Deskmate Is a Mini Home Automation Console

Raphael Baron describes his Deskmate as a tiny, MQTT-powered dashboard and control center that sits on your desk. The device features a 3D-printed frame, with a rotary encoder and three keyboard-style buttons on the base for user input. An angled screen shows your selection and home automation specs.

As implemented, the Deskmate is built around a LOLIN32 ESP32 board, plugged into a breadboard situated below the screen. The system was made to be platform-agnostic, and there is also a software-only implementation that runs on Baron's Macbook.

With this setup, Baron is able to scroll through and select rooms in his house along with different sensors and Shelly smart switches that can be controlled via MQTT messages and commands.

Notably, the Deskmate uses a SHARP memory display breakout from Adafruit, which combines the ultra-low power usage of E Ink with the fast refresh rates of LCD screens. One could see all kinds of applications for this kind of technology, whether for this type of automation console, a homebrew cell phone build, or any number of low-power ideas.

Code and 3D-printed base designs for the Deskmate are available on GitHub.