RoomOps Zero is a standalone, compact room management and surveillance system, based on the Raspberry Pi Zero W. It combines the aesthetics of a retro-tech desktop assistant with the functionality of a central dashboard, transforming the desk and TV into a unified control station.
Transitioned RoomOps Zero from a software dashboard into a fully physical retro-tech robot assistant. The physical chassis has been built—featuring an acrylic robot enclosure complete with an integrated LED Matrix display that serves as an expressive face/visual telemetry hub.
On the software side, fully deployed the core security engine in main.py. The backend now supports dynamic system arming/disarming, security PIN verification, automated motion monitoring loops, and immediate smart home alert triggers (escalating room volume, dispatching notifications, and turning Tapo L900 smart light strips red upon motion detection).
Chassis & Enclosure)
main.py)
armed = False) to track real-time security modes across all REST endpoints.POST /api/verify-pin utilizing Pydantic validation (PinModel) against environment parameters (SECURITY_PIN)./api/arm & /api/disarm) for rapid arming/disarming from web controls and action blocks.services/camera.py)
/api/camera/check-motion endpoint to continuously poll motion sensors when the system is armed.utils.notifier.utils.volume.tapo_control.DeviceFactory by powering on the Tapo L900 light strip and setting its colour directly to Red./static/last_motion.jpg for active monitoring logging.Security State Management
GET / POST /api/arm → Sets system status to armed: true.GET / POST /api/disarm → Sets system status to armed: false.GET /api/status → Returns current system state ({"system_armed": armed}).Security PIN Verification
POST /api/verify-pin
{
"pin": "1234"
}
{
"status": "success",
"correct": true,
"system_armed": false
}
Motion Detection Polling Endpoint
GET /api/camera/check-motion
{
"motion": true,
"system_armed": true,
"timestamp": "2026-08-26T15:56:00",
"image_url": "/static/last_motion.jpg"
}
Elevated the RoomOps Zero ecosystem into a 24/7 ambient TV control station by integrating a real-time RSS news telemetry service.
This update includes:
Files: services/news.py · main.py
feedparser to extract and process localized Google News RSS feeds.GET /api/news/{city}
File: templates/index.html
fade-in and fade-out effects.
Elevated the RoomOps Zero ecosystem by transitioning from a headless microservice layer to an interactive web dashboard. Resolved Starlette/FastAPI ASGI rendering exceptions, eliminated recursive 404 image load loops, and consolidated CSS styling alongside asynchronous JavaScript directly into the template architecture. The dashboard now renders real-time telemetry, handles local clock synchronization, and triggers remote hardware states directly through non-blocking API requests.
main.py)
TypeError: unhashable type: 'dict' caused by Starlette context signature updates in newer FastAPI releases.Jinja2Templates rendering by explicitly passing keyword parameters (request=request).templates/index.html seamlessly alongside existing JSON routes.templates/index.html)
<style> and <script> blocks to bypass static pathing overhead and network latency.window.location.origin to allow dynamic REST execution across varying local IPs and ports.turn_on / turn_off) to POST /api/tapo/control payloads.GET /api/weather/{city}) with fallback status handlers.onerror fallback loop by decoupling broken image streams and nullifying error handlers.GET /
index.html)fetch('${API_BASE_URL}/api/weather/kavala')
POST /api/tapo/control with {"device_name": "l900", "action": "turn_on"}
Date: August 23, 2026
Project: RoomOps Zero
Status: In Progress (Backend Microservice Layer)
Implemented the foundational REST API layer for RoomOps Zero using FastAPI to handle local hardware control and environmental telemetry. Integrated Tapo smart devices (L900 Light Strip & L535 Smart Bulb) using an asynchronous client library (tapo), structured via the Factory Design Pattern for modularity. Added an asynchronous weather integration module to feed current climate data directly to the central dashboard.
main.py)
0.0.0.0:8080 via Uvicorn.TapoBaseModel).GET) and smart device state management (POST).tapo_control.py)
L900, L535) leveraging ApiClient from the tapo library..env file using python-dotenv.L535 to avoid redundant object instantiation.DeviceFactory class to standardize turn_on and turn_off operations across varying hardware models based on incoming payloads.weather.py)
python_weather using metric units ($^\circ\text{C}$).async utility (get_temperature) to prevent blocking the primary event loop during HTTP requests.GET /api/weather/{city}
city (path parameter, string)POST /api/tapo/control
Content-Type: application/json
{
"device_name": "l900",
"action": "turn_on"
}