[Paper Review] IoT Based Smart Home using Blynk Framework

Bharat Bohara, Sunil Maharjan+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jul 27, 2020

IoT-based Smart Home Systems35 citations

TL;DR

The paper presents an IoT-based smart home system using the Blynk framework to control and monitor appliances via smartphone, with NodeMCU as gateway, Raspberry Pi as private server, and offline automation supported by sensor readings and data logging for mining.

ABSTRACT

The project discussed in this paper is targeted at solving sundry problems faced by Nepalese people in their daily life. It is designed to control and monitor appliances via smartphone using Wi-Fi as communication protocol and raspberry pi as private server. All the appliances and sensors are connected to the internet via NodeMcu microcontroller, which serves as the gateway to the internet. Even if the user goes offline, the system is designed to switch to automated state controlling the appliances automatically as per the sensors readings. Also, the data are logged on to the server for future data mining. The core system of this project is adopted from the Blynk framework.

Motivation & Objective

• Solve daily life problems faced by Nepalese users through a smartphone-controllable smart home system.
• Design a setup where appliances and sensors are accessible via Wi-Fi using the Blynk framework.
• Utilize Raspberry Pi as a private server and NodeMCU as the internet gateway.
• Ensure automated appliance control when the user is offline and enable data logging for mining.

Proposed method

• Leverages the Blynk framework as the core system for remote control and monitoring.
• Connects appliances and sensors to the internet through NodeMCU as the gateway.
• Uses Raspberry Pi as a private server to host control logic and data storage.
• Implements an automated state control that activates based on sensor readings when the user is offline.
• Logs data on the server to enable future data mining.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can Blynk framework enable smartphone-based control of home appliances in this setup?
• RQ2 How does NodeMCU function as a gateway to connect devices to the internet in this architecture?
• RQ3 How is offline automation achieved and what sensor readings drive automated control?
• RQ4 How is sensor data logged on the server for potential data mining?
• RQ5 What are the practical considerations for deploying this system in a Nepalese context?

Key findings

• The system enables smartphone-based control and monitoring of appliances via Wi-Fi using Blynk.
• NodeMCU serves as the gateway connecting appliances and sensors to the internet.
• Raspberry Pi operates as a private server hosting control logic and data storage.
• An automated state control activates appliances based on sensor readings when the user is offline.
• Data is logged on the server to support future data mining.