A button box beats you smartphone in many scenarios. You don't need to search for it; you don't need to unlock it; you don't need to go to the right app; there's no launching the app and waiting for it to load. Far less steps if you have a tangible item just in front of you.

Here's what you will need to build one:

Raspberry Pi
Prota OS on a Micro SD card (Do wnload)
Thick paper for casing
LED & Buttons
Bread board
Jumper wires
30 min of your time

Step 1: Decide What You Will Automate.

Knowing where you'll use it, is important because the button box design will depend on this.

We've automated the follow:

Push button 1: turn on/off all smart sockets.
Push button 2: start/ stop audio playback.
Push button 3: send a message on Slack.
Push button 4: microbot turns on/off the tumbler switch.

You can of course make your own automation stories :)

OBS! Micro robot shown in the video is a prototype and currently cannot be acquired. But it will be soon! Stay tuned.

Step 2: Add LED Indicators to the Bread Board.

Step 3: Assemble Your Buttons Before Adding on to the Bread Board.

Step 4: Attach Your Buttons to the Bread Board.

Step 5: Now the Difficult Part. Set Up GPIO Wiring.

Follow the instructions in the first image. This might be a bit confusing, so make sure not to mix up the wires. Using different colors in the wiring process will help a lot.