Ouma Ria Smart Clock: An ESP32-Based Medication and Home Management System
- The Ouma Ria Smart Clock was never born from a clean sheet of paper or an exhaustive product roadmap.
- Project documentation on Hackaday.io reveals a device that grew organically to meet daily domestic demands.
- A DS3231 Real-Time Clock module automatically corrects over Network Time Protocol and retains correct time through a complete power cut via a coin-cell backup, according to Hackaday.io.
An Accidental Evolution on the Workbench
The Ouma Ria Smart Clock was never born from a clean sheet of paper or an exhaustive product roadmap. Instead, the home information, reminder, and safety system built using an ESP32 microcontroller evolved naturally at home to solve practical household problems, such as tracking birthdays, remembering doctor appointments, monitoring outdoor cooking, and keeping medication schedules on track, according to reporting by Hackaday.
Project documentation on Hackaday.io reveals a device that grew organically to meet daily domestic demands.
Precision Timekeeping and Independent Alarms
Accurate timekeeping anchors the entire system. A DS3231 Real-Time Clock module automatically corrects over Network Time Protocol and retains correct time through a complete power cut via a coin-cell backup, according to Hackaday.io.
For daily routines, the clock provides a wake alarm alongside three independent “Wekker” alarms that feature individual times, day-of-week schedules, and repeat-until-acknowledged behavior.
Targeted Medication Tracking and Countdowns
Medication management supports up to four daily doses with a visible light-emitting diode and a spoken announcement.
Additionally, the system includes a short-course scheduler with two independent slots designed for temporary treatments like antibiotics that run for a few days before stopping automatically. Approaching birthdays and doctor appointments trigger a countdown light and spoken reminders, with doctor appointments generating an evening-before warning that reaches a phone, as reported by Hackaday.io.
Heavy-Duty Hardware Architecture
The build relies on an ESP32-WROOM-32 microcontroller on an expansion board paired with four WS2812B 8-by-8 LED panels containing 256 pixels for the main display, alongside a separate 30-LED status strip, according to Hackaday.io documentation.
Additional hardware includes a DS3231 RTC, a BH1750 ambient light sensor, a DFPlayer Mini module with a speaker for spoken announcements and chimes, up to five AM312 passive infrared sensors, twelve front-panel push-buttons, an IRLZ44N metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor driving a siren output, and a 12-volt supply with battery backup stepped down to a regulated 5-volt rail.
Kitchen Utilities and Home Security
Beyond medication tracking, the smart clock includes a general calendar, a web-managed shopping-list notebook, kitchen helpers such as an egg timer, a braai timer with recipe references, and a smoker uptimer that survives power outages to push phone notifications, according to Hackaday.io.
The integrated security system features an always-on courtyard zone, a delayed-entry indoor zone, a panic button, and Pushover notifications routed through a dedicated status LED.