Studio IoT hub via DJ Controller

Intro —

Controlling your home or studio’s IoT (internet of things -> smart bulbs, AC, smart speakers, etc.) requires you to have a variety of independent apps on your phone. You have the Philips Hue app to control your overhead and accent lighting, the Nest app for your AC, the Ring app for security, the Sonos app for your audio, etc. Small changes can take up to a full minute if you have to find the proper app, wait for it to load, and navigate a clunky interface just to dim your lights.

Our client wanted a fun way to adjust her studio lighting, control whatever music was currently playing, and adjust the AC. She has preserved a massive library of downloaded music over the years and having access to this archive was very important to her. She loves physical hardware and wanted this project to provide a new tactile experience in the studio that both her and visitors could enjoy.

We pitched the idea of using a spare dj controller of hers that she no longer used. It was a great opportunity to reclaim a piece of technology that was collecting dust in a closet, and it served her purposes exactly. The wide array of controls gave us a lot of creative room to mimic the many switches and dials around the modern household.

pic coming soon...

Considerations —

(computing) -> All of her studio work is done on her 2024 M4 iMac. This is a fairly capable machine and she doesn’t have any existing heavy workflows, but we still wanted to build something lightweight and efficient that would run for years as the hardware aged. We built a custom macOS app with Swift using only native components. It runs incredibly fast and uses hardly any RAM at all (~100mb).

(physical space) -> A single cable from her iMac would provide power to the controller, read all controller inputs, and communicate with her IoT devices. We grabbed an extra-long 100ft USB-C cable and a handful of cable clips to mount around her studio so that she could move the controller as needed and still keep the cable out of sight.

(use cases) -> The primary IoT use cases for the project were audio, lighting, and climate.

What we built —

We delivered a lightweight harness for adapting any modern midi controller to act as a command center for all of her IoT devices. She’s able to map out her Hercules Impulse 500 and assign a variety of functions to the faders, knobs, drum pads, and even the jog wheels

Faders control the brightness of the lights and the temperature in her studio
Drum pads act as a quick-play for her favorite playlists
Knobs are used to cycle through lighting scenes and the rest of her music library
The jog wheels let you actually "record scratch" whatever is currently playing on her sound system

pic coming soon...

The beauty of a dedicated physical interface for IoT devices in a studio is that it doesn't distract you from your work the way your phone does. You can make any necessary adjustments to your environment without pulling out your phone and tempting yourself to get off task.

pic coming soon...

❶ Project completed in the fall of 2026
❷ Tech stack — Swift, SwiftUI, Open Library public API
❸ more footnotes?

Wikipedia

We derive our name from the Styrax Japonicus Evening Light エゴノキ Snowbell

family Styracaceae
genus Styrax

height 20-25 ft
spread 15 ft
shape Upright oval
leaves Maroon
flowers White
native to Korea, Japan, and China