X10 Community Forum
💬General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: HA Dave on May 11, 2019, 04:12:09 PM
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I actually saw 2001 (A Space Odyssey) at a drive-in theater in 1968. The movie was impressive... and over-my-head. No matter what the credits showed... the movie stared HAL 9000.
Recently there has been some mention on the Web of a large (100mm) Arcade Push Button that resembles HAL's big "red eye".
So a little searching and I found everything I needed... including the movie props actual dimensions. I made mine in 2 days of part time fiddling. This thing is plenty big enough to hold a Pi. Or a BT speaker.... or an intercom.....
The video is at the normal location: https://youtu.be/LcrTQ5ciclU
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Wow, great look!! #:)
But will it open the pod bay doors?
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So far..... HAL refuses to open any doors. Says "afraid it can't do that" and "the mission" is too important to let me jeopardize it. Sounds like crazy talk to me.... I may have to shut HAL down.
Realistically.... HAL just hangs in my Home Office/nerd-nasium/Man Cave. That room is my space... and is in constant flux. I keep my Home Automation Hubs in there too.
I could.... pretty quickly and easily... set-up the HAL 9000 panel to control X10.
I could just wire it to a laptop (across the room) running windows XP and BVC (Bill's Voice Commander)... which I already have at the ready as part of my pre-Alexa setup. Maybe add a few HAL 9000 voice clips from the Internet (http://www.rosswalker.co.uk/movie_sounds/2001_and_2010.htm). It would be simple, quick, and easy-peezy. I could even covertly mount an [eye] motion sensor as a way to make HAL see and greet me (as well as turning ON the microphone and HAL's "red eye" LED) Then... use a spare CM15A... and write a macro with flags... that would keep HAL from repeating the greeting (too often). It could even open the garage.... er, Pod Bay door on verbal request. I've always thought our home automation setups are limited more by imagination than technology.
But I was thinking more of the RBPi users..... who might want to add a little of the popular voice control action with their X10... without going whole-hog Internet control (with Amazon or Google).
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This all sounds like an amazing homage to the real HAL 9000. But I always have to restrain myself from doing things that are way cool but might "make things confusing" for certain people. ;)
The HAL console screen saver in your video was a nice touch. When I lock my PC at work, that screen saver takes over 6 monitors. It looks amazing with the lights off. 8)
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This all sounds like an amazing homage to the real HAL 9000.
Thanks. I've wanted a HAL9000 since I saw the movie. If I had waited much longer to make one.... I might have seemed like I was procrastinating. I love the security and safety added with Home Automation. But... heck.. no reason this stuff can't be just plain fun too.
The HAL console screen saver in your video was a nice touch.
Thanks! I wasn't sure anyone would even know what that was on my TV. I streamed it off of youtube.
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I don't know why I do some of this stuff. It isn't even Home Automation season (which I missed mostly due to an injury). I originally just thought I'd make the prop-wall hanging... as I had repainted the wall and was left with nothing but my old TV hanging there. But after posting here.... I couldn't help but think as how I could operate a HAL (X10 only) panel right along with Alexa in the same room.
I had saved the old X10 camera 12V power sources... which operate by X10 PLC. This could be a source of power for HAL's "eye". I sorted through some of my old extras and spare parts/junk. I am not even sure I would need to buy anything... I seem to have everything I might need. Although.... I've just picked up a fault in the AE35 unit (https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/22ac0c35-6fef-4d49-8518-5498765f502d) (movie trivia humor)
I am going to wire it up to a laptop for now. Maybe someday.... mount my Pi right into the panel (there is room).
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I saved some HAL wav files to my PC, and re-setup the [old XP] laptop to play the movie wav files. It was almost too easy. It can turn some lights on and off as well.
I made a very short little video (https://youtu.be/-FvIBHTn5Fw).
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Fiction becomes fact!
The HAL concept.... of a Computer AI accessed via a wall mounted panel (see post #1). Which could see the user (with it's camera) and well as hear and speak with the user by means of AI. Is now just an add-on accessory sold through Amazon (of course).