At the Bench
Where ideas become prototypes.
Every innovation starts somewhere.
This is where we experiment with AI, electronics, automation, software, Home Assistant, ESP32 development, business tools, and whatever interesting problem lands on the bench next.
Some experiments succeed.
Some fail spectacularly.
Both are worth sharing.
Welcome to the Bench
Some people keep journals.
Some keep notebooks.
I keep a workbench.
This is where ideas become prototypes, software gets rewritten, circuits get rebuilt, AI gets challenged, and the occasional "What if...?" turns into something unexpectedly useful.
Pull up a stool.
Have a look around.
There's always something on the bench.
Today's What If?
What if Simon lived inside Home Assistant?
Bench Status
Kitchenette Smart Lighting Controller
Building a custom ESP32-based controller to manage RGB LED strips in the office kitchenette. Integrates with Home Assistant for voice control and automation. Features include adaptive brightness, color temperature scheduling, and motion detection.
Project Journal
Real-time updates from the bench. Click to expand entries.
β Home Assistant integration complete
Successfully integrated the ESP32 controller with Home Assistant using ESPHome. All RGB controls now available through the dashboard.
After several attempts with different MQTT configurations, switched to ESPHome for native Home Assistant integration. The auto-discovery feature worked perfectly. Added custom effects for sunrise simulation and party mode.
light:
- platform: rgb
name: "Kitchenette RGB"
red: output_red
green: output_green
blue: output_blue
effects:
- random:
- pulse:
Next step: Add motion sensor integration for automatic lighting.
β Added MOSFET driver circuit
Replaced direct GPIO control with IRLZ44N MOSFETs to handle the 12V LED strips properly.
Initial tests with direct GPIO control showed insufficient current for the LED strips. Added three IRLZ44N MOSFETs (one per RGB channel) with 10kΞ© pull-down resistors. Now getting full brightness across all colors.
Lesson learned: Always check LED strip current requirements before assuming GPIO can drive them directly.
β Tested optocouplers for AC sensing
Experimented with optocouplers to detect when overhead lights are on, but abandoned approach.
Wanted to automatically dim RGB strips when overhead fluorescent lights are on. Tried using an optocoupler to sense AC line voltage, but the complexity and safety concerns weren't worth it.
Switched to using a simple photoresistor instead. Much safer and actually more reliable since it responds to actual light levels, not just switch state.
β Web interface redesigned
Built a responsive web interface for direct control when not using Home Assistant.
Created a simple HTML/CSS/JavaScript interface served directly from the ESP32. Features color picker, brightness slider, and preset scenes. Works great on mobile.
β Swapped ESP8266 for ESP32
Upgraded from ESP8266 to ESP32 for better performance and more GPIO pins.
The ESP8266 was running out of GPIO pins and memory. ESP32 provides plenty of both, plus Bluetooth support for future expansion. Migration was straightforwardβmost code worked without changes.
What's on the Bench
Current experiments and active projects.
ESP32 Projects
Custom IoT controllers for home automation, environmental monitoring, and smart lighting.
Active DevelopmentAI Agents
Experimenting with conversational AI, knowledge retrieval, and autonomous task execution.
Research PhaseHome Assistant
Building custom integrations, automations, and dashboards for intelligent home control.
OngoingKnowledge Foundry
AI-powered knowledge base system for organizing and retrieving complex information.
PrototypingBusiness AI
Practical AI applications for business intelligence, decision support, and workflow automation.
TestingAutomation
Scripts, workflows, and tools to eliminate repetitive tasks and streamline processes.
ActiveFinancial Modeling
Building tools for business forecasting, scenario analysis, and strategic planning.
DevelopmentElectronics Lab
Circuit design, PCB prototyping, and hardware debugging for custom electronics.
ExperimentalInnovation Research
Exploring emerging technologies, methodologies, and frameworks for organizational innovation.
ResearchTools on the Bench
Technologies currently being explored and deployed.
Recent Discoveries
What surprised us this week.
ESP32 Voltage Sweet Spot
Running ESP32 boards at 5.7V instead of the typical 5V unexpectedly solved an intermittent boot issue. The boards were browning out during WiFi initialization. Slight voltage increase provided enough headroom for stable operation.
This discovery came from measuring actual voltage drop under load rather than assuming the power supply was adequate.
Optocoupler Simplification
Optocouplers dramatically simplified interfacing 12V inputs to 3.3V ESP32 GPIO pins. What started as a complex voltage divider circuit became a simple, isolated, and more reliable solution.
Sometimes the "advanced" component is actually the simpler solution.
Spare Parts Prototyping
The best prototype is often the one built from spare parts already on the bench. Waiting for the "perfect" components delays learning. Building with what's available accelerates iteration.
Three "imperfect" prototypes teach more than one "perfect" design.
AI Context Windows
Discovered that breaking large documentation into smaller, focused chunks dramatically improves AI retrieval accuracy. The AI doesn't need to see everythingβit needs to see the right thing.
Quality of context matters more than quantity.
From the Notebook
Quick engineering observations.
"Pull-down resistors prevent floating GPIO pins. 10kΞ© works for most applications. Don't skip themβintermittent bugs are the worst kind."
"ESPHome auto-discovery in Home Assistant is magic. Spent hours fighting MQTT configs before discovering this. Should have read the docs first."
"When debugging electronics: Check power first, ground second, then signals. 80% of problems are power-related."
"AI agents work best with clear constraints. Unlimited freedom produces mediocre results. Specific goals produce breakthroughs."
"Version control everything. Even quick experiments. Future you will thank present you."
"The prototype that works is better than the design that doesn't exist. Ship it, learn from it, iterate."
Coming Up on the Bench
- β Pellet Boiler Controller V5
- β Simon for Home Assistant
- β Garden Environmental Sensors
- β Knowledge Foundry Deep Research
- β AI Community Intelligence
- β Business Intelligence Dashboard
- β Innovation Velocity Metrics
Innovation doesn't happen in conference rooms.
It happens at workbenches, over coffee, with spare parts, unfinished sketches, and one persistent question...
"What if?"
Every prototype teaches something. Every experiment moves the idea forward.
Learning faster than yesterday is the real goal.