Related Articles
Kids and adults alike have long jokingly said “open sesame” in the hopes those magic words might literally open doors. Dheera Venkatraman, a grad student at MIT, might be the first person to make the words actually work.
Related Links
- Ö smart ring displays Elvish, notifications for high-tech Frodos
- Push Button, Receive Bacon comes to life
- Blink to control this Flappy Bird clone on Google Glass
Venkatraman built an app called “Sesame” for Android Wear that lets him talk (or shout) the words “OK Google, open sesame” into his Android Wear smartwatch. The watch then sends a signal to his hacked-together Internet-connected door lock to unlock the door without a key.
As you can see in the video at the top of this post, Venkatraman’s solution is in its early stages, currently working with a door lock he rigged up with an Arduino microcontroller to show off his concept, but it does seem to function as advertised. Venkatraman has released the source code for his bare-bones Android Wear app on Github so developers and tinkerers can refine the process and build it into their own products.
We’re probably still some time away from seeing something like this in the mainstream Internet-connected smart locks, but as someone who has long dreamed of being able to open doors just by uttering those magical words, I can’t wait for Venkatraman’s solution to make its way into the mainstream. Check out his video and read more about his creation and how to get hacking on his website.
Video screenshot by Anthony Domanico/CNET
