How Artificial Intelligence Can Automate Reading Your Water Meter In Home Assistant

#homeassistant #howto #BinaryTechLabs
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are used to automate the reading of a water meter, but it could be any type of meter. The best part is that we can integrate it with Home Assistant with MQTT. If you have ever wanted to track your usage or set up alerts or automations, then this is the video for you! Also this is a fantastic means of aggregating data to analyze.
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ESP32-CAM with MicroUSB - amzn.to/3iNHGsL
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WSLg for Windows - github.com/microsoft/wslg
⌨️ Commands
pip install esptool
pip install setuptools
python -m esptool --chip esp32 erase_flash
python -m esptool --chip esp32 --port (serial_port) write_flash 0x01000 bootloader.bin 0x08000 partitions.bin 0x10000 firmware.bin
🔗 Additional Links
AI on the edge Instructions - github.com/jomjol/AI-on-the-e...
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[@iperineum5211]

Thanks for the guide! One thing, which gave me some headache was that the ESP32 must be set into boot mode to flash the .bin files. Since I had the programmer board, I just had to press the "IOO" button and then plug it in. However, in none of the guides I watched this was mentioned. Now I know! :D Please note also that since Home Assistant release 2022.6 expression changes to the mqtt format in the .yaml code were introduced. Since HA 2022.9 the old format is completely removed. So, the examples given in the guide are outdated. old code example (found in the video): sensor: - platform: mqtt state_topic: "home/bedroom/temperature" new format: mqtt: sensor: - state_topic: "home/bedroom/temperature" for the guide the expression goes as follows: mqtt: sensor: - name: "Main Water Meter" state_topic: "watermeter/main/value" value_template: "{{ value }}" unit_of_measurement: "m3" icon: "mdi:water-pump" - name: "Main rate meter AIOE" state_topic: "watermeter/main/rate" value_template: "{{ value }}" icon: "mdi:swap-vertical" - name: "Main timestamp meter AIOE" state_topic: "watermeter/main/timestamp" value_template: "{{ value }}" icon: "mdi:clock-outline" binary_sensor: - name: "Main Error meter AIOE" state_topic: "watermeter/main/error" value_template: "{{ value != 'no error' }}" json_attributes_topic: "powermeter/main/json" icon: "mdi:alert-circle" more on this can be found here: www.home-assistant.io/integrations/sensor.mqtt/ and here: www.home-assistant.io/blog/2022/06/01/release-20226/#breaking-changes

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Thanks for pointing out these updates!

[@suzaa6868]

Hi, thank you very much for your video, I can't find firmware file in the download zip file, is there anyway to get complete zip file

[@kevinhenes4920]

I noticed you had to add lines to your config.yaml. I just did a new install this week and all the entities were automatically installed in my mqtt under "watermeter". I didnt have to add anything to my yaml. Not sure if that was something that the dev added in the past year, but its nice that it does that now.

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Awesome, thanks for letting me know. I'll update mine and remove it from my config

[@uSlackr]

you do not need WSL fir windows to run python. install it from the MS store or run `winget install python` in a terminal window.

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Thank you for sharing, always great to learn new ways to get things done

[@ragdepc]

By a chance can this be done with esphome or is too much? Or just a bin file to download and flash into the esp32-cam??

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Hey great questions and I really should update this video. The best way to install this software is via the Web Installer provided on their GitHub page. It handles all the necessary files and configurations, making the process much smoother. You can manually install the bin files like I show and "AI-on-the-edge-device" isn’t fully compatible with ESPhome due to its specialized nature. For AI functionalities, stick with the provided installation methods. For the latest instructions and updates, check out the Github page

[@Morocco-m3s]

Good luck and continued success, good luck and success 👍 Great video

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Thank you very much!

[@geekhessebo2709]

Thanks for the great video and keep up with the good work 💞

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Thank you

[@johngriffiths3467]

Great video, made some assupmtions regards the flashing of the ESP32-CAM but I eventually got there. Got the stage where MQTT reference in the config.yaml needed including and failed. Any chance the code could be reference somewhere in the comments? Unfortunaltely I agree that the music would have been better at a reduced volume! Keep up the great work.

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Hey, thanks for the feedback, yeah the music... I thought it was ok, but I'm learning it is not and because of all the feedback, all future videos will not have music when I am talking. I am very happy people are trying this out. The home assistant info you need you can read here: github.com/jomjol/AI-on-the-edge-device/wiki/Integration-Home-Assistent I hope that gets you up and running.

[@johngriffiths3467]

@@BinaryTechLabs That's just the job. Thanks for putting me right. Regards the background music, try another one but keep the volume just above zero! Looking forwar to your next vid. Cheers from UK.

[@vpsrj]

Hey, thanks for sharing! It’s an awesome feature and I’ll definitely try it with my gas meter!

[@BinaryTechLabs]

You are very welcome, let me know how it turns out!

[@tjensen4100]

Hi Have you get the water cost to work ? And if yes, then how? Great video

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Hey, thanks for your comment and support, no I've not set up that feature for it, mine was just strictly out of laziness 😂

[@aimanfaris9100]

hello i have a problem where when i entered my ip address, it doesn't show the initial setup page. how to fix that?

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Hey there! Sorry to hear you're having trouble accessing the setup page after entering your IP address, here are a few quick things to try: 1. Check your network connection 2. Double-check the IP address 3. Review and edit the "wlan.ini" file with correct SSID and password info 4. Check your firewall and security settings If the problem persists, you can reach out to the developer of the "AI-on-the-edge" program on GitHub. They might have specific troubleshooting steps or someone might have encountered similar issues as you are experiencing.

[@gianlucafrare3171]

Have you tried to power it with a battery? How long could it last?

[@BinaryTechLabs]

I have not tried, but I suspect that it would last anywhere from 12 to 18 hours on a 9v battery and depending on current draw based on the flash setting

[@31biga]

I have the same meter. Can you not define a ROI for the analogic counter? 0.1 m3 of water is 100L, not really precice for real time monitoring. With the analogic counter you can read 10 and 1 litres (0.01 0.001 m3) precision

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Hey, I didn't find anything where you could customize that in the settings. But it would be a good request for the developer to add the feature. Reach out to them, you never know, might be an easy update.

[@AnthonyGossner]

where you able to find a reference for the timezone settings?

[@BinaryTechLabs]

I was, here is the "light" reading I did to figure it out for my TZ developer.ibm.com/articles/au-aix-posix/

[@oleav1539]

Do you have an error when your dial is over the digits?

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Yes, if the dial is blocking my digits I get a 'NaN' reading, that is normal

[@knallaff]

@Binäre Tech-Labs You didn't store a password in the MQTT settings, isn't that required? I can't get any data in, something is missing... I'll have to take a look :-/

[@BinaryTechLabs]

I entered my MQTT settings off camera, as that install was made on my production HA instance

[@stefanboy8020]

Hello, I'm also currently setting it up, but had to find out that the mqtt sensors don't work as it says on the side of the water meter, do you have sensors that work or a solution for it. I have now solved it by not using Value but Raw.

[@BinaryTechLabs]

I'm glad you found a solution, but I'm having trouble understanding what you are saying the problem is.

[@stefanboy8020]

@@BinaryTechLabs The 4 mqtt sensors as specified for the Yaml on the Watermeter page do not give any values. The sensors are on the entities with a red ! not available.

[@stefanboy8020]

@@BinaryTechLabs Too bad I can't send you any pictures this way.

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Oh ok, did you changes to the main topic or change the value of "main" anywhere in the config? Also is your MQTT broker running in home assistant? You can use a tool called MQTT explorer to trouble shoot. It sounds like something with your MQTT setup is not seeing the data being published by the water meter client

[@stefanboy8020]

@@BinaryTechLabs found the error had to change the host name. Changed it to German.

[@phillip8260]

Is there a version of this video without the music?

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Unfortunately not, however it would be a good video for me to update as there has been a few version changes since

[@Justdigit2]

How can this work in a dark environment?

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Hey great question. You can control the internal LED on the camera and you can even add external LED's. You can find out more here: jomjol.github.io/AI-on-the-edge-device-docs/External-LED/

[@Justdigit2]

​@@BinaryTechLabsAhhh but that's just genius. I did not know there was a led on the board.

[@BinaryTechLabs]

No worries, you might find the internal one creates a glare, you can control the brightness as well, just a heads up.

[@jokernautmusic1640]

Sir is this Realtime monitoring?

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Yes

[@lcarter194]

totally off topic but I think i can use this to read bingo balls

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Getting the balls to line up the right way will be challenging. Good luck to you sir. Keep me posted

[@jeroenm771]

*software* aspect of this project

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Hey, Thanks for the comment, did you miss some text? Not sure what you are asking.

[@fatles2008]

I love it when none Brits use the term "Bugger"

[@BinaryTechLabs]

😅 Thank you for the comment! I may not have the accent, however that term and others I've heard throughout my life from my family members 😉

[@sygys]

Never got this to work properly. The esp32cam is to damn slow to run this software

[@BinaryTechLabs]

I'm sorry to hear that you couldn't get it running, but as I demonstrated in the video, I did get it working and have had no issues with it. Maybe there is something wrong with the esp32cam board that you are using.

[@Heneyspanicker]

background music annoying

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Thanks

[@SirDragonClaw]

For the love of all that is holy remove the terrible music that is louder than your voice next time. It adds nothing to the tutorial and only takes from it.

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Thanks for the feedback, all my future videos will be soundtrack free.

[@ThePulsar14]

Sorry, but Did You watch and heard Your Video before publish it? Because the music in background is too high and really bothering. Come on guy, how to destroy a good video 👎

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Hey, thanks for sharing. On these older videos I was and actually still am learning, there's no manual when you sign up. That said, maybe it's time I update this video as there's been a lot of changes. Stay tuned! Again thank you for the feedback, it's a great way to improve!

[@jeff-73]

Omg. Do research before you make videos. This is not AI. This is PATTERN recognition. AI involves self learning algorithms and NOT someone programming every number.

[@BinaryTechLabs]

Well thanks for the clarification