Meet Australia's Geekiest Geek

[Jitway]

Some people are born with a chip on their shoulder, but Jonathan Oxer's chip is surgically embedded in his left arm.

 

The 37-year-old from Melbourne's outer-east never has to worry about forgetting his keys because the tiny chip, typically used to tag pets, opens his front door.

 

A swipe of his arm under a small scanner identifies Oxer with the house computer, which then unlocks the door.

 

But that's just the tip of the iceberg for Australia's biggest nerd, whose entire house is connected to a central processor and can be controlled remotely via a computer or mobile phone.

 

Teeming with technology, the abode conjures up images of The Jetsons but, much to the surprise of visitors, the house looks no less ordinary than a typical suburban dwelling. Wires, switches and gizmos are concealed, true to Oxer's philosophy of "having everything work invisibly".

 

A magnetic switch installed inside his letterbox detects when mail is inserted and occupants are notified via either the house computer, email or SMS. The garden irrigation system, too, is fully automated and computer-controlled.

 

Oxer's doorbell doesn't ring - instead, button presses are detected by the computer, which then activates a camera to stream video to TVs around the house showing who is at the door. If nobody is home, a picture message is sent to Oxer's mobile and he can choose to let the person in remotely.

 

Inside, curtains, doors, lights and windows are all wired up so they can be controlled electronically.

 

"You can go to bed and realise that you left the light on at the other end of the house and be able to turn it off without getting out of bed, using an interface on a mobile phone or using a telephone keypad," said Oxer.

 

"You can do things like issue a single command when you leave the house to tell it to go into lock mode and know that every single door is locked, all the curtains are closed and all the windows are closed, without checking them individually."

 

In the bathroom, lights and curtains are computer controlled and a keypad on the wall lets Oxer set the water temperature. Issuing the "shower" command turns all the lights on, closes the windows and curtains and sets the water temperature to 41C.

 

Oxer, who recently retired as head of the Linux Australia community group, holds down a full-time job as technical director of Internet Vision Technologies, which he formed in 2000.

 

He said the entire home automation project cost him "a couple of thousand dollars" because he did most of the work himself.

 

 

Damn I should make my house like this. I have thought about it at times and controlling it from a laptop but never thought about from a embedded microchip...lol.

 

Full Story HERE

Edited March 6, 2008 by Jitway

[L.S.D]

Gasp! It's Robert!!!

[Robert]

Lol, i wish. But of course I don't live in Melbourne.

 

Would be neat to have, though.

[emwearz]

I wish I had his address, I would be over at his stealing his hardware fast as hell.

[Tynvar]

What if the house takes a liking to the geek and never lets him out

[Cindy]

I also want a chip in my arm! (and with that a house which I can control with it)

Already made some improvements to my mailbox and fridge but still got a long way to go...

[Inky]

he' screwed if the power goes out.

[emwearz]

Does he beep when he goes through airport, then again his a geek so I guess he doesn't travel much. Its funny how far lazy people are willing to go.

[Weirdy]

he' screwed if the power goes out.

yep, he'll be kicking himself when he's outside during a blackout and he's gotta piss