Two auxiliary Reactron projects have been posted. Here and here. And links added on the side on this project.

They describe:

- A generalized material mover (though not much material, and not far.. but sometimes that is all you need), and

- An energizer - generalized power control. Not much more than a wirelessly controlled relay of 120VAC power.

I made these separate projects so that their components could be separately listed, rather than have a million components in one list with no organization. They are part of the Reactron network that this main project describes.

More of these auxiliary units will be posted as separate projects as well. The thing of note here is that they are all relatively simple nodes in a larger organization. Each devoted to a set of simple tasks, the combinations of which produce a rich complexity of results.

While I stated before that this main project would detail Integrons and Recognizers, I feel that there is one type of Integron for which I would like to make a separate project. That is the automobile Integron-Recognizer system. The reason to make it separate is that while it has all the same stuff as the regular room system, the situation is turned inside out in part.

That is, in a room you may have 4 or more “ambient” units scattered about for easy visual acquisition and good audio collecting coverage. All Collectors are pointed inwards, to get data from the confines of the room. In an automobile, you are more or less captive in your seat, so the burden is much less with respect to location. However, the automobile Integron must look outwards instead of inwards, or at least, in addition to inwards. And since the automobile is a moving node, there are other connectivity concerns. Since the automobile can be much more easily stolen than a building, there are different security concerns as well. While the general function of integrating and augmenting human activity is the same, there are sufficient practical and mechanical differences to warrant a separate accounting, in my opinion.

As a quick description now, the automobile Integron adds cameras for face recognition and more complex gesture control. A car may be unlocked from the outside as you approach, if your face is recognized and a certain (settable) gesture is made (OpenCV) .  I’m too paranoid to use only a single criterion, even though face recognition is a pretty good statistical metric. Additional measures can be added such as biometric range processing (voice, ECG print, etc). Once inside the car, the normal voice control exists, and the mini-network in the car is connected to building-based nodes via data transfer over GPRS (or if parked within range, direct over RF). GPRS is a bit slower, but you then have the ability to ask your car if indeed you left your oven on, or left the front door unlocked, and if so, cause those things to be actuated to the state you actually desire - without having to drive back and lose however much time due to faulty human memory. I sometimes get distracted thinking about other things, and that is one of the reasons I built this system. I want the system to adapt to my thought flow. It is the computer upgrade to the ancient proverb: “There is no memory so good as faded ink”.)  I wanted a design that reduced the occurrences of "Ah, if only i had ..." or "If I had thought of that at just that moment, it would have been so much easier".

My car also includes a mini-network of Reactrons other than the Integron-Recognizer unit. There is one for connecting to close-by building-based Reactron networks, and others to do actuations like door unlocking, managing an AC inverter, and monitoring the state of the car itself (e.g. all automated door actuations are prohibited by the Processor, when a Collector detects that the car is not in Park).

More to come…