One of the reasons I started Bricklayer AI was that I saw, and still see, the incredible opportunity of AI Agents. They will help us be more productive, do less manual work, and transform our lives in every way during the next few years.
At work, I focus on cybersecurity AI Agent teams for Security Operations Centers.
But at home, I bring this vision to life in other real world ways too.
AI Agents in Real Life: Making My Home Smarter
I recently worked on a really exciting project with my teenage daughter: we built our own voice assistant for our home. It’s powered by a large language model (LLM) and functions similarly to Alexa—but it’s smarter, more intuitive, and tailored to how we live.
Our goal was to create an assistant that doesn’t just follow rigid commands but understands natural language and context. Now, instead of saying, “Turn on the living room light,” we can say things like, “It’s a bit dark in here, can you brighten it up?” and it just works. It’s been a rewarding project, and I’d like to share how we did it and what we learned along the way.
Why AI Agents over Current Tools like Alexa?
While Alexa and similar devices are useful, they often feel limited. If you don’t say the command exactly right, they don’t respond as expected. For example, saying “Turn on the kitchen light” might lead to, “I don’t recognize that device.” It’s frustrating when a tool that’s supposed to make life easier actually complicates things.
That’s what motivated us to create something better. We wanted a system that could understand us, no matter how we phrased our requests. Whether it’s “Turn off the lights downstairs,” “Can you dim the lights in the kitchen?” or “It’s too bright in here,” the assistant should respond appropriately without any hassle.
How We Built It
We started with Home Assistant, an open-source platform that connects to a wide range of smart devices. From there, we integrated a GPT-4o mini language model, which is excellent at understanding and responding to natural language. This setup allowed us to create a system capable of interpreting nuanced commands and taking the right actions.
For hardware, we used an ESP32-S3-BOX-3 Development Board to create a physical device for interacting with the assistant. While the assistant can also be accessed via a phone or computer, having a dedicated device makes it more convenient and immersive.
Here’s how it works:
- Natural Conversations: No more memorizing commands—it understands phrases like, “Can you brighten the kitchen lights?” or “I’m having a party. Can you help me with lighting and music?”
- Control Everything: It integrates with lights, thermostats, speakers, and sensors for seamless home automation.
- Smart Responses: It doesn’t just control devices—it can answer questions like, “Is there a person in the backyard?” or “Are there any doors open?” or “where is there motion in the house?”.
Why AI Agents Are Better
The key improvement is its ability to truly understand natural language. Traditional voice assistants are limited to predefined commands, but ours can interpret a wide range of phrases. It’s more responsive, less frustrating, and even answers questions about the status of our home.
For example, I can ask, “Is the garage door open?” or better “If any garage doors are open, and it is raining, please close the garage doors.” or “If there is no one in the basement, please turn off all the lights.” and it provides an accurate response and takes action if necessary. It feels like the assistant is part of the family because it’s so intuitive.
Lessons Learned
This project was a fantastic learning experience. I enjoyed showing my daughter how programming works, connecting devices through Home Assistant, and leveraging AI to make life easier. She was an incredible partner in testing and brainstorming ideas. We both gained a deeper understanding of how AI can bridge the gap between technology and natural human interaction.
What’s Next?
We’re already thinking about the next steps to make our assistant even better:
- Improved Hardware: The ESP32-S3-BOX-3 works well in quiet rooms, but its microphone struggles with background noise, and the speaker could be louder. We ordered the new Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition to try it out. The Satellite1 from FutureProofHomes looks really interesting too and we are on the waiting list. We will also be exploring a more advanced build using a Raspberry Pi to improve performance.
- Voice Personalization: We’d like the assistant to recognize individual voices and provide personalized responses. For instance, it could play my daughter’s favorite music when she asks and mine when I do.
- Exploring Local AI Models: While GPT-4o mini has been fantastic, we’re planning to test local language models to see how they compare in terms of performance and privacy.
Final Thoughts
Building this assistant was not just about making our home smarter—it was about learning, creating, and solving problems together. Instead of relying on an off-the-shelf assistant, we built something that truly works for us. The project has transformed the way we interact with our home, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to share this journey with my daughter.
If you’re considering building your own smart assistant, I encourage you to give it a try. The process is as fun as the results are useful. And if you have ideas for features we should add, I’d love to hear them!
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