Mind the GeekConference50min
Java, Raspberry Pi, and the Art of Overengineering Everyday Life
Java developers can build practical Raspberry Pi home automation without leaving their tools. This talk shows two real projects—a BBQ smoker controller and a jetty server for photos, water levels, and fishing alerts—covering hardware access, deployment, reliable services, mobile UIs, and secure remote control.
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Matti TahvonenVaadin
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Wednesday, October 7, 14:00-14:50
TBA 8
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Home automation promises to make life easier. Naturally, I used it to make mine more complicated—and much more fun. In this session, I’ll show how a professional Java developer can turn a Raspberry Pi into a practical automation platform without abandoning familiar tools or disappearing down a Python-shaped rabbit hole.
We’ll tour two of my real projects. A BBQ smoker controller drives micro servos and a fan, reads half a dozen temperature sensors, and warns me when to add more wood or tame the flames. Another home server, located at the jetty, takes time-lapse photos of sunsets, measures the water level, and tells me when conditions are right for fishing—even while I’m away at Devoxx.
Along the way, I’ll cover the parts that usually make people hesitate: project structure, accessing hardware from Java, fast development loops, remote deployment, running services reliably, building mobile-friendly UIs for my iPhone—I want to control my BBQ smoker while fishing 🤓—and accessing those services securely over the internet.
No grand smart-home platform, no Python magic—just pure Java, a Raspberry Pi, sensors, motors, and a healthy willingness to overengineer everyday life.
We’ll tour two of my real projects. A BBQ smoker controller drives micro servos and a fan, reads half a dozen temperature sensors, and warns me when to add more wood or tame the flames. Another home server, located at the jetty, takes time-lapse photos of sunsets, measures the water level, and tells me when conditions are right for fishing—even while I’m away at Devoxx.
Along the way, I’ll cover the parts that usually make people hesitate: project structure, accessing hardware from Java, fast development loops, remote deployment, running services reliably, building mobile-friendly UIs for my iPhone—I want to control my BBQ smoker while fishing 🤓—and accessing those services securely over the internet.
No grand smart-home platform, no Python magic—just pure Java, a Raspberry Pi, sensors, motors, and a healthy willingness to overengineer everyday life.
Matti Tahvonen
Matti Tahvonen has worked on web apps for over two decades. Vaadin’s first-ever JavaScript developer, he has evolved into a Java/JVM enthusiast over the years while working with an open-source Java web framework and building a business around it. When Matti isn’t working, he spends most of his time on nature-related hobbies—and on developing software to support them.