Posted on by mbelmont

Mario’s Status Report for 2/14/2026

This week marked a significant transition from planning and architecture into active implementation. My primary focus was building out the full software stack; initializing the repository scaffolding, implementing the backend API and lighting control subsystem, and making a semi-decent frontend dashboard. I managed the development workflow using AI-assisted tools, which I detail transparently below.

AI Tool Usage Disclosure: I used GitHub Copilot coding agent and Cursor (AI-powered IDE) as development accelerators throughout the week. Specifically:

  • GitHub Copilot coding agent was used to generate initial scaffolding code (PR #1), implement lighting control backend services and database schemas (PRs #2, #4), update README documentation (PR #3), and fix targeted bugs in the frontend utilities and WebSocket logic that surfaced during code review (PRs #6, #7, #8, #9). I authored every prompt, defined the scope and requirements for each PR, reviewed all generated code for correctness, and merged only after verifying the output met our system’s architectural standards.
  • Cursor Agent was used to generate the full dashboard frontend UI overhaul (PR #5), producing React components, page layouts, service integrations, and the theme system. I provided the design specification (dark flat aesthetic, Mosaic-inspired), directed the component structure, and made iterative refinements including a follow-up manual CSS overhaul to remove beveled corners (PR #10, authored entirely by me).
  • This status report itself was drafted with the assistance of GitHub Copilot Chat (Claude), which I prompted with my repository context and previous report format. I reviewed, edited, and verified all content for accuracy.

Key contributions included:

  • Repository Initialization & Project Scaffolding: Designed and prompted the complete project architecture; a monorepo folder structure spanning firmware/, backend/, frontend/, infrastructure/, docs/, certs/, hardware/, and scripts/. I authored the detailed specification that dictated every file, dependency, and configuration template (PR #1). This included defining all FastAPI entry points, PlatformIO project configs for three ESP32 nodes, the React app skeleton, Docker Compose files for TimescaleDB and Redis, CI/CD workflows, and comprehensive documentation stubs (ARCHITECTURE.md, API.md, SETUP.md, USER_GUIDE.md, TESTING.md, productReqDoc.md, projectDescription.md).
  • Lighting Control Subsystem: Architected and directed the implementation of our third subsystem (lighting control with daylight harvesting). This involved specifying the firmware structure for ESP32 #3 (TEMT6000 ambient light sensor, PWM dimmer via LEDC, 4-channel relay control), the backend API endpoints (/api/lighting/dimmer, /api/lighting/relay, /api/lighting/daylight-harvest), the TimescaleDB hypertables (lighting_sensor_data, relay_state, dimmer_state) with continuous aggregates and 90-day retention policies, and the Pydantic validation schemas (PRs #2, #4). I defined all hardware GPIO pin assignments, the BOM for the TEMT6000, IRF520/540 MOSFET dimmer, and SRD-05VDC relay module, and updated the power budget from 4.88W to 13.0W peak.
  • Backend API & Services Layer: Directed the implementation of the FastAPI backend with the WebSocket manager for bidirectional device/client communication, the database client with session management, sensor data endpoints with real-time broadcast, and the full lighting control API (12+ endpoints documented in API.md). I configured CORS, Pydantic Settings for environment management, and the startup/shutdown lifecycle hooks.
  • Frontend Dashboard – Design & Implementation: Specified and directed the build of the complete React dashboard (PR #5), replacing the minimal skeleton with a multi-page application featuring: real-time temperature and lighting graphs (Recharts), access control with RFID policy management, dimmer/relay controls, admin authentication, CSV export, and WebSocket live telemetry. I ripped the initial web page design from one of my previous TartanHacks Hackathon projects. I steered towards a dark-theme flat UI and then manually authored the CSS theme overhaul (PR #10) getting rid of all rounded corners/bevels and retuning the color palette to match our project’s aesthetic. This was the only PR where I wrote every line of code myself without AI assistance.
  • Code Review & Bug Resolution: Went through and reviewed every single AI-generated pull requests for correctness where I identified and filed issues for four specific bugs: toIsoTimestamp treating epoch-zero as falsy (PR #6), WebSocket URL fallback hardcoded to localhost (PR #7), createOrCheckAccessEvent returning raw unnormalized data (PR #8), and filterSeriesByRange breaking on epoch-zero timestamps (PR #9). I wrote the problem descriptions and directed the fixes.
  • Documentation: Updated the main README.md to show the new three-subsystem architecture (PR #3), which includes hardware wiring specs, data flow diagrams, and updated performance targets. I also authored and reviewed updates to SETUP.md (15+ troubleshooting scenarios), API.md (12 endpoint specs with request/response examples), and the file-architecture.md implementation status tracker.
  • Infrastructure: Configured the Docker Compose stack (TimescaleDB + Redis) with proper volume mounts, health checks, and networking. Set up the GitHub Actions CI pipeline for backend linting (flake8, black, mypy, bandit, safety).

Is your progress on schedule or behind?
I’m ahead of schedule. The original plan was to test for backend environment initialization and initial MQTT broker this week. I’ve delivered a nearly complete full-stack implementation with a working backend, 12+ API endpoints, a pretty good frontend dashboard, three firmware project structures, CI/CD, and comprehensive documentation. The lighting control subsystem that was supposed to be done later is basically complete.

What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?

  • Firmware Flashing & Hardware Integration: Flash the ESP32 firmware onto physical hardware, wire the RFID-RC522, BME280, TEMT6000, solenoid lock, and relay module, and validate end-to-end communication with the backend.
  • Access Control API Completion: Implement the remaining backend endpoints for RFID-based access control (/api/access, /api/policies) and remove the frontend’s local mock fallbacks.
  • TLS Certificate Infrastructure: Generate the CA and server/device certificates for the secure handshake protocol between ESP32 nodes and the backend.
  • WebSocket Real-Time Testing: Validate bidirectional WebSocket communication between the dashboard and physical ESP32 devices over the local network.