The Good Tech Companies - From Curiosity to Control: Veera Malisetty’s Self-Hosted Smart Home System

Starting point is 00:00:00 This audio is presented by Hacker Noon, where anyone can learn anything about any technology. From Curiosity to Control, Vera Malaceti's self-hosted smart home system. By John Stoy and journalist, home automation platforms let homeowners regulate everyday appliances with just a few taps. However, behind the scenes, these systems are much more complicated than they need to be. Many devices are locked into specific brands and rely on their own standalone apps, with no easy way to sync or communicate across systems. Instead of simplifying daily life, these tools can end up adding unnecessary complexity.

Starting point is 00:00:37 That's the challenge that Vera Malaceti set out to solve. With over a decade-a experience in systems design and a personal interest in home automation, he's built a custom smart home system tailored for him and his family. The goal, unify multiple platforms into a single interface that can run offline, adaptorial world context, and stay easy to use. all using off-the-shelf hardware and open-source tools. How Vera identified the gaps in smart home technology. After earning his degree in electronics and communication engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru

Starting point is 00:01:09 Technological University, Vera Malaceti began his career working on back-end infrastructure at companies like Swayam Infologic and Quantella Inc. He then spent nearly six years at Square Panda, a company that develops educational tools and digital devices to help young children learn to read. Over time, he rose to become the company's global director of engineering, overseeing daily technical operations and leading efforts to integrate technologies like Bluetooth. Throughout these roles, Vera gained a deeper interest in technology and began looking for ways to reliably apply it outside of work.

Starting point is 00:01:43 This aligned with an already existing interest, smart home tech, which lets homeowners control appliances like lights, locks, and thermostats from their phones rather than physical switches. He'd already noticed how frustrating it was to manage devices that couldn't work together. Most products come with a separate app, with unique login and set up configurations and no way to communicate with other brands, even when connected to the same network. As a result, simple tasks like dimming the lights or locking the door meant jumping between multiple apps, turning what should be a seamless experience into a tedious one. Instead of waiting for a solution, Vera decided to build his own, a platform that uses affordable, off-the-shelf devices

Starting point is 00:02:23 and can run reliably over time without relying on third-party services. Building an integrated, private smart home platform, Vera started by setting up the system's back-end on home assistant, an open-source platform that offers a customizable dashboard and supports integrations across a wide range of smart home brands. He hosted it on a Raspberry Pi, a compact computer whose low power consumption would allow him Torin 24-7 without significantly increasing power costs. Since his household regularly uses devices like iPhones and Apple Watches, Virico's Apple HomeKit is the main user interface, which would allow his family to control the platform through Siri voice commands and the home app. The household's Apple TV also served as the system's central

Starting point is 00:03:06 hub, giving his family easy access through a familiar device. The system runs on a local network, avoiding reliance on Wi-Fi or third-party internet connections. To achieve this, Vera selected smart home devices that use Zigby and Z-Wave, wireless protocols that create a local mesh network that allows devices to communicate with each other and exchange data directly. This ensures the system remains active even during mass internet outages, and all data is processed and stored locally, avoiding recurring cloud fees and keeping us families information private. When a family member is away, they can securely access it through a self-hosted, encrypted web interface available only via VPN, ensuring remote control without exposing personal data to third parties. Managing this many disparate platforms required a high degree of fine tuning.

Starting point is 00:03:55 Vera had to manually configure each smart home device to integrate with home assistant and strip away cloud dependencies to keep everything running locally, which often meant digging into their internal systems and running into hidden bugs or technical limitations. But despite the challenges, Vera was able to deliver a unified smart home platform that gives his family complete control and visibility over nearly every device in the house. This includes lighting, door locks, air conditioning, kitchen appliances, security cameras, and even holiday decorations. The result is a smart home that fits seamlessly into Vera and his family's daily life, adapting to their routines, enhancing security, and working reliably in the background. Making home automation more efficient and safe. When he's not tinkering with the infrastructure that runs his home, Vera works as a senior software engineer at a global retail corporation. Outside of work, he shares lessons from his career on Medium, where he's written about his smart home platform project and has offered

Starting point is 00:04:52 practical guidance for engineers navigating startup environments. By designing a system that fits his family's lifestyle, stores data locally, and works offline, Vera Malaciti's passion project is a blueprint for how smart homes can be not only convenient but also secure, resilient, and built to last. Thank you for listening to this Hackernoon story, read by artificial intelligence. Visit hackernoon.com to read, write, learn, and publish.

The Good Tech Companies - From Curiosity to Control: Veera Malisetty’s Self-Hosted Smart Home System

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