Hello, I am new to biohacking and wanted more information about the pros and cons before embarking on what I would assume to be a large, if even possible, home system. The reason I am reaching out here is because of the specifics of the project. What I was thinking, if products exist that support such a system, would be not only locks for the front and back doors of the house, garage door, but also items such as cabinets/safes. While its easy on a small scale, I would like to be able to be notified on my phone when a door is opened. Additionally, it would be a huge benefit to use a product like the rings for family members, or the card readers from Schlage, but I don’t know if they would be able to connect to a smart home system. Any help would be appreciated!
just to get a better idea of where you’re starting, what hardware do you already have your hands on and what smart ecosystem were you leaning towards? (ie. home assistant, google, smartthings, ect)
compatible with certain implants. Don’t have it myself but looks promising 
Currently I have no hardware, but I would like, if possible, wifi based rather than Bluetooth and Apple home has usually worked the best in terms of ecosystems, however I could see a number of issues trying to create a diy system for apple
Definitely not of the better and more integrated companies I’ve seen. This is almost what I’m looking for, it’s just a little bit expensive and involved, maybe a good idea when I eventually start my new house from scratch. But its definitely double if it is the only option
Currently im using Home assistant on my home server and id highly recommend it. It can run on pretty much anything with at least 2 cores and it connects to just about anything and absolutely everything if you are willing to spend time on it. If price is more of a limiter than time, it should be your first choice. Its a lot easier than the internet makes it seem.
There are lots of very cheap solutions if you go DIY.
- Magnetic read switches can trigger alerts and notifications to the app (Android/ios)
- Esp32 or esp8266 can be had for cheap and you can easily program any sensor from a web ui (led strips, nfc/rfid reader, camera, speaker, motion sensor)esp32 has BLE and the 8266 can save you a little if you don’t need it
- You can get generic electronic locks for cbinets from amazon. Usually magnetic plate or a solenoid that can all trigger when you go to bed or scan a tag
For your doors if you have your readers as different entities you can use a separate lock like the one thats being worked on in the forum but it looks like tge samsung ezon is a popular choice for biohackers
One more thing. The Schlage readers use z-wave so youll need a zigbee+zWave usb stick or go with smartthings
Thanks so much for the help! I think I’ll start by setting up a home server system and then integrate security into it, rather than doing it all at once
Adding to the above here. ESPhome has a “almost” plug and play quality to it. You can also easily add nfc readers to them with the various arduinos.
If budget is the largest pain point then zigbee devices are even cheaper than zwave. You will still need a usb stick tho.
There are loads of options and home assistant connects with More than you would think. If you can find a intergration that is officially supported check out the HACS(home assisstant community) repos there you can find alot more aswell.
do you just want “If a door is opened” or “This person opened the door” Depending on what you requirements are you can use different things. Sounds like you are looking for a actual access controller. I would consider checking the compatibility list of home assistant.
I have done some research and what I want is for a magnetic sensor to send the signal to the esp32 (or similar). While I would like to have a sever eventually regardless of this system, the price point is very steep so while they could probably do it on board and unlock the lock just fine, I would like to have it act as an access controller, where it asks the server if this tag has access or not.
Also I was looking on Amazon and saw some rfid readers with cards, but was wondering if you knew of simpler options?
I also strongly recommend Home Assistant. Ideally you would use zigbee to connect your devices. The list of them is huge.
This is my next project. Not 100% if thats what you’re looking for. Im moving in an undetermined time frame so i havent fully decided on what lock i want. If im allowed to change the locks, ill probably get a Samsung ezon and save the hastle.
Woah i needed this site before i doubled down on zwave and matter
What is your budget for the project, what is your rough budget for it. per door, total or just for a proof of concept.
If you have a raspberry pi a cc zigbeestick you have a cheap access controller, combined with sensors that chaosbreaker linked.
If you want to go cheaper you could do only the open/close contact with a esp01 a cheap cabled reed contact sensor.
Or even just two wire.
everything is possible with some time and a arduino.
In my experience, RPI quickly becomes too weak. I would definitely recommend the HP T620 more. It is just as cheap and more powerful.
Sorry I haven’t responded to my own thread, but I just closed on the house and getting everything setup now so thank you for all your help!
Budget for the security portion is a flexible 1500, but I am looking for something closer to an access controller linked to my home server. Home assistant looks promising but I still don’t know how I’m going to bridge to gap between the lock and the server.
I recommend secure first, effortless to use regularly a close second. Ubiquiti is great for having a nice easy out of box to functional setup. Setting up badges, access schedules is pretty straightforward and fast to do.
I have some improvements I have been spinning my wheels on. But that’s for another thread.