A Cooler Way To Control Everything in My Smart Home

[@bader51500]

I would suggest to anyone who is starting to use Home Assistant, use the full os not the docker version (or run the os in a virtual machine) to prevent any issues with the drivers or devices accessibility, and that also make it easier to employment the monitoring plugins

[@RyanAEdwards]

This. Installing on bare metal has been way easier than docker, imo. Even then, it's still deep, deep waters; if you're thinking about getting into HA, prepare yourself for a new full time hobby.

[@RaffBuilding]

I've been rocking it from a VM for about 2y without any problem. Also heard of issues with Docker.

[@shrirenjith]

Came here to say this . Been a user for couple of years now .

[@LukanRocks]

Docker user here, never had problems with it. And I like that I can host other containers and embed the websites on HA

[@bader51500]

@@LukanRocks Sorry, but are you using the docker version with just the basic stuff or with more advanced things like node-red, esphome, and watchdog...etc. If you are doing the advanced things, that means you are playing life on hard mode 😅

[@jasonhoffman7428]

Very cool project! One suggestion to add to the weathered look is to put a piece of weathered acrylic in front of the screen so the screen doesn't look so pristine. Great job!

[@doubledarefan]

Since the keyboard is behind the panel with the greebles, you could have put most of the greebles on small springs or pieces of spongy foam, with pegs that passes through holes in said panel, so pushing on the greebles will press some of the keys on the keyboard. Then it is just a matter of setting hotkeys for the apps you use e.g. the keys behind the blue and white squares can be set to, say, get camera feed from around your property, the white rockers can adjust volume on anything that plays music or sounds, the former ink heads can be used to arm/disarm the alarms, etc.

[@smirkingrevenge6]

Love this idea...

[@averagejoesworkshop]

I like the Lego separators.

[@beaker2382]

The best part is you are using a wildly powerful laptop as a simple display, while the actual server is just a raspberry pie. FYI, old tablets make great displays for this kind of thing

[@ConnerWithAnE_]

Right, thought he’d use tbis as the server lol

[@jta3556]

A monochrome theme on the homeassistant would be the icing on the cake. Giving it that late 70s early 80s scifi space feel.

[@Mu-podcast]

Are you sure the airflow is all through the bottom? When you took off the bottom to replace the RAM it looked like the fans were using the sides too. The left side vent is blocked off by the wood. So that side either can't pull air in or push it out, depending on which way the fan is designed to work. I do genuinely love how this came out. The use of the LEGO removal tools was very clever. Those of us who have kits usually have a box of those hanging around.

[@OUTDOORSMAN_NJ]

Doesn’t seem like he’s going to be doing any computing or graphics intensive tasks. Computer temperature should be fine for a project like this.

[@Xoremak]

This video is the pinnacle of company wants to sponsor video but has 0 ideas of how their product could be legitimately integrated into the video.

[@roymonden]

All you need to run a ‘head’ for a home assistant instance is a web enabled screen. I just run an old android tablet with the ‘full screen kiosk’ app and you basically achieve the results you want 😊

[@Codex_of_Wisdom]

Very pretty looking! Home Assistant is so great! I've been using it for a decade now, and it's come SO far and is so much easier to use. I highly recommend it!

[@TheSmugglersRoom]

JUICE LID GREEBLIES!! 100% up my alley my friend. Awesome project Bob!

[@Mu-podcast]

I was absolutely thinking of you while Bob was building this.

[@hoguemr]

I would recommend Studson Studios if you like that kind of thing. His Howls Moving Castle built of trash is so cool. He has a lot of other trash builds too.

[@TheSmugglersRoom]

@@hoguemr that Howls Moving Castle was outstanding, very much agreed!

[@TheSmugglersRoom]

@@Mu-podcast 😜

[@MattManuel]

I gotta say I wasn’t sure it was going to turn out at first. But the weathering / aging part really pulled it together. Thanks Bob. Looking forward to a future video on Home Assistant.

[@punishedprops]

The panel looks awesome! I want something like that in my shop. =D

[@jpalarchio]

Just entered the world of Home Assistant last year as a way to get around having 25 apps for all the smart devices around the house. Still learning a lot. Excited to see what projects you might have related to Home Assistant in the future.

[@jonascale]

I’m a big fan love the videos. As an IT guy I love the fact that you addressed air flow, however I do have to say that leaving a laptop plugged in all the time will kill you battery. Anyway I’m also been into to home assistant for a long time and been wanting to do a wall mount tablet for a while but wasn’t sure how to make it look cool now I think I know what I’m gonna do. Thanks for all the ideas!

[@RaccoonHenry]

loving the Benny "spaceship" snippets!!

[@zeroomens9438]

Bob, not only you always make me think of Adam Savage any time I watch your videos, you inspire me as much as him to create things. Thanks for making stuff.

[@EvilSpyBoy]

Just a small thing... while a touchscreen and a rpi is a good answer and you can definitely get those things for a pretty good price... I needed to prototype something that needed a large touchscreen and just bought a fast food self service terminal off a manufacturer directly from alibaba. While not nothing it was cheaper than most 'computer' options for the size of the screen real estate.

[@yellow-brain4735]

13:13 love the look of the LEGO peices!

[@robbiehardy3228]

I'm a long time Publix employee, so it was fun to see our logo in your greeblies box, but also, the project turned out super cool! Great video!

[@Moonguided]

This video introduced me to the word 'Greeblies', which I will now be able to have a dedicated space for in my studio! Thank you, Bob!

[@Bschnurr44]

Really cool idea as always! I like the idea of utilizing the laptop trackpad instead of a tablet or touch screen to avoid fingerprint smudges. One suggestion, if the laptop is being left plugged in all the time and is only being used as the "controller", it might be a good idea to remove the battery so it doesn't swell over the long-term.

[@oliverbrunt1]

That’s just so awesome! What a built - and arguably one of the best explanations of greeblies / weathering!

[@scratchinjack608]

On the onset of this video, this reminded me of Ray Bradbury's short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" which is also a chapter in the book "Martian Chronicles."

[@donaldpowell7762]

The brick separators are amazing. Other than paint, you didn’t modify them and they totally fit on the piece!

[@ericschleppenbach3519]

"...because I don't currently have a better idea" is basically how I start my all of my projects too.

[@LukeKroeker]

Woo! Home Assistant is great. Really easy to run in a VM. (Could actually use that laptop to run the server, bonus is a built-in backup battery) It would be awesome if some of those fake knobs actually controlled things.

[@WheelchairGuyHobbyChannel]

The biggest thing I take away from most of your vidoes is that you are having FUN!

[@johnnyb95678]

What fun! Not just the same old boring thing. Thanks for sharing.

[@RobDucharme]

8:21 I save all the plunger caps off of insulin needles (one of my jobs is to give diabetic cats their shots) and I give them to a friend of mine who does cosplay. Those little caps look exactly like electronic knobs when painted silver or black, or they can look like some futuristic rivets if done right. 13:35 Add a Weyland-Yutani decal and make it slightly sinister.. lol

[@FrankGraffagnino]

yes to more Home Assistant content... but please PLEASE help educate users to about devices that are locally controlled and things they can own and control and avoid items that rely on cloud services or proprietary apps that can cause them to lose all control of a device they supposedly own.

[@the.jakeofalltrades]

Greeblies is my new favorite word! I never knew there was a word for all the extra details like that. Another great project Bob! 🤖

[@coburninator]

fun vid to get inspiration from! also have had home assistant projects on my todo list for years, would love to see if you want to do more vids with it!

[@conandlloyd]

Love seeing the Lego tools there. I have a ton of those and now have ideas of what to do with them. Thanks!

[@tom314]

I put my touch screen attached to a RPi running HA in a wooden box, afterwards people pointed out it looked like one of those very early small TVs.... HA is great and very addictive!

[@stephengreco5115]

This is awesome. You may want some support across the back middle of the screen to avoid flex. Assume others beside you will use it incorrectly or not carefully. Well done mate!

[@spidey5483]

I love the brick separators! Great looking project!

[@manugv6836]

Great Bob! Just an idea: maybe it would be useful if the central panel was removable, maybe attach it with magnets instead of glue. In case you need access to the keyboard, or also to turn it on.

[@DockingBay327Build]

Awesome project Bob!! Definitely fits in a galaxy far, far away!

[@andrewbrown8148]

Cool project, Bob~! That tote lid worked out great for the look you were going for. I'm also wanting to get into home automation with my Raspberry Pi at the heart of it, so it'll be great to see anything you come up with in that area~! Thanks much~!

[@jamesstonge2563]

So I haven’t done much like this but what like to do is keep little switches and plugs and buttons then make sure they are still functioning so when I use them there is something of a play feature but it doesn’t do anything

[@xiggywiggs]

I used to work as an HP repair tech which makes this incredibly funny, because the whole reason laptops are typically a pain to work on is because they use around 20 screws to hold the base cover on, two different sizes of screw and often also at least two different lengths of screw. So now they're like, "hey, remember that problem we invented? well we fixed it, you're welcome!"

[@chrismorrison5301]

You can also add a touchscreen add on so you could make it touchscreen as well, maybe you could add some functionality to the props you added so they have function as well

[@MadAsKiwi]

With the spaceship look, and the angled corners, it looks like it could have come straight off of the wall of one of the corridors on Galactica (though, a corded handset would have completed that look perfectly). Great work

[@waynethomas2118]

Really enjoyed this one - the only thing it's missing to add to the spaceshippy authenticity is to metalise that section of wall the panel is on. Love it tho!

[@suzithewitch]

This is so cool! It looks like something from Subnautica (after the space ship crashes).

[@salabur]

Do not stop ;) and go directly to home assistants picture elements and build your own interface (in my case based on the floor plan).

[@SouthernStyleDIY]

This came out so cool! Weathering is perfect!

[@sandrochiavaro7831]

Great stuff Bob! Still in early stage of your Fusion 360 course. It’s all happening!!!

[@matthysloedolff]

Cool idea, Bob! Love the Lego reference throughout the video such as the Space Minifigure popping up and those Lego separators on the product.

[@diamondperidot]

You are such a creative nerd, and I love that about you.

[@c.a.g.1977]

This is so cool! Probably will never ever do such a project myself, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching you make something awesome, Bob!

[@XanderUtd]

So cool. Just an idea. Try and connect the laptop to the network so you do not have to remove it. Just access it from the pc or another laptop. Keep it up.

[@pmdinaz]

nicely done Bob! I dig it.

[@DanteNava]

Sounds like a great use for an old Surface!!!

[@goatelope7539]

Amazing. Love the freebies, Lego man, and blooopers

[@johnpinion8033]

Nice! Needs blinking lights! LOL (I keep looking for some kind of cheap LED light string that would let one easily create sci-fi "Star Trek" prop panels. I suppose with a few electronic parts and a little knowledge, it might not be that hard to do, but it would be nice to buy that randomly blinking light string in a unit!)

[@gregmullins1296]

This is so cool. I love it! Thanks again.

[@mike.the.estimator704]

This is awesome!! I hope you can do a Home Assistant setup or something like that! That is what I would like to go to instead of Alexa or Google home.

[@skysurferuk]

7:40 They're not called Greeblies, they're called GNDN's! Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing. Plenty in the Star Trek universe...🤣 At the end, I'd struggle using the trackpad vertically, like that. Looks good, though. Giving me ideas... 🤣

[@sapelesteve]

Now that was an awesome makeover Bob! And yes your are a space cadet! 👍👍👽👽

[@masterofnone]

What a cool idea. I have been meaning to do a central station to control all my connected devices in my house. I am definitely going to work on that and make it look cool. I am so inspired right now!!!.

[@Chewbacca1220]

This is dope! Greatly done!! Also, I like how you used three of your extra Lego part remover tools for it!!

[@thesevendays.]

I very much enjoyed this one! Great video!

[@revenantworkshop175]

This is awesome. I love when you do prop/model stuff as it's a collision of my two favourite "worlds" online i.e making in general and wargaming and model making. You may already be familiar with Dirty Down Rust but if not it's an absolutely incredible product for weathering props and models 👍

[@jimrosson6702]

What a great idea it turned out great.

[@robandsharonseddon-smith5216]

Really cool. Looks just as good as the phone jail, but unlike that project, it really serves a purpose. The jail was too weak to be effective and pretty pointless. This is next level and really highlights your great creative skills.

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Phone jail?

[@jeeperin]

I love the ideas. One thing to make sure there is plenty of ventilation for the laptop.

[@pipdesignshop]

So cool and so accessible. I also have a renewed justification for my box of greeblies!

[@RafaelDiaz-xw9cz]

I know this is not your field, but it will be awesome. If you can make a video of something to organize Barber and tools that really awesome love your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@ellieboa]

The ‘fitting off something that broke’ would have been on the end of a hoody cord! Awesome project

[@MFunkibut]

Once you have Home Assistant dialed in, you could add a macro pad beside the laptop and greblie that up as well.

[@jeditsuyoshi]

Love it dude. Great job. The juice top reminds me of Brian.

[@gpaine]

I love watching Bob dip his whole (J.R.R.) Toels(kin) into a project.

[@alsinclaire]

Home Assistant has been great for the last two years! Hope it works well for you.

[@Hatchmade]

Turned out really cool

[@matt-is-watching]

As a former dance dad, I know all about E6000.

[@WinstonWolfe66]

Amazing! An arcade joystick as a mouse would be a great addition

[@carlos.arrastia]

Very good looking project Bob! If it gives you an idea, I recently built a similar panel myself, repurposing an old iPad 4 gen (10yr old) which hasn't received updates in 5 years or so. The hardware is still great and for occasional use for this kind of dashboard a battery charge still lasts over 3 weeks. I had to build a light web app on top of home assistant using their APIs though, as their dashboards don't run in the old ipad safari.

[@MCsCreations]

Stunning piece, Bob! Amazing work!!! 😃 People use to build "magic mirrors"... But something like that would look much cooler! Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@CybrJames]

I love this. Amazing work. Thank you

[@FireheartSamurai]

Great video as always Bob. Hopefully there’ll be no Skynet nonsense happening in your home. Also this video looks like something Brian from The Smugglers Room would do.

[@SeaFanStudio]

Really cool control console! I always love your projects!

[@bigperm005]

Wow that's some inspiration to get the wheels turning!

[@alexrobles7744]

looks awesome! seems a waste of a good laptop, but looks great! Great work and great inspiration on how we can take ideas to reality.

[@n3rdygrl]

This turned out awesome! Those lego pry things made me laugh!

[@samvandenberg6730]

i am getting so excited about this video! I WILL start a Greeblies box :)

[@bobba609]

This is so cool! Love it

[@AB_in_CO]

Looks super cool!! Definitely interested in future videos (if you do them) on how to run your house smartly and internally.

[@Stillworks]

Awesome. Love that one dude

[@TheSephTacular]

Bob: I have trouble with artistic, aesthetically creative aspects of projects. Also Bob: watch me turn this junk into a futuristic space control panel.

[@matthewboyd443]

Finally, repairable and upgradeable electronics!

[@therick0996]

Ooh it's the "sponsored by a laptop" video you were talking about on the podcast with The Next Layer!

[@feenixfiya]

Awesome! It’s so 1977 ILM-esque! 😄

[@alexsnave]

New to this channel! Absolutely love the content. Keep it up!!! 💪💪

[@billbucktube]

Good aesthetic 👍👍❗️

[@alkalinedale]

I’ve been wanting to do something like this forever! Thanks

[@bombdiggity7196]

I had my doubts, but yeah that looks pretty good. nice job.

[@dannyomo]

Looking forward to that future video with the Raspberry Pi 👀

[@nathandrouin4730]

That is so kick ass .very nice job sit