Engineer Sergey Dudanov has released an open-source “Universal IoT Dongle,” for controlling various home appliances via UART and infrared protocols.
It is built around WiFi module ESP12-F based on Espressif ESP8266 SoC, with possibility to swap middle signal TX/RX contacts. It is said to be compatible with devices from brands like Midea, Electrolux, Artel, Carrier and many more.
“The dongle is universal and you can use absolutely any firmware that supports the ESP8266 and your device. The choice is almost endless. But it was originally designed to control Midea air conditioners via Home Assistant. For this, I developed the midea_ac component for the ESPHome project,” Dudanov writes.
The sticks Dudanov sells come with ESPHome firmware already installed. “You can also read the IR signal on the GPIO12 pin from all remote controls. It can help in researching protocols and various automation goals without resorting to additional devices, thus saving energy,” he added.
Design files for the dongle have been published to GitHub under an unspecified open source license.
