Made Dumb Electronics Smart for $3

As a maker, I’m always looking for ways to add smart functionality and automate things around my home and workshop. One of my latest projects involved taking a basic motorized projector screen and integrating it with my voice assistant so I can control it with voice commands.

It started out as a pretty simple idea – I wanted to be able to trigger the screen to raise, lower, and stop using an app or my voice rather than having to use the basic remote control it came with. I cracked open the remote and used an inexpensive microcontroller board to essentially hijack the button presses electronically. By wiring up the controller to the remote’s internal circuits, I could trigger the up/down/stop functions just by sending signals from the microcontroller.

After getting that basic functionality working, I realized I could take it a step further and integrate the microcontroller with smart home software to enable voice control. I set up routines so that a simple command like “Alexa, it’s movie time” could lower the projector screen along with dimming the lights and setting other home theater settings automatically.

One neat little hack I came up with was adding a limit switch that is activated when the screen reaches its lowest position. This is wired up to the microcontroller, allowing it to automatically stop the screen’s movement without me having to time a stop command perfectly. It creates a smooth, automated operation.

In the end, I packaged up the microcontroller components into a slick 3D printed housing that mounts neatly beneath the screen out of sight. With some basic soldering, printing, and coding, I was able to take an off-the-shelf motorized screen and turn it into a fully integrated, voice-controlled smart device! I love finding ways to add modern smart functionality to ordinary products.

If you’re interested in doing your own projects like this, be sure to check out my online course Arduino for Makers! You don’t need any prior knowledge. We walk you through every aspect, from coding to wiring up your own electronics.