Technology

Hack Lets Apple’s Siri Adjust Your Thermostat: Is Your Whole House Next?

Last week, we told you about a hack into Apple’s Siri that allows the program to function on devices other than the iPhone 4S. Now, a web developer has turned this hack into something that will allow Siri to control his thermostat, leaving many wondering what else could Siri be hacked to control.

First, let’s forget the fact that there are programmable thermostats. Now, you can image how this could be useful when dropping the temperature in your house before leaving for work, and then letting Siri warm it up for you before you come home.

The Telegraph reports that Pete Lamonica spent five days using the information released by Applidium to get the personal assistant to function in sync with his thermostat:

Lamonica said that the main reason he developed this Siri proxy was to increase the number of objects Siri can handle. Currently the technology is limited to sending text messages and searching the web, while in America it can also handle maps and directions.

Here’s Lamonia showing how this hack works on a Wi-Fi thermostat:

Wired takes the thought of thermostat control one step further, inferring Siri could eventually run your whole house:

NPD analyst Ross Rubin expects Apple to expand Siri on a more limited basis, scenario by scenario, possibly partnering with specific companies to implement new features, such as Siri’s current integration with Yelp.

[...]

Indeed, using one’s voice for remote control is a natural fit for living room applications — and we’ll be seeing more of it in coming years, says Display Search analyst Paul Gagnon.

“There’s been pretty strong resistance to adopting traditional PC-like interfaces,” Gagnon says of the connected TV movement, which has had a rocky time making the jump into consumer households. “Up until now, the technology hadn’t progressed enough to let you use non-traditional ways, like gesture recognition and voice control, but now it’s a conceivable option.”

Next, Lamonica reportedly wants to make Siri work with his thermostat without a direct action request. For example, he would rather be able to say “I’m cold“ than ”Siri, raise my house temperature to 72 degrees.”

Comments (4)

  • tcseacliff
    Posted on November 23, 2011 at 11:08am

    this sounds too much like the hal 9000,” siri-open the door,“ ”I can’t do that Dave!” no thanks, I will do it myself. or you will watch your house on remote, as siri let’s in the burglars in after disabling your alarm for them.

    Report Post »  
  • dizzyinthedark
    Posted on November 23, 2011 at 6:21am

    Remote control over our lives and the appliances we use will be our future with Soetoro’s pushing the Smart Grid into full steam ahead. We will be connected to other nations and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) has set up a global pathway for all nations to buy and sell energy. Energy companies are now dividing the day and night into ‘peak and non-peak’ hours in order to charge us more money to use electricity during the day vs nighttime. In the meantime we are being ‘trained’ like circus seals to turn down our thermostats, do laundry in the night, to which I ask whose going to get up and transfer that load to the dryer? A family of four has alot of laundry and doing one load a night just isn’t going to cut it! What about those that have retired (the elderly) they be paying more money to keep themselves in heat or air conditioning on an already stretched-thin budget? All this wireless technology and remote hacking opens the door to your PC bills and banking. All this can be stopped by having your power company remove those Smart Meters. California has 47 counties and cities where PG&E have removed and switching back to analog due to health problems–no extra charge either! Florida is making phone calls to FPL and I personally know of people that have had their Smart Meters removed–I never allowed them to put one on my house and still have my analog one. I did my homework before they arrived and made that call.

    Report Post » dizzyinthedark  
    • The Scarecrow
      Posted on November 24, 2011 at 4:23am

      Glad they didn’t sneak in and put a smart meter on your house, that happens to a lot of people when they are at work and then they have a problem getting the utility company to take them back off. They have been to my home 4 times and threatened to turn my electricity off but so far I haven’t got one. Besides the other facts you mentioned the RF radiation the meters emit are also harmful. It is non ionizing pulsed radiation and is particularly harmful to children. Because they can be hacked into these meters are like having a warrantless wire tap. Thieves that can hack in to these meters can pretty well tell if there is anyone home at any particular time because of the electricity use. Link to good info here.
      http://www.refusesmartmeters.com

      Report Post »  
  • Alphamax32
    Posted on November 22, 2011 at 10:55pm

    Keep your life simple and you won’t have these problems. Get up, reach out and turn the dial. problem solved.

    Report Post » Alphamax32  

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