9 ms·

An IoT dashboard

119 points by Maakuth 12y ago

csmattryder 12y ago
In the Arduino source, it seems that each sensor has a token that has been hardcoded into the query to send data to the API. Wouldn't this make it way too easy for somebody to fudge your data by sending fake API requests?
- bigx 12y ago
  yes, that was a stupid move, i just removed them
jsingleton 12y ago
OK, this is epic. Well done guys! I especially like this: https://undo.meteor.com/ https://undo.meteor.com/ I sometimes worry about the privacy implications of making this data public but aggregating by hour seems to alleviate some of this. How do you get staff buy-in? e.g. the undo is effectively a key logger. I thought monitoring door locks [0], power usage [1] and temperature [2] was fairly advanced. What are you using for the power monitoring? -- [0] https://unop.uk/dev/spark-core-shower-room-door-sensor/ https://unop.uk/dev/spark-core-shower-room-door-sensor/ (v2 write-up with Blinkytape coming soon) [1] https://unop.uk/dev/raspberry-pi-electricity-monitor/ https://unop.uk/dev/raspberry-pi-electricity-monitor/ [2] I use a https://twitter.com/myjoulo https://twitter.com/myjoulo (their main site is down)
- tomtoise 12y ago
  http://i.imgur.com/ZKbUnKO.png http://i.imgur.com/ZKbUnKO.png God Damnit Hugo, Get your shit together!
- bigx 12y ago
  In France, there is a socket on electricity meters where you can get serial data about your consumption, so we use this
- EvilDavid75 12y ago
  Thanks! https://undo.meteor.com https://undo.meteor.com was a side project last year that we aggregated into the dashboard. The undo is indeed a key logger on all Macs at the office. The server only registers the events when the IP address from the sender matches the office's (so we don't log events outside of the agency). We're about 30 people at the office, they all know and trust me. They're all aware of the logger, and it does show in the menubar. And it really, really, really only logs LeftCommand-Z and sends the first name from the logged in user + the active app. Looking forward to your sensors btw!
  - mfontani 12y ago
    Is the source code for this key logger available somewhere? I'd be interested in extending it to track Ctrl+C and Esc (heavy Vim user here)!
    - EvilDavid75 12y ago
      Here! My first OS X app, and I'm no developer, so probably poorly written. https://github.com/SidLeeParis/UndoLogger https://github.com/SidLeeParis/UndoLogger
maelito 12y ago
Click many times on the switch button in the bottom left, you could get a reward.
q3k 12y ago
A prime example of why dashboards are useless. Information that nobody needs (toilet flushes? ctrl, excuse me, apple-z's?) shown in a shiny way.
- bigx 12y ago
  A prime example of why comments are useless :) Opinions that nobody needs shown in a shiny website.
- nl 12y ago
  Information that nobody needs Wow. Toilet flushes: a significant change in the frequency of toilet flushes may indicate the spread of communicable diseases such as gastroenteritis, or community health problems like food poisoning. Apple-z: Clearly someone is having a lot of problems with whatever software they are using. There is a UX optimisation opportunity there.
  - TeMPOraL 12y ago
    > Toilet flushes: a significant change in the frequency of toilet flushes may indicate the spread of communicable diseases such as gastroenteritis, or community health problems like food poisoning. Well, you can't learn anything from just a number of today's flushes. With a proper chart graphing frequency over time and emphasizing changes, sure. But that's not what you get on the dashboard, at least without clicking. The lone number is useless. > Apple-z: Clearly someone is having a lot of problems with whatever software they are using. There is a UX optimisation opportunity there. Well, maybe. You can't tell from a lone number. Again, the graphs you can find when you click around could be useful, but not what you get by default. Information is useless if it doesn't help you make decisions.
    - ytechie 12y ago
      Hover over that tile and you get a (+). Click on that, and you can graph by day/month/year.
      - 12y ago
Rapzid 12y ago
Dynamic infographics.. Excellent.
__mp 12y ago
I find it crazy that people leave/come in to the office at 4AM/5AM in the mornings. Also note the peak in CMD-Z at 12am... :/
- EvilDavid75 12y ago
  Yep. Unfortunately, it happens that we work late. We had a pitch presentation this morning, creative team working all night :S
bgdnpn 12y ago
2-3 degrees lower would be great for savings and the environment (+ health) :D
- EvilDavid75 12y ago
  And for people working there! To be honest, the sensor is near a radiator, ambient temperature is hot, but not that much ;)
crivabene 12y ago
Their YouTube video [0] and GitHub repo [1] are providing some background details (it's all made with Arduino sensors). [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TioYIJhdaKo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TioYIJhdaKo [1] https://github.com/SidLeeParis/sidLeeAgenceConnectee https://github.com/SidLeeParis/sidLeeAgenceConnectee
- bpg_92 12y ago
  You are the real MVP!
pjmlp 12y ago
> Sorry, we were too lazy to optimize this site for your current browser. Please download Chrome for the best viewing experience. Sorry I am too lazy to care about browser specific web sites.
- EvilDavid75 12y ago
  Fair enough :) Do you mind sharing what's your browser? Trust me, it's been hard enough to work on Firefox, Chrome, Safari, iOS and Android for a first try!
  - pjmlp 12y ago
    Firefox ESR 31.3.0
  - jsingleton 12y ago
    Works absolutely fine for me in Firefox. Top job. It shows the banner in IE but then it is actually very slow.
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    Isn't IE 10/11 still the most popular browser?
    - michaelmior 12y ago
      http://gs.statcounter.com/ http://gs.statcounter.com/
  - Gmo 12y ago
    I had the same message on my Windows Phone 8. It actually doesn't show too bad. So I would anyway rewrite this message. - First, why absolutely say Chrome ? Especially if it actually works in Firefox. - Second, well, even if I wanted, I can't download Chrome on Windows Phone, so I would say that you should detect when it's a smartphone and show a different message then. - Third, I can understand that it's a lot of work to support all of those platforms, so I don't necessarily expect that you fix the issues with Windows Phone, but that really irritates me when people always advise to download Chrome. This is not IE 6 times anymore, we should all learn from it :)
StavrosK 12y ago
I love things like these, but I'm worried about the security implications (even though they're hosted on my own server). I've been thinking about encrypting the values (I only do TLS now), but you can probably get a lot of information from traffic analysis alone. A bigger question is how to send the control signals (e.g. lights/AC on/off) in a secure manner, so I've devised a protocol that uses ECC keys to sign each request. The keys are exchanged during an initial pairing process, and then the client (the thing that controls the lights) knows to trust the controller (the mobile phone or PC). If you don't have the private key, which is only ever generated and stored on the device, you can't control anything, so it's even safe in the clear.
- EvilDavid75 12y ago
  Hi StavrosK, you're right to be worried. We had someone playing with the API this week and sending wrong events. Security wasn't a primary concern for us, we started this as an internal joke (first version didn't even have a token system). Just to be clear, the light switch doesn't trigger a real light, but the way we handle sending sending the events from the browser is pretty dirty :)
  - StavrosK 12y ago
    Yep, you need at least a shared secret that isn't published anywhere for sending the events (reading them is fine if you're public).
- simcop2387 12y ago
  Given your description I think this is the kind of thing that Client Side Certs are intended for. At least from the PC to server. on the server to IoT device side there are things like Z-Wave that do something like you describe (though proprietary and not well known how secure it is, to me at least). The big issue with signing alone though is that it can leave you vulnerable to replay attacks if you don't have some method to validate that it's a new request and not an old one. Typical methods i think are time based, e.g. command is only valid for 1 minute but this requires synced clocks on all devices. Or using an always incrementing number for each command and remembering which one was last sent which is easier on the device side but only allows a single master controller unless you get fancy on the master side.
NicoJuicy 12y ago
This is a clean looking dashboard! Nicely done. Is it a live demonstration? If so, what hardware do you use or do you have any blogposts about it? I'm curious about a lot of things, like how did you integrate this with common hardware? (eg. the widget with footballs used)
- scrapcode 12y ago
  Seems like a lot of nifty Arduino implementations. At the bottom they give credit to the work of "Arduino and Server." Edit: ...and at the top it states "Real time data with Arduino."
  - bigx 12y ago
    Yep, 7 arduino ethernet (thanks to all the rj45+poe sockets on the walls in the agency), 2 spark cores (wifi), around 50 electronical parts (sensors and stuff), and some programs running on the internal network (cmd+z and printed sheets measures)
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
consta 12y ago
Impressive. What kind of sensor was used to determine the goals for table-football?
- bigx 12y ago
  Arduino + IR beams https://www.dropbox.com/s/yyof9imgl6ps1aq/2015-01-22%2022.32.37.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/yyof9imgl6ps1aq/2015-01-22%2022.32...
44Aman 12y ago
People are leaving at 2/3AM? Hope this was an office event!
leuqui 12y ago
Nicely done. Excellent !
normloman 12y ago
I'm sure you worked very hard on this. It looks attractive. Why would anyone want to know the number of times someone used the stairs at your office?
- shiftpgdn 12y ago
  To encourage people to take the stairs over the elevator.
- glitch 12y ago
  The stairs maybe singularly interesting as a novelty or curiosity, but to gain better perspective, you'll want the stairs, hallways, entry/exit-ways, etc. If you can gather data of human traffic flow around the workplace in all sort of spots, you can then analyze that data to gain perspective on that flow. And it's not so much of the obvious patterns, but maybe those that didn't seem obvious (until hindsight after the fact). Proximity and placement of different facilities (printing/copying facilities, toilet facilities, lounge/kitchen facilities) within the office space can lend to different interactions or even wasted time. And, of course, one can casually observe and make qualitative observations. But those qualitative observations may not necessarily be impartial nor rigorous in their recording. To avoid subjectivity and anecdotal evidence, quantitative evidence through raw data recording aids in eliminating potential subjectivity. Based on this, you may choose to layout the office space differently. Or when choosing a new office, you may better know certain attributes you're looking for in a space. For example, Pixar's centrally located toilet facilities intentionally shape traffic flow with the intent of increasing interactions among employees for facilitating potential conversation and discussion. As shiftpgdn mentioned, another example seen often is stairs vs. escalator/elevator usage for encouraging subtle, healthier choices. The counter, when displayed publicly for those respective areas, can serve as a mechanism for real-time, interactive feedback to the observer. Confronted with this reminder, it may coax them a little, giving them the little mental kick to use the stairs instead. Maybe you determine that if you put an appropriately shaped obstruction — e.g., a wall with a sign of company logo — carefully placed immediately in front of the entryway, it may result in better flow through the that area. Notably, it might encourage people to not stop in the doorway, blocking; but rather proceeding further into the lobby area to converse. Although more of a larger crowd thing in this example, studies have been done in this area and have demonstrated such results: http://www.americanscientist.org/science/pub/strategically-placed-obstacle-near-an-exit-can-speed-evacuations http://www.americanscientist.org/science/pub/strategically-p... Related reading: "Handbook of Positive Behavior Support" by Sailor, et al.; "Behavior Supports in Nonclassroom Settings" chapter, "Features of the Physical Environment" section (page 499). "Office Planning and Design Desk Reference" by Rappoport, et al.
Smushman 12y ago
All I see on this page in my browser is a pulsing white circle in the middle of the screen. HN'ers do you see something else? Is it just me?
- EvilDavid75 12y ago
  We experienced a server crash a few minutes ago, I think your problem is related. Can you please refresh the page?
tek-cyb-org 12y ago
This is totally what IOT NEEDED!~!!!!! Ive always though this. incredible work guys! how can I contribute?
efnx 12y ago
This crashes chrome on iOS. Seems like a cool project though.
guindou 12y ago
Just amazing idea !
ChikkaChiChi 12y ago
What a fantastic tinker tool! You're clearly using a lot of different sensors for a lot of goofy reasons, but that is the very basis for curiosity! Well done and thanks for sharing your code!
maxtardiveau 12y ago
You've made Ed Tufte cry... The concept is cool, but the display is terrible. Black and white, seriously? There is no organization, no drawing attention to the relevant data (is anything recently changed? Out of the usual range?). Just a bunch of data thrown at the screen. Don't give up, but you got some ways to go.

119 points by Maakuth 12y ago

In the Arduino source, it seems that each sensor has a token that has been hardcoded into the query to send data to the API. Wouldn't this make it way too easy for somebody to fudge your data by sending fake API requests?

bigx 12y ago
yes, that was a stupid move, i just removed them

jsingleton 12y ago

OK, this is epic. Well done guys! I especially like this: https://undo.meteor.com/ https://undo.meteor.com/ I sometimes worry about the privacy implications of making this data public but aggregating by hour seems to alleviate some of this. How do you get staff buy-in? e.g. the undo is effectively a key logger. I thought monitoring door locks [0], power usage [1] and temperature [2] was fairly advanced. What are you using for the power monitoring? -- [0] https://unop.uk/dev/spark-core-shower-room-door-sensor/ https://unop.uk/dev/spark-core-shower-room-door-sensor/ (v2 write-up with Blinkytape coming soon) [1] https://unop.uk/dev/raspberry-pi-electricity-monitor/ https://unop.uk/dev/raspberry-pi-electricity-monitor/ [2] I use a https://twitter.com/myjoulo https://twitter.com/myjoulo (their main site is down)

tomtoise 12y ago
http://i.imgur.com/ZKbUnKO.png http://i.imgur.com/ZKbUnKO.png God Damnit Hugo, Get your shit together!
bigx 12y ago
In France, there is a socket on electricity meters where you can get serial data about your consumption, so we use this
EvilDavid75 12y ago
Thanks! https://undo.meteor.com https://undo.meteor.com was a side project last year that we aggregated into the dashboard. The undo is indeed a key logger on all Macs at the office. The server only registers the events when the IP address from the sender matches the office's (so we don't log events outside of the agency). We're about 30 people at the office, they all know and trust me. They're all aware of the logger, and it does show in the menubar. And it really, really, really only logs LeftCommand-Z and sends the first name from the logged in user + the active app. Looking forward to your sensors btw!
- mfontani 12y ago
  Is the source code for this key logger available somewhere? I'd be interested in extending it to track Ctrl+C and Esc (heavy Vim user here)!
  - EvilDavid75 12y ago
    Here! My first OS X app, and I'm no developer, so probably poorly written. https://github.com/SidLeeParis/UndoLogger https://github.com/SidLeeParis/UndoLogger

maelito 12y ago

Click many times on the switch button in the bottom left, you could get a reward.

q3k 12y ago

A prime example of why dashboards are useless. Information that nobody needs (toilet flushes? ctrl, excuse me, apple-z's?) shown in a shiny way.

bigx 12y ago
A prime example of why comments are useless :) Opinions that nobody needs shown in a shiny website.
nl 12y ago
Information that nobody needs Wow. Toilet flushes: a significant change in the frequency of toilet flushes may indicate the spread of communicable diseases such as gastroenteritis, or community health problems like food poisoning. Apple-z: Clearly someone is having a lot of problems with whatever software they are using. There is a UX optimisation opportunity there.
- TeMPOraL 12y ago
  > Toilet flushes: a significant change in the frequency of toilet flushes may indicate the spread of communicable diseases such as gastroenteritis, or community health problems like food poisoning. Well, you can't learn anything from just a number of today's flushes. With a proper chart graphing frequency over time and emphasizing changes, sure. But that's not what you get on the dashboard, at least without clicking. The lone number is useless. > Apple-z: Clearly someone is having a lot of problems with whatever software they are using. There is a UX optimisation opportunity there. Well, maybe. You can't tell from a lone number. Again, the graphs you can find when you click around could be useful, but not what you get by default. Information is useless if it doesn't help you make decisions.
  - ytechie 12y ago
    Hover over that tile and you get a (+). Click on that, and you can graph by day/month/year.
    - 12y ago

Rapzid 12y ago

Dynamic infographics.. Excellent.

__mp 12y ago

I find it crazy that people leave/come in to the office at 4AM/5AM in the mornings. Also note the peak in CMD-Z at 12am... :/

EvilDavid75 12y ago
Yep. Unfortunately, it happens that we work late. We had a pitch presentation this morning, creative team working all night :S

bgdnpn 12y ago

2-3 degrees lower would be great for savings and the environment (+ health) :D

EvilDavid75 12y ago
And for people working there! To be honest, the sensor is near a radiator, ambient temperature is hot, but not that much ;)

crivabene 12y ago

Their YouTube video [0] and GitHub repo [1] are providing some background details (it's all made with Arduino sensors). [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TioYIJhdaKo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TioYIJhdaKo [1] https://github.com/SidLeeParis/sidLeeAgenceConnectee https://github.com/SidLeeParis/sidLeeAgenceConnectee

bpg_92 12y ago
You are the real MVP!

pjmlp 12y ago

> Sorry, we were too lazy to optimize this site for your current browser. Please download Chrome for the best viewing experience. Sorry I am too lazy to care about browser specific web sites.

EvilDavid75 12y ago
Fair enough :) Do you mind sharing what's your browser? Trust me, it's been hard enough to work on Firefox, Chrome, Safari, iOS and Android for a first try!
- pjmlp 12y ago
  Firefox ESR 31.3.0
- jsingleton 12y ago
  Works absolutely fine for me in Firefox. Top job. It shows the banner in IE but then it is actually very slow.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  Isn't IE 10/11 still the most popular browser?
  - michaelmior 12y ago
    http://gs.statcounter.com/ http://gs.statcounter.com/
- Gmo 12y ago
  I had the same message on my Windows Phone 8. It actually doesn't show too bad. So I would anyway rewrite this message. - First, why absolutely say Chrome ? Especially if it actually works in Firefox. - Second, well, even if I wanted, I can't download Chrome on Windows Phone, so I would say that you should detect when it's a smartphone and show a different message then. - Third, I can understand that it's a lot of work to support all of those platforms, so I don't necessarily expect that you fix the issues with Windows Phone, but that really irritates me when people always advise to download Chrome. This is not IE 6 times anymore, we should all learn from it :)

StavrosK 12y ago

I love things like these, but I'm worried about the security implications (even though they're hosted on my own server). I've been thinking about encrypting the values (I only do TLS now), but you can probably get a lot of information from traffic analysis alone. A bigger question is how to send the control signals (e.g. lights/AC on/off) in a secure manner, so I've devised a protocol that uses ECC keys to sign each request. The keys are exchanged during an initial pairing process, and then the client (the thing that controls the lights) knows to trust the controller (the mobile phone or PC). If you don't have the private key, which is only ever generated and stored on the device, you can't control anything, so it's even safe in the clear.

EvilDavid75 12y ago
Hi StavrosK, you're right to be worried. We had someone playing with the API this week and sending wrong events. Security wasn't a primary concern for us, we started this as an internal joke (first version didn't even have a token system). Just to be clear, the light switch doesn't trigger a real light, but the way we handle sending sending the events from the browser is pretty dirty :)
- StavrosK 12y ago
  Yep, you need at least a shared secret that isn't published anywhere for sending the events (reading them is fine if you're public).
simcop2387 12y ago
Given your description I think this is the kind of thing that Client Side Certs are intended for. At least from the PC to server. on the server to IoT device side there are things like Z-Wave that do something like you describe (though proprietary and not well known how secure it is, to me at least). The big issue with signing alone though is that it can leave you vulnerable to replay attacks if you don't have some method to validate that it's a new request and not an old one. Typical methods i think are time based, e.g. command is only valid for 1 minute but this requires synced clocks on all devices. Or using an always incrementing number for each command and remembering which one was last sent which is easier on the device side but only allows a single master controller unless you get fancy on the master side.

NicoJuicy 12y ago

This is a clean looking dashboard! Nicely done. Is it a live demonstration? If so, what hardware do you use or do you have any blogposts about it? I'm curious about a lot of things, like how did you integrate this with common hardware? (eg. the widget with footballs used)

scrapcode 12y ago
Seems like a lot of nifty Arduino implementations. At the bottom they give credit to the work of "Arduino and Server." Edit: ...and at the top it states "Real time data with Arduino."
- bigx 12y ago
  Yep, 7 arduino ethernet (thanks to all the rj45+poe sockets on the walls in the agency), 2 spark cores (wifi), around 50 electronical parts (sensors and stuff), and some programs running on the internal network (cmd+z and printed sheets measures)

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

consta 12y ago

Impressive. What kind of sensor was used to determine the goals for table-football?

bigx 12y ago
Arduino + IR beams https://www.dropbox.com/s/yyof9imgl6ps1aq/2015-01-22%2022.32.37.jpg?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/yyof9imgl6ps1aq/2015-01-22%2022.32...

44Aman 12y ago

People are leaving at 2/3AM? Hope this was an office event!

leuqui 12y ago

Nicely done. Excellent !

normloman 12y ago

I'm sure you worked very hard on this. It looks attractive. Why would anyone want to know the number of times someone used the stairs at your office?

shiftpgdn 12y ago
To encourage people to take the stairs over the elevator.
glitch 12y ago
The stairs maybe singularly interesting as a novelty or curiosity, but to gain better perspective, you'll want the stairs, hallways, entry/exit-ways, etc. If you can gather data of human traffic flow around the workplace in all sort of spots, you can then analyze that data to gain perspective on that flow. And it's not so much of the obvious patterns, but maybe those that didn't seem obvious (until hindsight after the fact). Proximity and placement of different facilities (printing/copying facilities, toilet facilities, lounge/kitchen facilities) within the office space can lend to different interactions or even wasted time. And, of course, one can casually observe and make qualitative observations. But those qualitative observations may not necessarily be impartial nor rigorous in their recording. To avoid subjectivity and anecdotal evidence, quantitative evidence through raw data recording aids in eliminating potential subjectivity. Based on this, you may choose to layout the office space differently. Or when choosing a new office, you may better know certain attributes you're looking for in a space. For example, Pixar's centrally located toilet facilities intentionally shape traffic flow with the intent of increasing interactions among employees for facilitating potential conversation and discussion. As shiftpgdn mentioned, another example seen often is stairs vs. escalator/elevator usage for encouraging subtle, healthier choices. The counter, when displayed publicly for those respective areas, can serve as a mechanism for real-time, interactive feedback to the observer. Confronted with this reminder, it may coax them a little, giving them the little mental kick to use the stairs instead. Maybe you determine that if you put an appropriately shaped obstruction — e.g., a wall with a sign of company logo — carefully placed immediately in front of the entryway, it may result in better flow through the that area. Notably, it might encourage people to not stop in the doorway, blocking; but rather proceeding further into the lobby area to converse. Although more of a larger crowd thing in this example, studies have been done in this area and have demonstrated such results: http://www.americanscientist.org/science/pub/strategically-placed-obstacle-near-an-exit-can-speed-evacuations http://www.americanscientist.org/science/pub/strategically-p... Related reading: "Handbook of Positive Behavior Support" by Sailor, et al.; "Behavior Supports in Nonclassroom Settings" chapter, "Features of the Physical Environment" section (page 499). "Office Planning and Design Desk Reference" by Rappoport, et al.

Smushman 12y ago

All I see on this page in my browser is a pulsing white circle in the middle of the screen. HN'ers do you see something else? Is it just me?

EvilDavid75 12y ago
We experienced a server crash a few minutes ago, I think your problem is related. Can you please refresh the page?

tek-cyb-org 12y ago

This is totally what IOT NEEDED!~!!!!! Ive always though this. incredible work guys! how can I contribute?

efnx 12y ago

This crashes chrome on iOS. Seems like a cool project though.

guindou 12y ago

Just amazing idea !

ChikkaChiChi 12y ago

What a fantastic tinker tool! You're clearly using a lot of different sensors for a lot of goofy reasons, but that is the very basis for curiosity! Well done and thanks for sharing your code!

maxtardiveau 12y ago

You've made Ed Tufte cry... The concept is cool, but the display is terrible. Black and white, seriously? There is no organization, no drawing attention to the relevant data (is anything recently changed? Out of the usual range?). Just a bunch of data thrown at the screen. Don't give up, but you got some ways to go.