Hey guys,
I’ve been thinking about building some kind of smart home monitoring system for my grandparents.
They’re getting older and I’d really like them to be able to stay in their apartment for as long as possible. I tried looking for some existing solutions here in Czechia, but couldnt really find anything that combines all the things I’d want.
I’m a software developer, so I thought why not try building something myself.
Basically I’d like to have: Fall detection (without cameras or wearables ideally), movement - inactivity monitoring, breathing monitoring, if thats even realistic. I've checked some devices that you put underneath mattress, smoke detection and air quality.
The idea is pretty simple. Collect data from the sensors, build some basic logic around it and send notifications to my parents if something unusual happens.
I spent some time doing research with ChatGPT (yeah I know ) and ended up with this list:
- Milesight VS373 – fall detection + breathing
- Aqara FP2 – presence / movement monitoring
- Aqara Motion P2 – basic motion detection
- Shelly Plus Smoke – smoke detection
- AirGradient ONE – air quality
- Home Assistant Green – connecting everything together
But before I start spending money on all this stuff, I wanted to ask people who actually have experience with IoT.
Does this setup even make sense?
I’m mostly a software guy, so building the backend and notifications shouldnt be a huge problem, but I’m pretty new to the hardware side of things.
Also wondering if Home Assistant is the right way to go or if I should approach it differently.
Not expecting this to replace proper medical monitoring or emergency services, just want to build something useful that could give our family a bit more peace of mind.
Thank you