Subscribe to RSSSpykee iPhone Hack
At left you’ll see my first cut at a rudimentary Spykee mini-console for iPhone. If you’re familiar with the standard PC or Mac Spykee console app, you’ll recognize many of the functions.
This app only implements a sub-set of the full PC and Mac consoles. I basically wanted to get some minimal functionality working before going too crazy with the UI and more esoteric features. Here’s what it will do:
(1) Move the robot, using the left, right, forward, and back buttons. Each press of the button moves a fixed amount.
(2) Turn the camera LED light on and off.
(3) Tell Spykee to take a snapshot.
(4) Turn ‘Video surveillance’ mode on and off.
Most importantly, the app shows you on the iPhone what the Spykee is seeing. It does not stream video in this version. It updates the “viewport” image periodically when the scene changes (or on demand with the ‘Update’ button). This keeps bandwidth usage down and still gives you a view of what the robot is seeing — and it even works on slow Edge connections.
It’s got another feature to help when controlling Spykee from a slow iPhone connection, where using the ‘Resolution’ button, you can flip between a lower resolution (but much less data) image and the normal full resolution Spykee view. This, and other features of the app, are demonstrated in the video below.
I made a video to show that, while this is still a hack, and is not ready to distribute by any means, it does actually work in real life, with a live robot. If I just provided the above screenshot, there’s no way to tell if it’s just a mock-up.
The video shows some of the basic functions as well as limitations. Even with those limitations, it is pretty cool (if I do say so myself), to be able to sign in and view what Spykee is seeing from anywhere, with just the iPhone without lugging around a PC or Mac, and even on a slow Edge connection.
Spykee wi-fi robot - first looks
I saw the Spykee robot at Costco and so I went home and researched what it was all about.
Then I decided to run back to Costco and pick one up before the US supply runs out. It was $229.99
Spykee was created by a French company, Meccano and is being distributed in the USA under the Erector brand. The robot has been available in the UK and Europe for some time - it was at one time called Spyke, but probably as a result of some trademark issues, now is called Spykee.
The basic idea is that the robot connects via wifi and therefore can be controlled either locally on the same wi-fi network, or remotely from any IP address. It’s sort of a remote-controlled webcam that you can drive around.
It’s supposedly a kid’s toy, but I’m not sure it’s going to be all that fun for kids, frankly. It’s very cool, and I hope to do some fun (and perhaps even interesting) stuff with it, but here are a few of my gripes:
- The building process is overall poor. The instructions are terrible. The fasteners that Meccano provide with it are really junk and awful for load bearing - I substituted my own nylon screws with nuts to end the thing falling apart at the slightest touch/bump.
- Meccano support sucks. Well actually, it just doesn’t exist at all. The toy doesn’t come with a CD or printed manuals. You have to download them. But the catch is that Meccano doesn’t seem to know how to operate either a web server or a mail server. Their web server takes users to the UK site with no links back to the US site, for reference, you can get to the US site by manually entering this address in your browser: http://www.spykeeworld.com/US/
- As I note, they can’t run a mail server either, apparently, because mail to the address they list for support bounces (and it has been this way for a long time, according to forums around the net).
- The robot looks like it has arms that move, but the entire body of the robot is just a frame to hold the webcam. It serves no function and doesn’t do anything (cannot be moved via remote control). The “active” parts of the robot are the base with the tracks and CPU etc. and the webcam “module” which also houses the LED light and microphone. The rest of it is inanimate, just for show.
- The Spykee is not very autonomous. It only does things while one is connected to it from the “console” software. You can’t activate a function, then log out, and expect it to do anything (like act as a surveillance camera).
- There is no web interface - the only way to connect to the robot and interact with it is to use a specific binary application (Mac and Windows supported). So that app has to be installed on any computer you want to use to interact with Spykee and those computers have to be a Mac or Windows PC (i.e. no iPhone or othe such).
- The name has the word “Spy” in it, but Spykee is not very stealthy. It’s not going to sneak up on anybody (It’s LOUD).
- You can theoretically talk beween the remote PC and somebody near the robot, but it doesn’t work very well, at least not on the Mac version. It has horrible delay and no echo handling, so is near useless. If you mute the mic on the PC side, you can use this feature to listen to sounds near the robot, but it’s hard to interact.
- The manual says the software is “open source” but it is nowhere to be found (people keep saying it will be released, but there’s no dates anywhere that I’ve found).
There’s a good YouTube video out there listing some of the above and a few other criticisms here.
I got Spykee because it supports the Mac. The other wifi robot, Rovio, only works with Windows.
I haven’t done anything with the Spykee yet except the “officially supported” things, which are actually pretty cool, but limiting. I want to connect to the device directly with my own software, with web services etc. Unfortunately, the protocols are not released, nor is the supposed “open source software”, so this will require hardcore reverse engineering. I haven’t spent any time on that yet, so I can’t provide any details yet.
In getting the remote control mode to work, you setup a name/password for your robot on SpykeeWorld.com and then connect from a remote place using that name. One thing I found out is that this name/password must be simple letters with no spaces or other punctuation. It will let you set a name with these characters, but when you try to connect, it won’t work (and the diagnostic “recipient not available” is not helpful). I have been able to use the remote access (from outside on the Internet to the robot behind a NAT/firewall) with the robot sitting behind many different makes and models of firewalls and routers, and I even tried two layers of firewalls and that worked too, which surprised me. I’m not sure yet how it gets through the NAT/firewall.
Like I said, I rushed out and bought it because I didn’t want to miss this wave of US shipments, but before you do the same thing, you might want to be aware of the above caveats.
Historical footnote
Today I sold my last Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAVA) (formerly SUNW) stock - at a net loss of about 80%.
I was looking pretty smart back in 2000-2001. Even though to a large degree I had lost faith in SUN, I must admit I held this stock more based on emotion, always a bad idea. I felt I was supporting something opposing MSFT and held on to the stock on that basis - I even dollar cost averaged.
I finally decided to take my lumps, accepting the symbolism of the decison, admiting something that I have known for a long time, but didn’t really want to admit: that Sun Microsystems is destined to become a textbook warning sign for other tech companies.
It’s not unlike the day you realize your child isn’t a child anymore, or the day you realize that you’re not as young as you think you are.
Speaking of U-Verse
Om Malik notes a Lazard Capital Market analyst report suggesting that AT&T is having trouble signing up the 1 million “triple-play” U-verse subscribers that it promised by the end of this year.
However, we are increasingly concerned by the possibility of AT&T missing its annual projection of 1M subs, and believe that unit expectations will need to be reduced further in light of the macroeconomic environment. We believe it is more likely that AT&T will reach 30K subs per week by year-end, rather than 40K.
I realize it’s just anecdotal, but I was recently attending a street fair type event where AT&T had set up a booth trying to sell U-Verse. The poor sales reps staffing the booth were being bombarded by irate U-Verse customers complaining about all manner of problems, mostly with the TV service and the DVR features. These booth reps were probably outside consultants, not even AT&T employees. They most likely were getting paid on commission. I felt sorry for them, since they obviously were having second thoughts about hitching their wagon to the U-verse horse.
It looks like AT&T may be out of their league, or at least that they underestimated the challenge of providing TV service, and how long it takes to develop a mature TV and DVR experience, and how far they are behind their competition in this area.
Google ads fate in economic downturn
Triggered by Om’s post today, I’m still undecided about what happens to on-line ads, in particular what happens to the big gorilla, Google ads, in this new era of economic Armageddon.
On the one hand, I tell myself Google’s ad business will be hurt badly because companies will be cutting back.
On the other hand, one could also argue that with layoffs, and more people having to resort to working from home etc. Google offers the only low barrier to entry option, so Google advertising will increase like never before.
What do you think?
Moving Political commentary to separate blog
Administrivia:
Prospectively, I will be posting most of my political commentary on a separate blog: There, I said it
I’ll be shifting the focus of Mr Blog back toward various technology related issues. I’ll limit political posts here to those more related to the tech. sector, and less general politics. I’ll use my There, I said it blog for general poltical commentary from here on out.
McCain: “If you can’t beat ‘em, Join ‘em”
John McCain was driven out of the 2000 Republican primaries by a very ugly, and deeply personal, smear campaign. Voters were asked, “Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain…if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?” (At the time, McCain was campaigning with his dark-skinned daughter, Bridget, adopted from Bangladesh.) It was a despicable and vicious smear. And it worked.
Shortly after losing the 2000 election, McCain told an interviewer that there must be “a special place in hell” reserved for the rumormongers of this so-called “whisper campaign.” When asked about it by a South Carolina voter he responded by saying “I promise you, I have never and will never have anything to do with that.” He denounced such practices as “cowardly” and he called upon all GOP Primary candidates to join him “in pledging not to engage in such despicable tactics throughout the balance of this campaign.”
But, just as he has set aside so many other moral standards under the pressure of a campaign in freefall, Sen. McCain has chosen the low road once again. With polls in swing states moving in Obama’s direction and with the electoral map steadily turning against McCain, he has become what he decried in 2000. Rather than show how he would lead us through the greatest economic crisis in seventy years, he is content to use the same tactics he despised eight yeas ago, orchestrated by some of the same people that he once said were reserved “a special place in hell.”
From “push polls” to “racially tinged” attacks, to inspiring Open Racism and Death Threats McCain is stooping increasingly lower and lower. The results are disturbing - We’ve seen what amounts to angry mobs at McCain/Palin rallies shouting “treason” and even “terrorist” and “Kill him!” all without the slightest protest or denunciation of such behavior from the McCain camp.
Where is the outrage that we saw in 2000 now, Sen. McCain?
Obviously the senator has learned his lesson. The smear campaign of lies against McCain in 2000 was very effective. Bush made up a double-digit poll deficit in the primaries to beat McCain in racially charged South Carolina. So with his hopes of winning on the issues or his plans for the future dwindling, McCain is turning to the only thing left - the old GOP standby: appealing to fear and hate. But this time it’s different. This time we have a black candidate. This is beyond reckless - and McCain knows it.
UPDATE: More results of thinly veiled racism, from Andrew Sullivan:
McCain-Palin supporters at a Palin rally tell us what they think of the “terrorist” running for president. More accusations from McCain supporters in Pennsylvania that Obama is a “commie faggot” and a Muslim terrorist here.
Comments include: “He’s Got The Bloodlines” “Look at his name” “The name says it all”
Or these accusations from McCain supporters in Pennsylvania that Obama is a “commie faggot” and a Muslim terrorist:
Congress told Martial Law would be declared in USA if Bailout fails
To ensure the false sense of urgency, congress was threatened warned that Martial Law would be declared if this bailout bill doesn’t pass. WTF?
To back this up, the Army announced that, beginning October 1, and for the next 12 months:
the 3rd Infantry Division of the 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) has a new mission. For the first time on our soil, an active-duty unit will be assigned to NorthCom (here in the USA), to “coordinate defense support of civil authorities.”
“They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.”
As the Keep It Trill blog described it:
[The YES vote on the Bailout Bill] left me feeling that something terrible had just happened. It was the utter lack of joy in the politicians interviewed afterwards. Their mouths moved that this was a great thing and it will avoid an economic catastrophe, but none of them looked happy about it. They looked guilty as shit.
Terrific. “Shock and Awe” against American citizens.
UPDATE: More on the illegal deployment of US troops against US citizens here: U.S. Troops In Homeland “Crowd Control” Patrols From October 1st
[Section 1385 of the Posse Comitatus Act states, “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
Under the John Warner Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Bush on October 17, 2006, the law was changed to state, “The President may employ the armed forces to restore public order in any State of the United States the President determines hinders the execution of laws or deprives people of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law or opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.”
However, these changes were repealed in their entirety by HR 4986: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, reverting back to the original state of the Insurrection Act of 1807.]
This is why we have the Second Amendment. It’s all fine and dandy to hate guns or even to hate the NRA (which has been taken over by right wing nut jobs), but the reality is the Second Amendment is the last stop. It’s the only thing that sopped Nixon, when he realized there were 50 million armed regular everyday citizens (not just extremist nut jobs). It’s a weird deal: if you have the Second Amendment, you don’t need it, so it doesn’t seem that important. But if you don’t have it, you need it, but then it’s too late.
All you need to know about John McCain
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Haven’t we already had this kind of representaton for long enough?
Senate puts Lipstick on the Bailout pig and rams it down our throats
The pundits were right in saying the scandalous Bailout Bill, aka “Leave No Banker Behind”, would probably pass in the Senate, despite overwhelming opposition of average Americans, on the left and right. After all, only about 1/3 of the Senators are up for reelection, so most of them can assume voters will forget by the time their re-election comes up. For example, here’s what my California Senator Dianne Feinstein said (via CBS News):
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says she’s voting yea despite receiving 85,000 calls against it — out of 91,000 total calls.
How’s that for contempt?
According to a half-dozen offices, the phones and fax machines and e-mail folders were piling up with constituent reactions. The phone lines and email servers became jammed. The Wall Street Journal has called it “Voter Fury”, “an intense outpouring of voter anger”, and a “Populist Revolt”. The New York Times went so far as to call it “Class Warfare”. And note that these are from the traditional press (you can imagine what the alter-media has been saying). And yet, it passes the Senate by a huge margin anyway. So much for democracy and representation of the people.
Some experts think the bill will still have trouble in the House because more Representatives will soon face the wrath of the voting public if they pass something the people clearly don’t want. We’ll see.
There is one other person who cast a YES vote tonight who is hoping for votes in just a few weeks: Sen. Obama - and he is losing my support because of it - I think I can remember that long. His vote tonight shows that he does not represent “Change We Can Believe In” - he represents no change at all. As a result of Sen. Obama’s vote tonight in favor of this shameful 451 page Wall Street bailout bill, I regret that I must withdraw my support for his candidacy. Not that he cares, for sure, but I wanted to get that on the record. And, no, I won’t be voting for the McCain/Palin ticket instead (McCain also voted for the bailout, for whatever that is worth).
Are we not beyond being just annoyed yet? Are you not outraged that not only are the people responsible for this mess not going to jail, they are not even losing their jobs!
