Reinventing the Clapper With a Knock-Based Home Automation Controller

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Reinventing the Clapper With a Knock-Based Home Automation Controller

Posted by timothy on Saturday March 10, 2012 @11:38AM from the scratch-friend-and-enter dept.

An anonymous reader writes with a snippet from Hack a Day: "Clap On! Clap Off! was super awesome when The Clapper came out in the mid-eighties. Now [Mathieu Stephan] is trying to make the concept much more functional. He put together a controller that lets you knock on walls to control things around the house. It's called the Toktoktok project and uses small boxes to receive user input and control items like lamps and computers." As the project website points out, Stephan is keeping the project intentionally open.

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Just because you CAN do something by NotQuiteReal · 2012-03-10 11:42 · Score: 1, Insightful

Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD.

--
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
1. Re:Just because you CAN do something by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 12:03 · Score: 1
  
  People used the clapping stuff. It was senseless, but sold.
  What I'm waiting for is the phone control stuff. Didn't Google invest in this last year?
2. Re:Just because you CAN do something by rwa2 · 2012-03-10 12:05 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I'm just thinking of all the dopeslap moments I'll have when sneaking home late at night and having the lights come on just AFTER I smack my head into a wall.
  Sounds like good times.
3. Re:Just because you CAN do something by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 12:44 · Score: 1
  
  It's an awesome idea for turning all your noisy appliances into a lesson on concurrency and the way it can lead to indeterminate outcomes.
4. Re:Just because you CAN do something by tftp · 2012-03-10 15:22 · Score: 1
  
  I'm just thinking of all the dopeslap moments I'll have when sneaking home late at night and having the lights come on just AFTER I smack my head into a wall.
  When that happens please keep your eyes tightly closed; otherwise the sparks may fall onto the carpet and cause fire.
5. Re:Just because you CAN do something by LowlyWorm · 2012-03-10 15:45 · Score: 2
  
  Indeterminate is right. I bought a clapper not long ago and connected it to several lamps. The stereo, TV, bumps, dropping things, etc. made the place like a strobe light. The concept is not such a bad idea but the activation should much better controlled to be practical.
  
  --
  Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
6. Re:Just because you CAN do something by Ihmhi · 2012-03-10 16:20 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  How about a secret knock detector?
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
7. Re:Just because you CAN do something by Ukab+the+Great · 2012-03-10 16:42 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Don't knock it till you tried it.
8. Re:Just because you CAN do something by SrLnclt · 2012-03-11 05:42 · Score: 1
  
  Glad I'm not the only one. A number of years ago I was using an ancient TV with a screwed up power supply. When you hit the power button to turn it off it would stay on - just turn the tuner off and show snow on the screen. I found an old clapper and used that to turn it on/off. It worked OK... but was really obnoxious if I was yelling at the TV during sporting events.
Great idea until... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:43 · Score: 4, Funny

Great idea! Well, great until you've a lady friend over and the bed scoots just a little too close to the wall.
1. Re:Great idea until... by billcopc · 2012-03-10 11:51 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Sexual lightswitch rave!
  
  --
  -Billco, Fnarg.com
2. Re:Great idea until... by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · 2012-03-10 12:00 · Score: 2
  
  Or until you start working on some particularly bad legacy code and *headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk* ensues.
3. Re:Great idea until... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 12:14 · Score: 0
  
  Remember, you're on Slashdot. Basement walls wouldn't transmit the knocks anyway.
4. Re:Great idea until... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 12:27 · Score: 0, Funny
  
  Yes, I hate that when the lights go out during sex. Ruins the show.
5. Re:Great idea until... by broknstrngz · 2012-03-10 12:29 · Score: 2
  
  Slashdotters aren't likely to run into that particular problem.
6. Re:Great idea until... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 13:08 · Score: 0
  
  Let's hope she's not epileptic...
7. Re:Great idea until... by p0p0 · 2012-03-10 13:42 · Score: 1
  
  Fairly obscure reference. Good. Good.
8. Re:Great idea until... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 14:30 · Score: 0
  
  Not the "clap" he had in mind???
9. Re:Great idea until... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 16:55 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, the more likely scenario for /.ers
10. Re:Great idea until... by theshowmecanuck · 2012-03-10 16:56 · Score: 1
  
  Excuse me but I believe that is called the snapper, not the clapper. Now if the snapper gives you the clapper that is another matter altogether.
  
  --
  -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
11. Re:Great idea until... by sco08y · 2012-03-10 19:40 · Score: 1
  
  Great idea! Well, great until you've a lady friend over and the bed scoots just a little too close to the wall.
  That just means you need to learn how to tie knots properly.
12. Re:Great idea until... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 19:49 · Score: 0
  
  If you have the clap involved in sex, sucks to be you.
13. Re:Great idea until... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 22:30 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, I hate that when the lights go out during sex. Ruins the show.
  Maybe you should stop watching the neighbours and get some yourself.
14. Re:Great idea until... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-11 06:40 · Score: 0
  
  Like that is going to occur to someone who would invent something like this.
Are Americans really this lazy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 11:44 · Score: 0

I can understand the handicapped finding a device like this useful. But are the rest of Americans really so lazy that they can't be arsed to walk a couple of metres to a light switch?
1. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Vectronic · 2012-03-10 11:56 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  It's not necessarily, or only about laziness, but aesthetics too. Also handy if you have a room with 3 entrances, but only one has a light switch, etc.
2. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Meshach · 2012-03-10 12:05 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  To be fair this is not targeted just at turning on and off lights. The article states that is can control any electronic device: computers, music players, cooking... anything. And the creator explicitly says it is unencumbered with patents so it is an idea any one can use to improve any existing technology.
  
  Sounds like a win-win
  
  --
  "Maybe this world is another planet's hell"
  Aldous Huxley
3. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by artor3 · 2012-03-10 12:21 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  You walk a couple meters to use a lightswitch? How fucking lazy are you? Active people like me go down to the breaker in the basement to turn the lights on and off, and then jog two laps around the house for good measure.
  Word to the wise: laziness is not doing something potentially beneficial because you prefer to just sit around doing nothing. There is no gain from flipping a light switch, and therefore it's not lazy to find more convenient ways of doing it. You might as well bitch about people being too lazy to use a crank starter for their car.
4. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 12:32 · Score: 0
  
  Seriously. What is this luddite attitude? Are we lazy for using knives instead of ripping the meat of bones with our teeth? Or lazy because we use computers instead of pencil and paper?
5. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Samantha+Wright · 2012-03-10 12:32 · Score: 1
  
  FIRST YORKSHIREMAN: And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you.
  ALL: They won't!
  
  --
  Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
6. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by GmExtremacy · 2012-03-10 12:35 · Score: 0
  
  You should be walking to your destinations, you lazy sack of garbage! I don't care if they're miles away, you should walk!
7. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by tomhath · 2012-03-10 12:49 · Score: 1
  
  My kitchen is like that, whoever wired it 75 years ago should have known better.
8. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by tomhath · 2012-03-10 12:55 · Score: 2
  
  I know reading the article is too much work for you, but the very first illustration shows someone leaving the room and knocking on the wall where a light switch would normally be found...
9. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Stormthirst · 2012-03-10 13:10 · Score: 1
  
  You have 75 year old wiring? And the place hasn't burnt down yet? Or do your lights flicker every time your freezer compressor comes on?
10. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Nidi62 · 2012-03-10 13:12 · Score: 1
  
  Don't most (if not all) music players with any kind of speaker system already come with remotes? This whole thing really sounds to me like a solution looking for a problem.
  
  --
  The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
11. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 13:29 · Score: 0
  
  I have a pretty old house, and in one of the rooms, whenever you use something (like a vacuum) the lights will fade out and then back in every five minutes or so. And using things in the kitchen makes the television have lines on the screen. Odd.
12. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Meshach · 2012-03-10 13:34 · Score: 1
  
  This whole thing really sounds to me like a solution looking for a problem.
  That is the essence of the clapper: it is totally unnecessary. No one needs it; no one needs most of the things we discuss on Slashdot. But there are still people who want to discuss them just like there are people who want the clapper.
  
  --
  "Maybe this world is another planet's hell"
  Aldous Huxley
13. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by subreality · 2012-03-10 14:05 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  75 year old wiring tends to be pretty good. Back then they were doing K&T https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knob_and_tube_wiring style. It looks scary as hell but it tends to be pretty safe - since your hot and neutral are separated by a considerable air gap and the wires are thermally insulated from the structure, an insulation failure (abrasion or overheating) usually doesn't burn the house down. It doesn't have modern safety features like a safety ground, but the actual wiring is fine.
  The switch away from it has more to do with cost than safety. The guys installing it usually knew what they were doing and paid much better attention to detail than the average contractor dragging romex these days. It took a lot of time, but it was a reliable and safe system, and if it's installed, there's no reason to rip it out and replace it just because it's old.
14. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by PPH · 2012-03-10 15:37 · Score: 1
  
  Also handy if you have a room with 3 entrances, but only one has a light switch, etc.
  Motion detector?
  That clapper is going to make sneaking into the house late at night without waking the wife really tough.
  
  --
  Have gnu, will travel.
15. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2012-03-10 18:35 · Score: 1
  
  You're speaking as though you don't have a mobile phone or a bunch of remote controls orbiting your couch.
  
  --
  
  "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
16. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2012-03-10 18:40 · Score: 1
  
  Acting unimpressed makes a nerd appear smarter. It's risky, though, that's why statements like "less space than a nomad, lame" have a way of haunting you.
  
  --
  
  "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
17. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Hognoxious · 2012-03-10 21:52 · Score: 1
  
  Who wires a room with three entrances, but only one light switch?
  Belgians wire long corridors with switches at each end in series.
  I could try and fix it, but I'm afraid to touch it for fear of what I might find.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
18. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Stormthirst · 2012-03-11 01:01 · Score: 1
  
  Several points about K&T:
  1) Good luck with insurance on it. Certainly where I am, they won't insure you unless you promise you're re-wiring.
  2) No ground wire? Seriously? I don't even know where to begin with this one!
  3) The really early insulators consisted of tar and cotton. So let me get this straight - it's a good idea to use two accelerants in wooden buildings, where modern day loads could cause the wires to get hot.
  That's real smart!
  As for your comments about the installers "usually" knowing what they were doing? I wouldn't trust your average contractor to install cabling - there's a reason why electrical contractors have certification.
19. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Stormthirst · 2012-03-11 01:03 · Score: 1
  
  There's a reason why old wiring should be replaced. The older wiring just isn't designed for modern day loads. And no earth wire? Really?
20. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by hackertourist · 2012-03-11 02:28 · Score: 1
  
  There is no gain from flipping a light switch
  But there is. A light switch is a passive element, it consumes no power on its own. Any remote controller including the one in TFA will expend power 24/7 doing nothing but wait for your commands.
21. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by KozmoStevnNaut · 2012-03-11 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  I live in an apartment building constructed in the mid-1930s and it looks like most of the wiring dates from back then, too.
  Apart from the kitchen, which was remodeled 10 years ago by the previous owner, all of the wiring consists of cloth-insulated individual conductors inside copper tubing. I had to replace a light switch last year and the insulation literally crumbled to dust wherever I wasn't extremely gentle with it.
  Ground wires? Well, the oven and the washing machine have safety grounds. Everything else has had the ground plugs removed to fit in the old-style two-prong sockets, the only ones that will fit. Besides, only the kitchen has an actual safety ground anyway.
  The way my apartment is wired up to the mains, I have a theoretical 3-phase 400V connection. I say "theoretical", because in actual fact, one phase supplies the entire apartment with 10A 230V and the remaining two phases supply the kitchen with 2x 16A 230V. My electrician friend just shook his head and mumbled "goddamn Copenhagen wiring" when he saw it.
  I have drawn up a budget for replacing the old wiring, but it would involve tearing down the beautiful stucco ceilings and basically remodeling the entire apartment in one go.
  If it ain't broken, don't fix it :-)
  
  --
  Eat the rich.
22. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by mcgrew · 2012-03-12 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  I lived in this house several years ago. Built in 1918, thoroughly modern with gas and electric... it still had a gaslight fixture at the top of the stairs. It had additional wiring installed over the years, in fact my basement was a good museum of electrical wiring with about every kind there was. The K&T wiring was solid, much better than some 30 years younger.
  Now, if you have a house built in the 1970s with aluminum wiring you'd damned well better have some great insurance. Those houses were firetraps. It had been installed and removed in the pictured house; some of the 1970s wiring was still there but none of it was hot.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
23. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by mcgrew · 2012-03-12 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  2) No ground wire? Seriously? I don't even know where to begin with this one!
  
  Grounded house wiring (pos, neg, ground) is fairly recent. Until a couple of decades ago it was rare to find it in homes. Before then it was almost always "hot" and ground.
  
  --
  Free Martian Whores!
24. Re:Are Americans really this lazy? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-15 10:41 · Score: 0
  
  You have DC wiring for the main runs?!
Enter port knocking. . . by mjjochen · 2012-03-10 12:10 · Score: 2

Can I set this up with port knocking. So maybe every time I get a knock on 22, then 23, and eventually 80, in any particular order on my external IP, that my lights go on and off? That would be cool. Maybe rig it to the stereo system, too. 137/138 would control the volume. Fun times.
the clapper work for old tv with out a remote like by Joe_Dragon · 2012-03-10 12:14 · Score: 1

the clapper work for old tvs with out a remote like the one in the ad. With the ones with remotes killing the power like that just made it lose the channel map.
Now days trying to kill the power like that will just mess up the cable box.
Seance ... knock three times by Joe_Dragon · 2012-03-10 12:19 · Score: 2

"Once", "Twice", or "Thrice ... well done."
1. Re:Seance ... knock three times by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 14:32 · Score: 0
  
  God I miss that pinball game. The Addams Family was the best machine ever. They had one in college that had a very loose tilt meter. You could beat the crap out of that machine. Good times.
Already patented... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 12:24 · Score: 0

Unfortunately the concept is patented...
http://www.cobenelec.com/?q=node/19
(based on TE Connectivity touch solution/ Sensitive object APR technology)
Next on CNN: Man killed for knocking on wall. by EchoRomeo · 2012-03-10 12:51 · Score: 1

I don't think my neighbors in my apartment complex would like me banging on random walls to turn things on and off. Like wise I would get pretty mad if i heard someone just banging on the wall throughout the day.
My dog.. by ronmon · 2012-03-10 12:55 · Score: 1

has a tail like a broomstick and she is a very happy girl. Crap would be flashing on and off all over the house.
1. Re:My dog.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 14:12 · Score: 0
  
  one work, docking. get a 1 lbs. chinese kitchen knife and whack that bitches annoying limb off. cauterize the stump with a red hot poker and you're good to go. that'll tone done that pestilent happiness problem too.
The ultrasonic remote has come full circle by MrEricSir · 2012-03-10 13:01 · Score: 2

My grandfather had an old Zenith TV set with an ultrasonic remote. Every time someone jingled their keys or flushed the toilet, it would change the channel or adjust the volume. This seems like it will have the same problem.

--
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
1. Re:The ultrasonic remote has come full circle by geekmux · 2012-03-10 15:37 · Score: 1
  
  My grandfather had an old Zenith TV set with an ultrasonic remote. Every time someone jingled their keys or flushed the toilet, it would change the channel or adjust the volume. This seems like it will have the same problem.
  From TFA:
  "What is a contact mic? Well, it is just a fancy word for a piezoelectric element. It is very simple to produce, has a non linear response curve and a resonant frequency around 3kHz. Why is it well suited for this project? Because it will only 'listen to' the vibrations of the surface it is fixed to."
  Sounds like he might have isolated that particular problem.
2. Re:The ultrasonic remote has come full circle by Ihmhi · 2012-03-10 16:22 · Score: 1
  
  Wouldn't soundwaves going through the air cause the wall to vibrate, even if only slightly?
  What about when an airplane flies over head or a large truck drives down the road? In both cases my house shakes a little bit - you can certainly feel the vibration in the walls.
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
3. Re:The ultrasonic remote has come full circle by karnal · 2012-03-11 01:27 · Score: 1
  
  I would guess the part about the resonant frequency being around 3kHz in addition to the part that it has a non linear response curve helps with this. It would be very very difficult to resonate a wall at 3kHz via a sound wave. Judging by the walls in my house, it's typically 150Hz or less (as cars with subwoofers/missing mufflers drive by.)
  
  --
  Karnal
Oh, boy! by Black+Parrot · 2012-03-10 13:19 · Score: 1

My poltergeist is going to have fun now!

--
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
1. Re:Oh, boy! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-03-10 15:24 · Score: 1
  
  We refer to that as a 'from the other side'-channel attack...
Happy Days by thereitis · 2012-03-10 13:37 · Score: 2

I immediately thought of "The Fonz" from Happy Days when I saw this story. Now we can all be cool.
1. Re:Happy Days by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 13:47 · Score: 0
  
  That means you're cooler than me.
  I was thinking it would turn off all the lights if you tapped out a "rhythm of four... the heartbeat of a Time Lord"
Prior art by trold · 2012-03-10 13:47 · Score: 4, Funny

The product is clearly a knockoff
1. Re:Prior art by geekmux · 2012-03-10 15:39 · Score: 1
  
  The product is clearly a knockoff
  Yes, but he already discussed the issue of paten...ooooh, I see what you did there.
Cheap security system?!? by stretch0611 · 2012-03-10 14:00 · Score: 1

How long before we take this unit and have it turn on a mp3 player of a large dog barking viciously...

--
Looking for a job?
Want your resume written professionally?
DON'T USE TUNAREZ!!!
1. Re:Cheap security system?!? by MrQuacker · 2012-03-10 14:29 · Score: 1
  
  Reminds me of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvE9lbr7ZAA
2. Re:Cheap security system?!? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 15:53 · Score: 0
  
  Been sold since the 80's. And they hang right on the door!
You insensitive clod! by PPH · 2012-03-10 15:29 · Score: 1

We're even too lazy to figure out what a couple of meters is in our British Imperial system of units (adopted as US customary units by changing the spelling of 'metres').

--
Have gnu, will travel.
The people downstairs ... by PPH · 2012-03-10 15:39 · Score: 1

... can just shut off your loud stereo themselves by knocking on their ceiling with a broomstick.

--
Have gnu, will travel.
Knock Offs by DigitalJanitor · 2012-03-10 16:00 · Score: 1

So when my Asian friends come over and turn off my lights can I take them to court for infringement?
stupid and done for decades by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-10 16:16 · Score: 0

variations on this have been done for decades. cant' we get some holodeck cool and talk to a computer, it's the fucking 21st century for craps sake
harass your neighbors with it by cstacy · 2012-03-10 17:49 · Score: 1

"Penny...Penny...Penny..."
Encoding problem. Morse code? by Animats · 2012-03-10 20:01 · Score: 2

If you have more than one thing to control, you'll need some encoding scheme, like Morse code. This won't scale up well.
1. Re:Encoding problem. Morse code? by Crypto+Gnome · 2012-03-10 22:39 · Score: 1
  
  And the first night of hot-passion-and-burning-lust in your newly-automated pad leads to madness and chaos
  
  Of course, some people prefer things that way....
  
  --
  Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
Visitors by jduhls · 2012-03-10 21:23 · Score: 1

So when folks knock on my door, my living room lights turn off?
Better Late Than Never by Crypto+Gnome · 2012-03-10 22:37 · Score: 1

Implementing Sesame Street For Fun And Profit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaXO3yg1REE

--
Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
As someone living in a block of flats by Hentes · 2012-03-10 23:35 · Score: 1

It's already noisy enough without everyone banging on the walls.
Great, Another Insomnia Ad Jingle by retroworks · 2012-03-11 01:37 · Score: 1

It's been 30 years, and I still can't get "Clap on! Clap off! Clap-on-clap-off..." song out of my head. This is worse than Ch-ch-ch-Chia Obama.

--
Gently reply
ring the doorbell and run away by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-11 01:52 · Score: 0

The ten year old in me is looking with delight at this. It brings knocking on the door and running away to a whole new level.
A VISITOR! by CohibaVancouver · 2012-03-11 02:53 · Score: 1

Every time anyone knocks on the wall in my house the dog bolts to the front door, tail wagging madly with joy, thinking a visitor has arrived. Think Dug from Up!... Definitely not an option in my house.
For you young whippersnappers by Boawk · 2012-03-11 03:58 · Score: 1

The commercial and jingle etched into the memories of all who were sentient in the 80's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfgN5tUgjb8
Great product for apartments by johnb10001 · 2012-03-11 05:50 · Score: 1

The current apartment neighbors are a bunch of idiots that can't close a door, drawer or cabinet without slamming it. Now all I have to do is place a speaker near the wall and have it play some annoying sound back to the neighbors each time they slam a door.
Isn't this regression? by TheSkepticalOptimist · 2012-03-12 05:45 · Score: 1

I would have hoped in the 21st century, you could just say "lights on" or "lights off" to control a lamp, not thump on the wall like a caveman.

--
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.