Book excerpt: Build a versatile home automation system from scratch. There are many ways of controlling home appliances with your smartphones, voice, gestures, etc. This book dives into the many options for for communicating with appliances wirelessly and we’ll discuss and implement the leading protocols in the field. In first few chapters, you will develop a basic understanding of the Raspberry Pi and how one can control it wirelessly from anywhere in the world. Then you’ll get to know about the local server for your home automation projects and control the Raspberry Pi GPIOs using smartphone and web apps. Every appliance will be able to talk to each other, as well, with the help of mesh networking, which you’ll learn to implement. The user interface is also an important aspect of handling all the appliances, so you’ll create your own user dashboard using OpenHAB. From there, you can monitor all the appliances and sensor data in one environment. Next, implement your own custom voice assistant to control your appliances and perform basic tasks like playing music, checking weather, etc. You’ll also integrate a smart door bell into your system using image processing so that you can restrict an unknown person’s entry. Finally, we’ll combine all the knowledge that we have learned to make a fully versatile home automation project controlled using voice, gestures, and image processing. Throughout this whole project, Raspberry Pi will be your master server or node and other devices will be connected wirelessly using wi-fi/Bluetooth modules. Create a smart home with fully custom interfaces to do exactly what you need! What You'll Learn Create a user interface using openHAB Implement the MQTT protocol Install Alexa and Google Home API to control appliances wirelessly Who This Book Is For Enthusiasts with a working knowledge of the Raspberry Pi, electronic engineering, and Python programming. This book will also interest hobbyists and students from Computer Science or related disciplines.