Slashdot Mirror
Remote-controlled Bolts and Screws
Winter writes "SMT Magazine has an article on intelligent fasteners (screws, bolts...) that can fasten themselves or by remote control.
Usage for this seems mainly to make sure normal people cannot change parts in their car themselves, and only allow for authorized parts and service.
Of course, a hacker might also have fun and disassemble the neighbours car."
I always wanted a universal tool that could work like the Sonic Screwdriver from Dr. Who!
"Hey server monkey, come tighten these screws!"
There's already way too much tech in our cars already. I love technology, but there are some places where it should be kept to a minimum. I long for the days when you could work on your own car with a decent socket set and a few wrenches.
DeviantArt Page
NSFWyea well..SCREW THAT!
I've been interested in these devices for a while now. As a design engineer, I don't see much how these new intelligent fasteners will differ much from today's dumb fasteners. Since they are mechanical fasteners, the joint strength considerations remain the same. All fasteners still have to transfer a force, and the concepts of tension, shear, and clamp load don't change with the addition of an embedded system. I suppose that any joint strength you can achieve with a traditional fastener, you can achieve with an intelligent fastener.
There will be differences, of course. On the plus side, they promise to provide additional design freedom. Tool access and assembly sequences often dictate the fastener locations as much as joint strength does. Now you can put a joint anywhere you want because of the built-in actuation, which can also eliminate some of the tolerance or orientation issues associated with assembly tools. Cross threading could be a thing of the past.
They also shouldn't present any packaging difficulties, despite their onboard electronics. These fasteners tap into a product's existing wiring and electronics. Digital commands take up far less space than a physical tool. I think that smart fasteners can attain much smaller sizes than conventional mechanical fasteners--in part because they overcome traditional spacing constraints and in part because smart materials will allow them to be smaller, perhaps even down to the nanotechnology scale. Cool stuff indeed.
Of course, a hacker might also have fun and disassemble the neighbours car...
While it's moving, no less. Yet another brainless idea from the money-men.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
"I see you are trying to install a screw. Would you like to install a screwdriver?"
So... This is just another scheme so that they can sell you a part to actually work on your car. Or even worse, make you go to the dealer *shudder*.. I can see it now...
"Well sir, the bolts to your air filter are remote controlled... You need this $300 remote to take the cover off and replace the filter"
What's next, the same tool to be able to take the gas cap off, because that too is locked down? Only this time they sell it as a dealer add-on rather than a part?
Hmmm.
If the government gets their hands on these, then we're all screwed!
Hey, guys. Big gulps, huh? Cool. All right! Well, see ya later.
Unless the fastener costs less than a few cents, they are only going to have very specialized applications. Further, with a vibrant aftermarket repair and service industry it will be impossible, legally, to prevent people from understanding how to actuate these fasteners.
Of course, a hacker might also have fun and disassemble the neighbours car. While driving. On the freeway.
It'll be nice for the one or two niche applications that it was meant for. Beyond that, it's nothing more than a curiosity.
-Adam
FTA:
Seatbelts. Wireless or satellite signals from emergency control centers could release seatbelts, infant restraints and seating systems, enabling instant release of trapped or injured passengers from their cars in emergency situations.
Woman stuck in seat because seatbelt won't release: "Hello Ford? I'm in my car, it's about to fall off a cliff, and I can't get out of my seat - can you release my seatbelt please?"
Ford Customer Service: "Hold please ma'am - we're experiencing some slowdowns with our computer system. We'll just need to verify a few pieces of information with you first..."
I was in the park the other day wondering why frisbees get bigger and bigger the closer they get - and then it hit me.
Sure remote-controlled fasteners for cars and such is really nifty...
But wake me up when they get remote-controlled brassiers. You will know its true love when she trusts you with the remote...
There are two kinds of fool. One says, This is old, and therefore good. And one says, This is new, and therefore better.
Just when Congress appears ready to force auto makers to stop locking nondealer mechanics out of the car's diagnostic computer, they come up with a way to lock them out of changing parts. If they prove to be resistant to the average screwdriver or wrench, we'll know for sure what's up.
Only on
Keep me from removing my air bag? I think not, this method presents nothing that a drill and appropriate sized bit can't resolve. Make the fastener internal so it's not exposed?? Carbide or diamond cutting wheels and torches can take care of that little problem? I'm taking it apart, who needs to put it back together again!
Never under estimate the ability to take something apart that was not designed to be taken apart.
I rarely read replies, it's my opinion and if you thought about your opinion a little more, I'm OK with that.
What happens a few years around the road when a little corosion sets in, and the little motor attached to the screw can no longer back it out. If you took advantage of the fact that it does not need access how do you remove it when the mechanism fails? I work on my vehicles, and often have to use a cheater bar to gain leverage on stubborn bolt. You would have to throw away the whole car, Starting to sound like "Brave New World"
Hollywood must have these because they have already appeared in the movie Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. At the beginning of the movie, the Lucy Liu character is hidden inside a crate, but then we see wood screws spinning by themselves and popping out of their holes. Then Lucy Liu unfolds herself and climbs out.
I always wondered how she got those screws to come out, especially given that her hands were folded to the bottom of the crate and the screws were on the top. Now I know.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
Can they program the fasteners to reveal their crack at various times and swear like a sailor?
Click, whir, thunk! Hmmm, yep, there's number 1 piston now. Won't be too long now, Mrs. Jenkins.
BTM
That was the turning point of my life--I went from negative zero to positive zero.
This has got to be worth a second or two off pit stop times. All the pit crew has to do is tell the bolts to undo themselves as the car comes to a halt and they can proceed directly to changing the tyres. Of course, there are probably going to be a few amusing incidents when they trigger the release too soon as well... :)
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
System: "Your screwdriver screwdriver successfully installed the new Phillips 00 screw number 128696. Your car may not function correctly until you restart it."
User: WTF! The breakes aren't working!!! AAARRRGH!!
One of the major features touted in the article is security, as in "you can't remove the fasteners without the secret code". As in "you can't install replacement parts unless you buy them from the original maker".
Forget DMCA tricks. This will force you to get all your parts and service from a single source, the company that originally made the product.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Hmmm. There has to be some tool that will remove a fastener without the security code, because what happens when a fastener breaks in such a way that it doesn't accept any code? "I'm sorry, you need a new engine, because the fasteners on your oil pan are broken. They don't answer the commands to unfasten." Not likely! So I guess if you are willing to go to a great deal of trouble you could pry out all the secure fasteners and put in your own.
Of course that would be a DMCA violation, but at least I can hope that the DMCA will be dead long before these fasteners are actually practical for widespread use.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
They'd see when people had voided their warranties or even prevent unauthorized (by Microsoft of course) people opening PCs so as to switch to a non DRM-enabling BIOS.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
... The potential for these in kinky sex toy designs is astounding.
I imagine the B&D crowd is panting at the very though. (But then they usually are...)
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
Quick- somebody take out a patent on remote-controlled WD-40!
The article cites labor costs as the main impetus for creating these self-fastening fasteners, but I think it's much more interesting to consider new applications.
One thing about nuts and bolts is that in order to use them, you have to place them where you have access and enough clearance to be able to attach a tool. You couldn't use nuts and bolts to fasten two blocks together, for example, unless you have holes extending through at least one of the blocks. With these things, you can bolt two blocks together with no obvious access points, and you can unbolt them at any time.
The benefits of totally blind fastening aren't completely obvious because we've worked out other solutions to the problem. Basically, we either weld things together, or we use some sort of snap-fit system, or we leave access holes if we might need to reverse the attachment. But I expect there will be some interesting applications for these things in the future.
Using windows as compared to open source is like buying a car where the manufacturer sealed the hood shut; how rediculous would that be? Oh, nevermind....
-- Greg
Slashdot, would a spell-checker for posting be too much to ask? It's not rocket science!
As usual, the submitter is a sensationalist fucktard. The first thing the article does is describe several uses for these products It lists six different categores, including optimizing manufacturing assembly, and sensing impending problems. Yes, restricting access is one thing that they _will_ be used for. But it's not even close to the only thing.
The article goes into pretty significant detail about the operation of the fasteners. The site is the web presence of a manufacturing industry rag, so it's not just ad copy.
This is the kind of hardware that's taking the auto industry out of the industrial age. A couple of exerpts I thought were particularly tasty:
I just had to replace the headlamp assembly on my wife's Corsica. It was a pain in the ass. Assuming that the control codes for these fasteners was publicly available it would've taken just a few minutes.
Aside here: Manufacturers are required by law to release a certain amount of information about their vehicles, to allow third-party repair shops to get in. This isn't playing DVDs under Linux or any heavy geek esoterica, it's something that affects Joe Legislator, so they're going to see to it that it doesn't inconvenience them too much.)
Why stop with disassembling your neighbor's car?
Take a trip to the dealership, and just walk up and down the rows of cars... >=)
I know the trouble you'd get in would be astronomical, but it just might say something to the dealers about "remote control" screws.
Why is it that on a site that's supposedly for Techies/Geeks/other lovers of the Bleeding Edge that every new invention creates an automatic wave of "That'll never work, and it's a bad idea!"?
/rant
This isn't part of some vast conspiracy to bilk you out of your money. It's just a screw that works itself, and more importantly it's not necessarily meant for every application.
Sheesh.
The evil monkey commands you to dance.
your car get's hit by lightning?
You have to boost another car and get the wires mixed up?
Some guy like me comes along with a localized EMP generator?
CodeTrap (www.codetrap.net)
This would be useful for situations where a screw is used for varible tensioning, like tuning on a guitar. Especially in a hostile environment.
if you don't feel better tomorrow, we'll just cut your legs off about here. - Theodoric of York
Kind of interesting, my dad was working on a project at Honeywell (then Allied Signal) to design a very similar bolt with built in torque sensor for space applications about 15 years ago. That bolt eventually found its way onto the ISS (the bolt to be used on the ISS was probably designed and built at least another 6 or 7 years ago) and now, car manufactures are looking to mass produce this technology and put it in in millions of cars. Course its nothing new that this is how it happens with technologies, but it is always interesting to note.
All I could think about was the screw in the movie rolling around and beeping when I read this :)
Can't wait for this to come into being, and then the inevitable experation period when your car falls apart after 60k miles.
Keap it Simple, Stupid. Everyone out there knows that, and being an auto mechanic for ten years now, I'd hate to have to track down a problem to a fastener that intermitently lost its connection, decided to to losen itself, or over torque itself and break, or strip its threads. This will never work for two reasons, first off, I don't see how it can ever be cost effective, these things can't be cheap. Second is weight, the reason automakers have all been crying about how they're going to switch to 48 volt systems (any day now, riiiiight) is because the weight of the wiring for all of the electronic components in todays cars is piling up, and with thinner wiring they'll save weight, but have to run at higher voltages. Unfortunately they haven't been able to come up with connectors that won't jump an air gap and melt down connector terminals! So even if these things are wirelesss, the added weight on each connector will obviate itself out of existence. Where I do see these things going is on emissions control equipment to prevent tampering. No more hollowing out catalytic converters (for the morons that do it) and I can see these as being locks on ECU's to prevent them from being chipped or reflashed. It wouldn't be very difficult at all to have the ECU turn on the check engine light if one of these bolts were removed, but then again, it's bad enough chasing down loose connections and loose gas caps, the last thing I want these days is to chase down a loose bolt!
Loud Pipes Save Lives
"Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
... remember that feeling you got when the legs sprouted out of that guy's head in John Carpenter's "The Thing" ?
That's the feeling I get when I hear about something as stupid as this... I mean, I guess it's the illogical evolution of the entire "tamper-resistant" fastener craze of the modern automotive industry, but as a professional mechanic for almost 20 years, I know from experience that fasteners with funny heads on them do not deter the fools and thieves out there from trying to take things apart - they only serve to provoke them into doing much more damage than they would have done had you simply used a normal bolt.
It's just bulls#it, plain & simple.
Mnem
It's impossible to make anything foolproof - the fools are too damned inventive."
Now nerds can screw over bullies cars even easier than ever! I can just see it now.
*Nerd presses a few buttons, cars tires flatten and fall off, engine and components fall into a heap, seats, chairs, and straps fall down off of the interior, car trunk pops open and then flings off.*
Needless to say, whoever thought up this was is a fuckin moron. Why the HELL would I trade my screwdriver's torque for a couple small magnets?
Candy-Coated Knowledge
Sometimes hackers just get way too much credit. We definitely need to educate people regarding the pitfalls of technology and the dangers of relying too much on security. However, it's erroneous, and dangerous, for us to portray the idea that some 'hacker' could simply sit at a street corner with a laptop and create havoc with all things that contain a chip. We need to raise awareness, but let's not create an irrational fear.
Sure, I suppose a 'hacker' could have fun and disassemble the neighbours car - after they pop the hood, hook up their laptop (likey using special hardware), and run the correct program (probably with little to no 'hacking' involved). Heck, while they were at it they might as well go the extra mile and hack the car's chip.
Give credit where credit is due, but let's not make 'hackers' more powerful than they really are.
The future is here!
The running joke in Deep Space 9 about self-sealing stem bolts is about to become a reality.
...like when that little shit with the subwoofers goes blaring past my windows at 2AM. Goddamn, will it feel good to press the "disassemble" button on my remote control!
--
Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
Now I can at last have self-sealing stem bolts! Exxxxxxcellent...this will be better than sharks with frickin' laser beams.
Brings a whole new meaning to End Of Life doesnt it when the bolts on your wheels unlock themselves, maybe cos you pass a hotspot, or a repair dealer with a cash flow problem.
I think we need some laws that make it illegal to build a devices intended to prevent, the repair or alteration of the product offered for sale. Designing and making any device to remotely controlled by anyone other than the owner, should be jail time for the seller, the company CXO's and owners, do not pass go, do not collect marketing award.
I am old enough to remeber taking cars to bits for fun and profit (or was it girls... Yeah!)
How are kids gonna do that if they have to buy BOLT.EXE from Frod Rolloversoft for $15,000. As other posters noted, this particular idea is way beyond stupid, mechanically. However... the business model that gives rise to the idea needs to be made illegal.
Its time to define into law a few mechanical and software reverse engineering maintenance, and alteration, rights and privileges.
Isn't this also a matter of national security? We are going to look really stupid if we cant maintain simple mechanical devices and systems in any future era, where our dealer infrastructure and InfraDaft Boltware companies are smoking holes in the ground.
Some things need to be fixable with simple tools, fast, in nasty places.
I would support unpleasant consequences for any product designer that infringes that mandate. Did they stop teaching basic humanitarian and business ethics in design schools or something?
In the interim, punish companies that produce such trends in products by supporting a gratuitous existence failure in their sales. Do not buy the products. I like the Golgafrinchan solution. Sod all political correctness for a farce, dump all the morons, make em somebody elses problem.
There is no god; get over it already! Never exchange a walk on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage.
No doubt there are applications for -sensors- on fasteners (can you say "MD-83 jack screws"?), but suggesting that nuts and bolts install themselves sounds idiotic. How does a microprocessor go about delivering 100 ft-lbs. of force - or 20 in-lbs for that matter, more efficiently than a WRENCH? Sounds like justification for bad engineering - in fact I've owned cars designed with these principles, e.g., "the engine has to be raised to replace the exhaust head-pipe," or "every accesory must be removed to reach the water pump." -Now design can suck and magic bolts can be the excuse. Awesome!
Unless he has exceeded the speed of sound then the sound energy will still reach him. The source and the receiver are moving at the same speed, so in your river analogy they move together. Even if the receiver was stationary, so long as the current is slower than the wave speed, waves will still arrive at the receiver.
5/10 for coming up with a reasonable model. 0/10 for thinking it through. You fail it.
Assuming the head of this thing has a whopping 1" radius from the center of the bolt, that's 360 lbs of force the fastner needs to apply. And the largest volume that this fastener will take up? 3.14 in^3? 6.28?
These screws will only be useful for detailing unless they can tap power magically from anywhere they want.
--<Mike>--