The Little Library Project
Modernize and expand on data collection of a front-lawn Library Exchange with ESPHOME and Home Assistant
My friend (B) and his son (T) are enthusiasts of the little library system. The idea is a network of DIY or prefab little cabinet kits that sit on the front lawn, close to your sidewalk and contain books. Any passers-by can “borrow” a book and swap or return it when read. Read about the system here. We decided to use this project as an opportunity to automate. Of course.
B is quite technical and likes data and his 10 year old is the kind of kid who plays with Lego including building Lego machines that are programmed to for example solve rubics cubes.
B’s Library door has a contact switch and manual counter that increments to indicate number of times the door is opened. Our thinking was to work with T and build a system that does the counting, reports it as well as other data like temperature and humidity and make it expandable to more data. We chose to use ESPHOME and HomeAssistant. This video shows our progress.