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Internet-Controlled Train Set

Posted by timothy on from the ain't-no-junk dept.

Eric Barch writes "Using a servo connected to a Mini SSC II and wired into a dedicated server through the serial port, the Control Our Junk team has created a working train set controlled from any computer on the Internet with a few ports open and Java installed. The trains speed can be modified on the control page, which uses a PHP script to send commands to a .NET application sitting on the server. When the .NET application recieves the PHP command it sends the data to a serial port, and in turn, changes the speed of the train. The train set is running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is quite fun to operate from the dual webcams mounted on a top down and side view of the train set. If you would like more information, or to control the train set visit controlourjunk.com/ and take the train for a spin."

4 of 164 comments (clear)

  1. Odd combination? by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 3, Insightful

    .NET powered by PHP?

    If you're using .NET just make an aspx and control things that way... if you're not there's half a dozen ways via PHP (perl+XMLRPC springs to mind).

    Mixing them just seems to be a headache, since making MS code integrate with non-MS code is always harder than just sticking to one or the other.

    1. Re:Odd combination? by Sliptwixt · · Score: 2, Insightful

      My guess is that they're calling .NET web services from the php scripts in which case there is no real "integration" to be concerned with. (kind of the whole idea behind web services)

  2. This is cool WHY? by kisielk · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Wow, it's extremely difficult to send data on the serial port of a PC to control a couple of servos.. and a web interface..

    Maybe it's interesting for some train geeks, but I think that's about it. The camera isn't even mounted ON the train. That might at least make it mildly more entertaining. Yeah, some internet controlled hacks are cool (especially the christmas lights one, doubly so because it was fake :) but I don't think this is one of them.

  3. What is truely sad... by Tehrasha · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Is this has been done before.

    'Back in the day', using a 14.4K modem and a 68k Mac, I remember a website (in Europe IIRC) which allowed you to control a train set with two trains, and 3 sidings. It only had one cam, and wireless wasnt in existance, but they included a clock in the background so you could tell you were truely controlling the train, and not watching a playback of pre-aquired images.

    This was around the same time that the guys at MIT had the Pepsi machine wired so they could tell if it was empty, and whether it was worth walking down the hall or not. They also had a 24hr webcam pointed at the coffee machine for the ame reason.