Home Automation gone wrong ...

[electron]

So I wrote some automation software which runs on my Linksys router, interfaces my M1, some other devices, and has a presence in the chatroom (nick is myHome). There is a small bug that causes it to repeat stuff for no reason (it isn't designed to interact with the chat room, just me). I was talking to Tony until something weird happened:

[11:17:30] <electron> I will probably say no to animated gif's as well
[11:17:31] <myHome> ill probably say no to animated gif's as well
[11:17:35] <electron> really?
[11:17:39] <TonyNo> lol
[11:17:49] <TonyNo> open the pod bay doors hal
[11:18:05] <electron> no kidding lol
[11:18:11] <electron> he actually can open the garage door
[11:18:11] <electron> scary
[11:18:57] <TonyNo> ugh. the owner got a cold email from a company that does the "virtual spokesperson" for web pages
[11:19:42] <electron> omg
[11:19:45] * kccustom_ has joined #cocoon
[11:19:46] <electron> the *** bot just opened the garage door
[11:19:49] <electron> NOT Again
[11:19:50] <electron> oops, bug
[11:19:55] <electron> wife is calling me, brb lol
[11:20:25] <TonyNo> hehe ain't you at work? she must be loud
[11:20:33] <electron> 11:18:11] <myHome> executed task 10 (garage door)
[11:20:33] <electron> [11:19:47] <myHome> executed task 10 (garage door)

The moral of the story is ... someday, our houses will fight back

 

[Digger]

The moral of the story is ... someday, our houses will fight back

Almost could make a movie about that....

 

[GraysonPeddie]

Can someone in the chatroom open and close the garage door, along with turning on/off the lights, etc.?

LOL!!!

 

[electron]

No one else can control the bot (unless I want them to). The issue here was that he was listening to what I had to say in public, and trying to interpret it (not by design). He's only supposed to accept commands through private chat or cell phone messages.

 

[BrettS]

Can someone in the chatroom open and close the garage door, along with turning on/off the lights, etc.?

LOL!!!

Good point... Dan... you better make sure there is some security built in or you could have a bunch of people trying to reverse engineer the thing and figure out what can be done to your house

Is there anyone in NY near Dan's house that can go over and watch what happens while the rest of us try to throw commands out into the chat room?

 

[GraysonPeddie]

I would not run some home automation software in a router -- that is, if I were you. Gee, I just laughed for two minutes... I don't want to be rude, though.

My suggestion is to get yourself a network attached storage with Linux built-in, so that you can run software in it and have NAS behind the router. And make sure you secure your home automation software.

 

[electron]

The home automation software is extremely secure (I do this for a living, the issue here was 'focus'). I run my software on a Linux based Linksys router, I don't think it would make a big difference if I run it on a router, or on a Linux based storage appliance. The router has been rebuilt with a different OS, and all routing/switching functionality has been removed, it's truly an appliance.

 

[roussell]

I would love to know more about this setup Dan. I know you've mentioned it a lot in passing, but I don't recall seeing anytihing detailed about it. Are you using a wrt54g? Which distro are you using and what all do you have the little guy doing?

Thanks,
Terry

 

[electron]

I am using an older WRT54G (v3 I believe), installed OpenWRT, and pretty much stripped all router functionality to save memory/storage space. my.Home is a single PHP script with the following features:

• Advanced Elk M1 driver
• Multiple interfaces: POP3 (so you can use your cell to send commands), IRC. Support for twitter/jabber coming soon.
• Supports resetting the cablemodem (through the M1) in case of a modem lock up, internet connectivity is monitored by pinging some external sites.
• NEW: HAL mode: obviously don't have to describe this one
• and a bunch of other stuff I have forgotten about.

I am thinking about writing a nice Flash based GUI to manage some of these settings. There is tons of other potential, and I do have many good ideas, but I am sure time will be an issue.

 

[123]

... and the re-purposed router consumes very little electricity. Very interesting project! Please keep us informed as it progresses ... I'd be interesting in seeing the code to learn how it performs its magic.

 

[mustangcoupe]

I am using an older WRT54G (v3 I believe), installed OpenWRT, and pretty much stripped all router functionality to save memory/storage space. my.Home is a single PHP script with the following features:

• Advanced Elk M1 driver
• Multiple interfaces: POP3 (so you can use your cell to send commands), IRC. Support for twitter/jabber coming soon.
• Supports resetting the cablemodem (through the M1) in case of a modem lock up, internet connectivity is monitored by pinging some external sites.
• NEW: HAL mode: obviously don't have to describe this one
• and a bunch of other stuff I have forgotten about.

I am thinking about writing a nice Flash based GUI to manage some of these settings. There is tons of other potential, and I do have many good ideas, but I am sure time will be an issue.

You need to share.... this application Dan

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

Is there anyone in NY near Dan's house that can go over and watch what happens while the rest of us try to throw commands out into the chat room?

Hmm, do I here a second for a Cocoontech Users Group meeting in central NY????