I was invited to do a tech talk by DEV.BG a few weeks ago, and I chose to discuss my recent heat pump upgrade project, the integration with the existing PV system, and Home Assistant. The tech talk was in…
I recently spoke with a friend of mine, who is now a software development team manager in a Fortune 500 listed company. He shared with me that his managed teams work using agile methodologies and consist only of software developers.…
While delivering on the promise of streamlined efficiencies and operational insights, smart IoT devices also present a new and more widespread threat to users and personal data. No one really needs reminding of the security implications of IoT. Think of…
As an IT team manager, I am responsible for forming highly engaged and efficient teams. Building an agile team requires a fine balance of skilled and motivated people, fine-tuned processes and proper tool selection.Put too much focus on people and…
I did a tech talk about my ESP32 based IoT control hub project on Feb 5th, 2019 at Work & Share Coworking Space Sofia. Over 100 people signed up for the event organized by DEV.BG, it was a pleasant surprise…
Accurate time/date information is crucial for the correct operation of IoT nodes. From a security perspective, time/date information is necessary to perform SSL certificate validations. If your embedded device’s clock isn’t accurate, you can’t ensure the presented server certificate hasn’t…
I will be doing a tech talk on topic “Hardware and firmware considerations when designing low power battery operated wireless edge nodes for Internet of Things applications” at an event organized by DEV.BG. Join me on April 18th, starting 19:15…
I had a chat with a colleague the other day, discussing his property purchasing plans. He shared that the proximity to workplace is important for him. Planning in the long term, he asked me what districts of Sofia would be…
I have been busy starting up an exciting new project the last few months, a joint effort with a team of highly enthusiastic, hands-on, broadly skilled contributors with the goal to design and develop IoT home/industrial automation solutions. Together, we established…
We are close to that time of the year when Daylight Saving Time (DST) starts. It is intended to save on energy use, however, studies have found this to be questionable, even contrary – energy use increases in some cases. The change itself…
Now that we have connected our project to the local network, we are immediately faced with another challenge: how can we reach it? Using WPS/SmartConfig means we force the unit into DHCP settings mode, IP address is auto assigned by the router in…
The typical end-user of your IoT products wants them up and running fast, with minimum hassle once they bring them home. They don’t want to be presented with initial configuration mechanisms/options they don’t understand, and their enthusiasm quickly diminishes if…
There is no second opinion about the importance of version control, it is a must-have for any software project. The option for reversibility, concurrency and history of code edits is what makes it so crucial. I’ve been using mostly GitHub for…
Connected devices and sensors are the fastest growing sources of data. Billions of records are being generated daily around the globe and data transported across networks to be consumed where needed. Security of data in transit or at still in that…
The Raspberry Pi, a $35 credit card sized computer, is a popular choice for home automation projects. I am running few of those at home myself. But what is the true cost of these, is the advertised cost of $35 really all…