[plug] Meeting tonight?

[James Bromberger]

On 09/11/2010 11:46, Michael Holland wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 9, 2010 at 11:10 AM, James Bromberger <james at rcpt.to> wrote:
>> Think of it as "multiple IO pins on a USB device plugged into my Linux box"
>> more than as a standalone system.
> OK, now I understand. Sounds easier than hacking a USB mouse/joystick
> for inputs.
> I'd like to do something along those lines on my new house too.
> Was thinking of bluetooth for RFID, so it can unlock the front door
> when it detects an authorised phone.
> I'm sure Perl has a nice Bluez interface, doesn't it?
> Since I carry the phone anyway, why not? Is that a bad idea?
I tried this with a USB blue tooth adaptor. I found that it sucked the
life out of the system to poll the presence of the phone nearby. But
then that was a naive attempts about 4 years ago, and bluez has updated
a fair bit since then. But it makes sense to me. Only issue is that if
you're just walking around your house, you don't want the front door to
just open by surprise! Especially at 2am. :)  I suppose you could always
add some logic of "if $time > 7:00 and $time < 24:00". RFID, by
contrast, can be a little more closely proximity based (ie, in the
SmartRider passive RFID sense where you present your card to the reader).

I quite liked the Mac's ability to lock screen when your phone was out
of range. That was neat.

I was thinking of putting an RFID tag under my car, and a reader
embedded under the driveway. But its a litle expensive for the reader;
the proximity would probably be in the order of 40 cms, and the driveway
above the sensor may be a little heavy or restrictive. Also, just
parking the card in the driveway could trigger the garage
door/gate/whatever when you don't want it to. But could be good to log
comings and goings. Anyone know if there is already RFID in vehicles
these days? Just think of the data you could log... :) oh, and the
privacy concerns.... but at the same time, how easy to embed a reader in
each lane of the freeway at each entrance and exit, and calculate
average speeds, and just generate an infringement, direct debit you... 
(The UK has been doing average speed checks with ANPR - Automatic Number
Plate Recognition - along the M4 and other stretches of motorway/freeway
for some time now).

We (Nick B, Mark T and I, plus others) installed an electronic door slam
into the UCC back in the 1990's. Easy enough to install into the soft
wood of Cameron hall's partitioning. Now I just need not tell my Mrs I
plan on hollowing out the door frame of our house when she's out one
day... :)

-- 
*James Bromberger*
Aus Mobile: +61 422 166 708
Email: james /_AT_/ rcpt.to, Web: www.james.rcpt.to
<http://www.james.rcpt.to/>
MSN: james/_AT_/rcpt.to, AIM: JamesEBromberger, Skype: james.bromberger
(/_AT_/ -> @)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plug.org.au/pipermail/plug/attachments/20101109/9a873879/attachment.html>