JOHNSTON PONSIAN
IoT IAAe-HOUSE
Problem Statement
Problem Statement Title Limited Remote and Low Data Control of Household Electrical Appliances in Tanzania Problem Statement Background Household electrical appliances are normally controlled from the physical location where they are installed. When a homeowner leaves home, a device may remain switched on unnecessarily, while a device that needs to be switched on may remain unavailable until someone physically reaches the house. This can create inconvenience, unnecessary energy use and, for selected appliances, avoidable safety concerns. Tanzania has made strong progress in mobile and digital connectivity. TCRA's 2025 communication statistics show 66.5 million active mobile money subscriptions in March 2025, and TCRA later reported 54.1 million internet users by the end of the 2024/2025 financial year. However, internet availability should not be treated as equivalent to universal, continuous or affordable access for every household. A USSD-first interface can therefore complement internet based smart home applications by using a familiar mobile network channel without requiring a smartphone app. There is also a wider energy access context. The World Bank's Tanzania data shows electricity access at 52.4% of the population in 2024. This means an IoT home-control solution should not be presented as a replacement for electricity-access programmes; rather, it is a digital layer that can improve control and visibility for households that already have electrical service. The Tanzania Digital Economy Strategic Framework 2024–2034 emphasizes digital infrastructure, innovation, inclusion and the use of emerging technologies. e-House responds to that direction by combining IoT automation with a low data mobile interaction model. The research gap for the hackathon is therefore not simply 'smart homes exist'. Commercial smart-home products already exist globally. The distinctive problem being addressed is how to design a locally deployable, USSD first and IoT based household control layer that can work with ordinary phones and can be expanded using locally available communication and embedded system technologies. The prototype will demonstrate this concept rather than claim that no smart home technology exists in Tanzania.
Proposed Solution
e-House works by connecting a homeowner’s mobile phone to household IoT devices through a USSD service. The user dials a code such as *384*16353#, selects a registered appliance from the menu, and chooses an action such as ON, OFF, or STATUS. The USSD request is sent to the e-House backend, which authenticates the user and forwards the command to an IoT gateway such as an ESP32. The gateway activates the appropriate relay or smart switch to control the appliance, then sends the device status back to the system, which provides confirmation to the user through USSD.
Innovation
What makes e-House unique is its USSD-first approach to smart-home automation: it brings IoT-based household control to an ordinary mobile phone, allowing users to monitor and control registered appliances without relying on a smartphone application or continuous home Wi-Fi.
Expected Impact
e-House will make home automation **accessible, affordable, and convenient** by enabling users to control household appliances remotely through USSD using ordinary mobile phones, without requiring smartphones or continuous Internet access. It will help **reduce unnecessary energy consumption, improve household safety, and increase convenience**, while demonstrating the practical integration of **IoT, USSD, mobile networks, and embedded systems** for locally relevant innovation in Tanzania. The platform can also be expanded to support **smart sensors, energy monitoring, scheduling, alerts, and automated home control**.