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Holy Grail of Remote Controls 107

Posted by CmdrTaco from the thats-not-that-impressive dept.
castilejw writes "CNN has an article showing where researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have teamed with researchers from Maya Designs, Inc. to produce the ultimate universal remote, which "would choreograph not just home entertainment systems but also intelligent appliances all around the house: microwave ovens, clothes dryers, air conditioners.". The device they have shown is a modified Compaq iPAQ, which they have so far modified to control two lamps, a fan and a stereo with a five-CD changer." Seems like that much is pretty easy. Now when it can control my answering machine, my MP3 collection, and my garage door, I'll be ready to automate my soul. Update: 09/02 15:34 GMT by CT : Oops, this is a duplicate. Move along :) We suck so much. Blah blah blah.
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Holy Grail of Remote Controls More

Holy Grail of Remote Controls

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  • this one is still on "Older Stuff!"

  • Haiku (Score:2, Funny)

    by SiMac ( 409541 )
    Read your own website
    For I did see this on the
    Front page once before

  • Deja vu? (Score:2, Informative)

    by Lowca ( 464465 )
    Maybe. [slashdot.org]

  • What's the battery life? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Yeah, that's great - but until they can go several days without a recharge, they're going to be useless.

    Scenario - go out, come home 5 hours later. Bugger, forgot to charge the remote.
  • but still a good idea
  • A lot of places have already done this, and have done it better. There was a posting to the Jini mailing list months ago about an iPAQ that did this for a smart room, and it didn't use Windows either. ....besides...wasn't this already a story here last Saturday [slashdot.org]

  • And... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Clue4All ( 580842 ) on Monday September 02, 2002 @11:20AM (#4183984) Homepage
    Seems like that much is pretty easy. Now when it can control my answering machine, my MP3 collection, and my garage door, I'll be ready to automate my soul.

    Perhaps it will also read Slashdot for you and inform you when a story was already posted a few hours before.
  • They made a pretty good point, though perhaps inadvertantly. What happens if/when you lose the bloody thing? And yes, people WILL lose a 300$ PDA and probaby lose it regularly. I'd rather have four remotes each having some overlapping functionality, kinda like RAID with striping
    • Or worse: imagine if it gets stolen.

      Or even worse: cloned!

      Never trust too much un New Technology!

      :-)
      ms
      --

  • That one is still under Old Stuff. Makes you think about who reads their own postings

  • Awesome! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Infonaut ( 96956 ) <infonaut@gmail.com> on Monday September 02, 2002 @11:22AM (#4184002) Homepage Journal
    Pretty soon, we won't have to get up at all. With remote controls for everything, nothing will interrupt our media consumption!

    We can get our exercise by playing first-person shooters, and if someone could only invent a really *good* in-sofa bodywashing system, I'm thinking there wouldn't be any real reason for any of us to put feet on the carpet at all.

    Oh, there is the whole "bodily needs" issue, but we've already got good online porn, so who needs the real thing. That leaves us with expulsion of bodily wastes. Anyone know of a high-quality integrated sofa-crapper unit?

    • "That leaves us with expulsion of bodily wastes. Anyone know of a high-quality integrated sofa-crapper unit?"

      Here's the standard solution [depend.com].

      Or you could have a little fun [ratemypoo.com].

  • Read the postings [slashdot.org] here.
  • This been like the other day here man.
    I suggest you do a "search" on the site (after all, you have the sources) and check if things like that already been published. this is happening all the time and is very weird.
  • If you have to remotely flush your toilet, odds are you're doing something wrong.

  • D'oh! (Score:1, Redundant)

    by Maran ( 151221 )
    Another repeat. And this one isn't a day old. Oh look, it was Taco who re-posted again.

    Seriously, Taco, we all appreciate the work you and the others put into keeping slashdot going, but some sort of anti-repost mechanism would be useful. I know no method's foolproof, but this one even had the same url!

    Alternatively, why doesn't someone repost every article for three weeks, then go back to normal - that way everybody'll be so impressed at the change, they'll stop complaining ^_^

    Maran

  • If I repost my messages... (Score:5, Funny)

    by rcs1000 ( 462363 ) <rcs1000&gmail,com> on Monday September 02, 2002 @11:27AM (#4184018)
    ...from the last time this was posted then:

    Will I get completely new Karma?

    Also, I just post a bunch of links to the last discussion of this, will I get +5, Informative?
  • It is interesting the connotation behind the words "remote control." Symbolic of how we humans are in an ever-increasing battle to control the environment around us. So along comes the 'universal remote' which allows the greediest of control freaks to covet the power in one isolated unit. And I thought it was bad when my stepfater refused to release his grip from the TV remote... just imagine the power struggles taking place in the average houselhold when the remote controls not only the appliances, but lighting, temperature controls, etc... That thing better have a hidden book of matches tucked within its injection-molded body... just imagine during a power loss and the remote appears to be working, but the damn lights just aren't responding!!!
  • Is that is worked through walls!

  • .45 ACP.

    Sadly, the King's groundbreaking research in this field hasn't been followed up on a large scale.

  • Hey... are we trying to /. CNN I'm in on that one!
  • Will it make my Xbox play DVDs??

  • what? deja vu is just a change in the matrix...

    they know...

  • Creators of remote controls could learn a lot from a simple philosophy behind the success of Windows: Point And Click.

    A laser pointer (so you have feedback about where you are pointing) with 6 buttons which have common meanings to household objects could control most of the functions that remote controls are concerned with:

    • TV: up/down channel and volume
    • VCR/DVD: up/down channel and volume, play/stop
    • Lights/Heater: on/off, brighten/dim

    ...and so on. You don't get to program your VCR (timer record, tuning, etc), but you get the important functionality that you want access to remotely (for the average non-couch-potato). The other drawback is that elderly or disabled people may find it more difficult to have to point (assumedly with some degree of accuracy).

    With a bit of additional logic, you can add a minimal LCD display so up/down scrolls through the control options, and left/right manipulates them.

  • looks like someone finally worked out how my mum works!
  • they could at leats have got it working on the garage door and the dish washer. Only took my 10 minutes to configure my Palm OmniRemote program to do that... ;-)
  • researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have teamed with researchers from Maya Designs, Inc. to produce the ultimate universal remote control.
  • I have a $39.00 remote that does everything theirs does and probably can do. X-10 with a breaker panel repeater/filter is very very reliable. (Note: if you never had X10 work right, it's because you never bought the correct equipment. the repeater/filter is REQUIRED) I can control my entire stereo, home entertainment system, drop the projector screen, control lighting scenes or individual lights throughout the home, control appliances connected to X10 outlets or modules, control my computer (Yes, I can map a X10 code to fire up a web browser in KDE and load slashdot)

    What they are doing can and has been done for years. having the minute detail feedback on the remote's screen is a kinda-neat idea but not needed by any means. I have voice feedback throughout the house (misterhouse.. the absolute best home automation software available on the planet... it outclasses the $6,000.00 automation software from Panja/DMX)

    I'm glad that they are re-inventing the wheel with neato hardware... but my remote needs it's batteries replaced maybe once every 3 months.. I want to see an Ipaq or their device do the same. (No charging station.. oh and no turning it on or off... I don't turn my remote on or off.)

    So I give them a Big thumbs up for neat idea... but It's been done before, cheaper, and with bells and wistles missing that most people really dont care about.

  • The device they have shown is a modified Compaq iPAQ, which they have so far modified to control two lamps, a fan and a stereo with a five-CD changer."

    Hate to break it to them, but someone's already invented this [smarthome.com]! They only cost $35, much less than an iPaq! =)

    Mine controls my TV, cable, DVD player, stereo, living room lights, bedroom lights, fan, and even my neighbor's cat (just kidding).

  • If you have to remotely flush your toilet, odds are you're doing something wrong.(+5 funny)

    :) Thats funny -- just last night my niece (18 months old) picked up my cell phone (nokia 6360 with IR port on the top) and pointed it at the TV... :) I got a good laugh out of it -- but it really is a good idea.(+4 funny)

    I have an IQ of 156
    [...]
    This is why I only view DVDs on my computer, faaar easier, don't have to switch around audio and video inputs until hell freezes over, then select the proper audio decompression scheme, then select the proper surround sound scheme, and THEN sit down and 'enjoy' the movie, and then have the honor of switching all that shit BACK to watch regular TV.

    Here is my question: Since you're so smart, why is it such a difficult task for you to use a console DVD player? I mean, it's not that hard really. 5 to 10 seconds tops, insert DVD, push play, that's it. I simply can't see how you would prefer sitting hunched over your computer to watch a DVD than using a TV.(+4 Funny)
  • This is nothing compared to the awesome power of the girlfriend remote [oz-q.com].

    There is also a smaller version [comedy-zone.net] for men who hate large remotes. It includes such handy features as:

    'Shut up!'
    'Relationship Suspended'
    'Let's Play'
    'Get a move on'
    'Go back and start again'
  • I'll be ready to automate my soul.

    Already has by the looks of it.....
  • I understand this equipment well without resorting to any manuals. My clock is correct on the VCR, I can easily record shows with it, I have no trouble using my surround reciever, nor my DVD player or TV.

    Don't get me wrong, there are remotes that surely are better than others, and I understand that many people want one instead of three+ remotes when they watch TV, but how easy can you make it without making it so easy to do certain tasks that those are the only ones you can do?

    Besides, it can be a good thing to use your brain now and then ;)
  • Can Ozzy Osbourne work out how to use it? If so, then you have achieved true user friendliness!

  • Editorial quality (Score:2, Insightful)

    by henben ( 578800 )
    Update: 09/02 15:34 GMT by CT: Oops, this is a duplicate. Move along :) We suck so much. Blah blah blah.

    Why do you expect people to pay for subscriptions when you constantly repeat stories, post press releases [slashdot.org] as news, and even post obvious garbled rubbish [slashdot.org]?

    This kind of thing might be OK in a free, community led service, but the fact that you don't give a shit what you're publishing hardly inspires enough trust to pay you money. I can see that last post now.

    Update: 09/02 15:34 GMT by CT: We're closing down, folks. Move along :) You won't get a rebate on your subscriptions. We suck so much. Blah blah blah.

  • /. is environmentally friendly...it's GIGO recycling!
  • The universal remote (actually known as the Personal Universal Controller, or PUC) is part of the Pebbles Project at CMU. It's website is here [cmu.edu].

  • Surely the Holy Grail of home automation has got to be voice activated. Perhaps an infared badge to tell rooms receivers where you are, combined with a wireless microphone, linked to a central system, which in turn can drive an array of X 10 controlled devices.

    Anyone tried anything like this?

    • Yes, I've tried it. It's ancient (and oft repeated) news.

      I simply did the following...

      • Set up one OS/2 Warp 4 system with touchscreen and Warp's built in Voice Navigation and Dictation
      • Installed House/2 [att.net] (OS/2 only)
      • Configured some macros and REXX objects to the Voice interface
      • Wrote a tiny (under 10K) app to create a touchscreen interface... (this can also be done using HTML, image maps, forms and a web server with a REXX script in the background on the web server) this added touchscreen interface to the whole affair accessible anywhere I chose - or everywhere internet enabled.
      • Enabled the security sensors to visually activate zones on the monitor showing activity in the building
      • Used a wireless microphone that was plugged into the PC's microphone port to control anything from anywhere (you need a decent one).
      • Add(ed) X-10 to IR to X-10 interfaces as wanted, and X-10 to alarm to X-10 interfaces as needed (though there are a ton of X-10 direct sensors which I also use)
      Final product is a voice enabled, whole house remote control system that is also touch enabled from one or more computers, or Internet enabled from any IP address in the "allow" list.

      This was 5 years ago when House/2 first came out.

      - Rob [binfeeds.com]

  • I did stuff like that a long time ago on my palm pilot with omniremote (http://www.pacificneotek.com). Plus that way you dont have to buy anything from M$.
  • ...my name is Wally. My life was ruined one day when someone posted a duplicate story on Slashdot. Maybe I'll sue Taco for the cost of my therapy.
  • Take a handheld with an 802.11b card. Install VNC on it (comes preinstalled on the Zaurus, small download for PocketPC or Palm). Fire up your X10 home control software on your PC. Connect to your PC from the handheld using VNC. Control all your lights, stereo, MP3 player, etc. from your handheld.

    If you want things to work a little more nicely, get Linux/X11-based X10 software, run an X11 server on your handheld (e.g., the handhelds.org distribution on your iPaq), and run the X11 application with the handheld as the display (that way, the application knows that the screen is small). Or, you can also run one of the open source Java or C based remote control apps directly on a Linux-based handheld and have it connect to the X10 home control device through a network serial port.

    I think calling any of this "research" is really stretching things. Next thing you know, those people will patent it, and nerds like myself that have been doing this for a few years will have to buy their cumbersome software.

  • For the record (I'm one [maya.com] of the researchers on the project), the prototype can control shelf-top mp3 players (we've implemented the control protocol for the AudioRequest device). (And one of the paper prototypes considered an office phone and voicemail system, though we haven't implemented that, so we're pretty confident we could handle your answering machine with no problem.)

    The system will control anything you write a specification [cmu.edu] for.

    Some neat features that the article sort of glossed over: the system generates UIs that are demonstrably better than traditional remote controls. It requires no programming at all. It can generate multi-modal interfaces (combining speech and GUI). It can generate interfaces for any form factor remote control device (this is the same flexibility that allows multi-modal interfaces).

    The CMU page [cmu.edu] has lots of information about what the system is really capable of.

    Oh, and yeah, the system is currently implemented in Java and it runs on Linux as well as PocketPC (in fact, the widgets look better on the Zaurus).

    Unfortunately, our system is not smart enough to read slashdot and detect duplicate posts.
    • This isn't really "research" at a University as important as CMU, is it? The whole project seems a little trivial for such an important computer science department. Seems to me like research money is being used to kill application developers that have been in this niche for several years.

      If the point of this is more the interface issues I can see this, but the web site seems more like a competitor to OmniRemote than a research project.

  • yay! (Score:2)

    by man_ls ( 248470 )
    The software to do this has been available on nearly all Palm devices with Infared ports for years.

    Simply point original remote at the palm's IR port, switch to "learn" mode. Press button on remote, code entered. Press button on screen you want it assigned to. Repeat.

    It even came with some basic layouts and Universal Remote codes installed (unfortunately, not a single device in my house uses a Universal Remote, so...)
  • I am still looking for a universal remote that accepts voice commands

    then... I want a remote control that accepts voice commands from
    anywhere in my house

    then... I want a remote system to accept voice commands, but also
    understands what noise is coming from the TV/DVD/Stereo and can
    process my voice over the (loud) audio system

    then... I want a remote audio control, background substracted control
    system that does per-user voice authentication and can control my
    home security system

    then... I want all that installed and working flawlessly for under a grand.
    Maybe I should start this as a business?

    ... only then will I have MY holy grail control.

  • Sounds like what crestron and AMX have been doing for quite some time. Granted, it's not running on an iPaq, but it's the same idea. Remember the touch screens in the matrix, they were AMX...
  • ...a mute button for the wife and a pause button for the kids!

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