Universal "smart" set-top box to household appliances

Asimple and cheap way to turn ordinary household appliances (refrigerators, microwave ovens, coffee makers, washing machines, coolers, etc.) into «smart» ones using a stand-alone wireless set-top box for implementation of a «smart house» within the «Internet of Things» concept is presented. The basic hardware architecture of the set-top box has been developed, which includes a microcontroller, a Wi-Fi module with a built-in antenna, a rechargeable battery or a 220 V power supply. Depending on the functions performed, the basic architecture of the set-top box can be supplemented with various modules. i. e. external sensors (detectors, scanners. etc.) receiving signals from household appliances, a memory module, modules for input or output of information, a clock module, etc. The software of the set-top box microcontroller provides receiving and processing information from various external sensors generating information about operation of the household appliance and transmitting it through a wireless access point based on Wi-Fi technology to Internet to notify the user through the corresponding mobile application. The set-top box can work in conjunction with conventional household appliances without interfering with their design. Potential consumers of the set-top box are, first of all, domestic consumers, as well as any organizations and firms that use various household appliances at their offices and industrial premises. Based on the proposed architecture of the set-top box, a solution was developed in the form of a «smart bottle», which allows you to control the water level in a 19-liter bottle and use a mobile application to automatically order bottles from a bottled water supplier. The set-top box can be used with any types of water coolers/dispensers and even with hand pump bottles.