This ESP32 weather display uses human presence radar to illuminate the screen when someone is nearby

Resume

The ESP32 Weather Display pulls Open-Meteo and displays the time, current and upcoming forecasts.
Millimeter-wave human presence radar only wakes up the screen when someone is nearby to save electricity.
Freenove ESP32 board with ST7796 display, touch screen, Wi-Fi and 3D printable stand; supports many languages.

Making a DIY smart display makes for a great home project, but how do you solve the problem of having it always on? If power draw is a concern, an e-ink display can display screens that don’t require high refresh rates with minimal draw. However, one clever craftsman found another way to save power: install a radar that only turns on the screen if someone is nearby.

This ESP32 weather display has a clever power-saving trick

More projects should implement this technology

Redditor sudu1988 posted about his latest work ESP32 subreddit. It takes data from Open-Meteo and lets you know what the time is, the current weather forecast, and what’s going to happen in the future. However, it also comes with an optional “human presence radar” that only turns on the screen if it senses someone is close enough to read it.

Here’s how sudu1988 explains it:

“Hardware is a Freenove FNK0103S board with ESP32-WROOM-32E4 inch ST7796 display and XPT2046 resistive touch screen. This board integrates Wi-Fi, display and touch hardware into one module, allowing you to manage external wires. Human presence radar is tasked with lighting up the screen when someone is present Hi-Link HLK-LD2410C Millimeter Wave Human Presence Radar. I also made a 3D printable fence and support.”

This is a great project for international users as they claim to support multiple languages (GB, ES, DE, FR, UA, SE, IT, RU), multiple time formats and different temperature units. No more converting Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa in your head.