Ukrainian Innovator Builds Off-Grid AI Home System Using $30 Radios
In the face of relentless power outages, a Ukrainian technologist has engineered a fully offline AI-powered smart home system using low-cost LoRa radios, bypassing the need for internet connectivity. The system enables voice-controlled home automation and encrypted messaging via radio waves, even during blackouts.
Off-Grid AI Revolution: How a Ukrainian Engineer Bypassed the Internet With $30 Radios
In a striking demonstration of resilience and ingenuity amid war, Ukrainian technologist Anvar Azizov has built a fully offline artificial intelligence system that controls his smart home and transmits voice messages using nothing but two $30 LoRa radios — with zero reliance on the internet. The system, which operates during frequent Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, leverages open-source hardware, local AI models, and mesh networking to maintain communication and home automation even when all conventional infrastructure fails.
Azizov’s innovation centers on two Lilygo T-Echo devices running Meshtastic firmware, a low-power, encrypted mesh radio protocol that transmits data over 433MHz frequencies. One unit is permanently connected via USB to his always-on Mac mini M4, which acts as the central AI hub. The other is carried as a portable device, enabling Azizov to issue voice commands or receive alerts from anywhere within radio range. When he types SAY: Привіт, я скоро буду вдома (Hi, I’ll be home soon), the system routes the text to Home Assistant’s text-to-speech engine, which broadcasts the message aloud through his HA Voice PE speaker — entirely offline, in Ukrainian.
Behind the scenes, OpenClaw, an AI agent framework, autonomously configured a Python listener daemon that monitors the radio for incoming messages. Using lightweight local models — phi4-mini for intent classification and gemma3:12b for response generation — the system determines whether a message is a smart home command, a question, or an alert. When internet is available, responses are routed through Discord to cloud-based AI; when it’s down, everything runs locally via Ollama, ensuring continuous functionality. The system also auto-chunks responses to fit the 200-character LoRa limit and watches an outbox folder: if the AI detects a power outage or needs to send a reminder, it drops a message file, and the listener transmits it over radio.
Unlike conventional smart home systems that depend on cloud connectivity, Azizov’s architecture is self-sustaining. Meshtastic’s mesh capability means any nearby radio can relay messages, potentially extending the network across neighborhoods. Azizov envisions a future where multiple nodes, each running local LLMs, form a decentralized AI grid — a true community-scale intelligence network immune to internet blackouts. He is also exploring upgrades to support larger 30B+ parameter models and implementing a dead man’s switch that auto-alerts contacts if he fails to check in within a set time window.
While traditional solutions for communication during crises often rely on satellite phones or emergency radio broadcasts, Azizov’s approach uniquely merges consumer-grade hardware with cutting-edge local AI. This isn’t merely a hack — it’s a blueprint for digital sovereignty in conflict zones. As global conflicts increasingly target digital infrastructure, his work offers a replicable model for civilian resilience. According to Mayo Clinic’s guidance on emergency preparedness, maintaining functional communication during power outages is critical for safety and mental well-being. Azizov’s system not only fulfills that need but elevates it into an autonomous, intelligent lifeline.
Apple’s support forums, such as those discussing unidentified Bluetooth devices, highlight the fragility of consumer-grade wireless systems when dependencies like cloud authentication or firmware updates are disrupted. Azizov’s system sidesteps these vulnerabilities entirely. By relying on open-source software, local processing, and radio waves — not Wi-Fi or cellular networks — he has created a robust, war-resistant digital ecosystem. His project, shared on r/LocalLLaMA, has already inspired global interest from humanitarian tech groups and open-source AI communities.
As Ukraine continues to innovate under fire, Azizov’s radio-powered AI may become more than a personal solution — it could be the foundation of a new paradigm in emergency communications: one where intelligence doesn’t need the internet to survive.
