell with the desired response.

The automations shown in the image contribute to the proper functionality of the device:

• Doorbell Notification - When a visitor presses the doorbell button, the LED turns on, a ding-dong sound will be played on the DFPlayer and the owner will receive two notifications:
  • Firstly, a notification that someone is at the door, with a camera live stream.
  • After 5 seconds, another notification is sent, where the owner can choose to answer the door in three different ways, by just pressing the button:
    • No one is coming to the door
    • Someone is coming to the door
    • Will come to the door in 5 minutes

  
handle_doorbell_press:
    sequence:
      - service: esphome.doorbell_dfplayer_play
        data:
          file: 4
      - service: esphome.doorbell_switch_turn_on
      - service: notify.notify
        data:
          message: "Check the livestream"
          title: "Someone is at the door!"
          data:
            entity_id: camera.doorbell_camera
            clickAction: "lovelace/camera-view"
      - delay: '00:00:05'
      - service: notify.mobile_app_Stefania
        data:
          message: "Choose a response:"
          data:
            actions:
              - action: 'someone_is_coming'
                title: 'Someone is coming'
              - action: 'no_one_is_coming'
                title: 'No one is coming'
              - action: 'will_come_in_5_minutes'
                title: 'Will come in 5 minutes

• Doorbell Response - No one can come, Someone is coming, Will come in 5 minutes
  • When the owner chooses a response, the action is sent to the doorbell and the corresponding pre-recorded voice respone is played, letting the visitor know the answer easily.

play_someone_is_coming: sequence: - service: esphome.doorbell_dfplayer_play data: file: 3 - delay: '00:00:05' - service: esphome.doorbell_switch_turn_off play_no_one_can_come: sequence: - service: esphome.doorbell_dfplayer_play data: file: 1 - delay: '00:00:05' - service: esphome.doorbell_switch_turn_off play_will_come_in_5_minutes: sequence: - service: esphome.doorbell_dfplayer_play data: file: 2 - delay: '00:00:05' - service: esphome.doorbell_switch_turn_off