8 ms·
How I Helped Potty-Train My Kid Using Twilio and an AWS IoT Button
- spacestuff387 9y agoThis is hilarious! But very practical. Buttons are a simple user interface to say one thing. And the phone call on the other side of the system is great. Google's Paper Signals project allow for a more complex input: voice commands. https://papersignals.withgoogle.com/ https://papersignals.withgoogle.com/ I can see demand for tons of customized versions of both of these projects. The business model is broken though. Customized hardware or software is expensive. If you could build a cookie-cutter style app creator using emoji-style software blocks (for those with zero programming ability) and stick with off-the-shelf hardware from other creators (Amazon) or even Arduino kits, you could build a business model to support semi-custom products with a mix of hardware and software for many many uses.
- gregorymichael 9y agoDidn't know about Papersignals. Looks awesome (also, for kids). Have you built anything with it yet? What's the developer experience like?
- stuntkite 9y agoI can't believe I haven't seen this. I consider myself pretty connected, I read HN and have a robust set of reddits and githubs. They should have done more press for this! This is such a neat project. I want to get some paper signals going up at my house tomorrow. I just so happen to have a jar full of 30 microservos from a project that didn't work out and a couple of the same microcontrollers they are using sitting here... but still, papercraft + IoT. I really like it. I like the idea of making paper signals for my development team related to sprints, epics, and other task countdown. I think there's something about it that would really make a difference in work.
- pavel_lishin 9y agoI would 100% look forward to imaginative kids putting Google's voice recognition through some enhanced QA testing.
- saagarjha 9y ago> brew install python3 Homebrew now installs Python 3 when you run "brew install python". I'm not sure if I agree with their choice, but it makes your guide a bit simpler.
- gregorymichael 9y ago> I'm not sure if I agree with their choice Ha! Keep holding out. Great tip. Thank you. We'll update the post.
- sushisource 9y agoMight also be worth changing the setup to use a venv. That way the weird bit about making sure python2 isn't on your path gets handled for you.
- Improvotter 9y agoBecause Python 2 already has an end of life date. You should no longer use Python 2.
- lifeisstillgood 9y agoI remember years ago someone on here talking about how companies needed to pony up for 8 devs a year if they wanted 24/7 support - the phrase was "only two people on the planet get to wake me at 2 am without paying". this is now literally true. I still rely on on Toddler Lungs 1.0 :-)
- gregorymichael 9y ago> I still rely on on Toddler Lungs 1.0 :-) As the proud owner of a three year old, I feel you.
- zwieback 9y agoLove it, great use of technology and the poop emoji! I probably just forgot but I don't remember our kids getting up in the middle of the night during potty training. Of course we didn't even try until they were 3, you know what they say: potty training a 3 yr old takes a couple days, potty training a 2 yr old takes about a year.
- thearn4 9y agoGoing through it right now, looking forward to the end of it.
- pfarnsworth 9y agoNot having to buy diapers anymore is fucking glorious, but it's also a double-edged sword. No more spending money on Amazon for diapers, but now you have to make sure they pee often, especially before car rides because you could find yourself in an emergency really quickly.
- Spare_account 9y agoPorta-potty to the rescue https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01JILAFG0 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01JILAFG0 It fits in the rear footwell of the car for zero notice emergencies, has absorbent pads in the disposable bags and doubles up as a toilet seat adapter as well.
- sevensor 9y agoI second that. We had twins, bought two. Works great by the side of the highway.
- secabeen 9y agoInterestingly, we found training our 16-month old took only a few weeks. At that age, they're still fascinated with you and what you're doing, so the potty stuff seems to be less tied up in the independence that they're exploring at 2.
- mlevental 9y agothis is funny and a good use of off the shelf apis but it strikes me as a rube Goldberg solution: he's going through AWS to twilio to his cell provider. they're in the same building. he could've hooked up any number of things involving things like RF, Arduino, or whatever. I mean yes you don't get to play with twilio and AWS iot but those are just apis...
- whoisjuan 9y agoProbably because a call is the most reliable way of getting the alert. There are many places in my apartment in which I can't get enough reception to browse a webpage but still can receive and place calls.
- jjeaff 9y agoI don't think that's what the poster meant. For example, a much easier solution would be an $11 wireless doorbell https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00M8AQLZS/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1520478047&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=wireless+doorbell https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00M8AQLZS/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie...
- whoisjuan 9y agoHe changed his original comment. It was more vague hence my reply.
- pavel_lishin 9y agoI think the key here is having an IoT button. It's a pretty fool-proof interface, which is an absolute requirement for a toddler, but it does lock you into Amazon's world as your first step - from there, it totally makes sense to jump through the rest of the hoops.
- the_unknown 9y agoHuh, the AWS IOT Button doesn't ship to Canada. And it isn't available on Amazon.ca. Not to be a party pooper... but, huh? Why not?
- gregorymichael 9y agoHaha. You said poop.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- kevin_b_er 9y agoIf author is here, your code for the pip3 install was corrupted by some form of markdown common on blogs. pip3 will not understand —target. That's an em-dash there instead of --.
- stevekemp 9y agoRemember not to copy commands from web-pages into your terminal: http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste
- giancarlostoro 9y agoI doubt Twilio would do something malicious, but you're still technically not wrong, of course do you trust your browser plugins not to maliciously change your clipboard contents? ;)
- dgouldin 9y agoFixed, thanks for letting me know!
- jweather 9y agoMy IoT button is stuck to the washing machine. It uses AWS Step Functions and SNS to text me an hour after it's pushed to tell me the laundry is done. Unnecessary? Completely. Useful? Heck yeah.
- ada1981 9y agoI'd like you to find a way to get an alert when it's done without having to press the button first.
- paultopia 9y agoMotion sensor seems like the easy solution there. My washer dryer shake a lot when they're going...
- stevekemp 9y agoYup that's what I did in my toy-project: https://steve.fi/Hardware/washing-machine-alarm/ https://steve.fi/Hardware/washing-machine-alarm/ I tried using a microphone at one point too, but that was not as reliable as just taping a sensor to the back of the machine and alerting after movement stopped.
- bartkappenburg 9y agoUse a zwave (or equivalent) plug that can monitor loads and detect when the load is below a certain treshold. I have this for my dishwasher, dryer and washing machine. Works like a charm! See for instance: https://philhawthorne.com/making-dumb-dishwashers-and-washing-machines-smart-alerts-when-the-dishes-and-clothes-are-cleaned/ https://philhawthorne.com/making-dumb-dishwashers-and-washin...
- Jaruzel 9y agoOn the basis that washing machines always break one month after the warranty expires, next time you need to buy one, look for one that beeps and jingles when the program is finished. Mine does this, and it's loud enough to be heard anywhere in the house.
- bmpafa 9y agoBrilliant. Though if IoT botnets were bad, I'm terrified of what IoPeePee botnets might be capable of.
- hodl 9y agoThe internet of shit
- jrs235 9y agoRemember the 's' in IoT stands for security.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- startEmYoung 9y agoWire them into a networked cellular service, and condition them to depend on remote control buttons, that track them everywhere they go, as early as possible.
- jjeaff 9y agoI love stuff like this, but I can't help but think you would save a lot of time by just getting an $11 wireless doorbell. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00M8AQLZS/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1520478047&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=wireless+doorbell https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00M8AQLZS/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie...
- Waterluvian 9y agoAnd likely more reliable. But here's the thing I learned when I got into hacking/makering/hobbying: if you want your widget to be cheaper or more reliable than what's out there, you're going to get discouraged fast. There's simply no competing with what China can produce. You have to be in it for the joy of the build.
- Waterluvian 9y agoI just looked up the IoT button. $20, non-replaceable battery, not shipping to Canada. I don't have the skill or resources to assemble it in a nice form factor, but how are there not dozens of cheap Chinese alternatives? An ESP8266 is like $5 and the rest of the parts are probably less than a dollar. I guess it's just a bit surprising that I cannot find a cheap alternative to buy a dozen of.
- stevekemp 9y agoMy approach was to buy a bunch of 433Mhz radio-based "alarm buttons" from Aliexpress. Then I could wire up a simple radio-receiver to an ESP8266 device to handle the presses. Or of course you could use an SDR-receiver on a PC to do something more complex: https://blog.steve.fi/creating_an_iot_button__the_smart_way.html https://blog.steve.fi/creating_an_iot_button__the_smart_way.... https://blog.steve.fi/decoding_433mhz_transmissions_with_software_defined_radio.html https://blog.steve.fi/decoding_433mhz_transmissions_with_sof...
- murukesh_s 9y agoWondering the same, you probably don't even need a Chinese supplier given how cheap ESP8366 is, you can just assemble a device on a order basis..
- fludlight 9y agoThe Amazon button probably has higher build quality than anything you can replicate or buy for $5+1. That's probably overkill for most applications aimed at adult users, but it's worth it here. Is that cheap Chinese alternative toddler-survivable? Will the enclosure break and will delicious shiny metal sharps fall out? Is it reasonable water resistant? Is it coated in cheap lead paint that will come off when (not if) your toddler chews on it it?
- gregorymichael 9y agoAnd what's the developer experience?
- Waterluvian 9y ago
- BooneJS 9y agoI used a cereal bowl filled with mini-M&Ms. 1 for #1, 2 for #2.
- mccolin 9y agoAfter working in DevOps and getting nightly calls from a paging service about down servers, turning my toddler into another down server seems worse than the current situation ;-) That said, this is a great, fun project for an Amazon button.
- mankash666 9y agoIt's a nice article, but seems like a deliberate cook-up by the twilio PR team. In light of the recently announced twilio-AWS partnership, the article seems even more concocted
- stuntkite 9y agoTrue! He probably had the child just because of the AWS kickbacks.
- mankash666 9y agoThat and your sycophancy here.
- stuntkite 9y agoI could care less about amazon or twillio. There literally just aren't easily accessible other buttons / SMS tools if you go look. Nothing about this is pandering to them, I just think it's a bit reductive to say this guy made this post as a promo. Alternate reality version of the post: Here's my kubernetes SIP/XMPP/WebRTC orchestration to do SMS and an arduino button I designed with STL files so you can 3D print it yourself. Everything is open source to toilet train your kid! I definitely used my time appropriately! EDIT: After re-review I realize this man could just not have a child at all. It could definitely be contrived and potty training probably doesn't need Amazon's weird button that orders more soap. I guess all I'm saying is that I could see myself trying out the same thing and the solution doesn't feel that contrived to me.
- dgouldin 9y agoAuthor here. I don't want to interrupt a good flame war, but I am just a normal dude who posted a tweet about a hack project and was asked by Twilio to write a post about it after the tweet got popular. I prefer not to post pictures of my kids publicly out of respect for their privacy, so I won't prove to you that I'm a dad, but some cursory twitter-stalking should provide sufficient evidence that I'm not a marketing shill for either AWS or Twilio.
- skjerns 9y agowhy not just use a wireless door bell? cheaper and easier.
- scandox 9y agoOne chocolate button for each successful use of the potty during the first week also works. If someone could just build me a Raspberry Pi based dispenser which detects success (and evaluates what kind of success) and then issues the appropriate reward I'll really appreciate that.
- giancarlostoro 9y agoIt's kind of cool they sell AWS IoT buttons, guess they liked what one guy was doing with the Amazon Dash devices to keep track of their baby's sleep cycle so he could try to sync naps with theirs. Of course someone else mentioned it's a bit pricey and no ability to replace the battery?... What? If I had to guess the Dash button is likely more reliable and not tied to AWS (you kinda hook it up to a Pi Router and MITM the requests instead - or similar). I much rather some company would make a nice kit for the Raspberry Pi Zero W to make your own IoT button (with a nice case), at least then you know what you're getting and you feel like you have total control over it.