DIY Cellphone

http://web.media.mit.edu/~mellis/cellphone/index.html

by eksith • 13 years ago

139 35 13 years ago

web.media.mit.edu

GuiA• 13 years ago

The creator of this is David Mellis, who is one of the creators of the Arduino project. Apparently he's now in Leah Buechley's group at the Media Lab, which does some great work: http://hlt.media.mit.edu

This is fantastic, and I'm excited to see what more David will be working on in the future; his dissertation will be an interesting one :)

eksith3• 13 years ago

I can't wait either!

I've seen a few DIY projects here and there involving GSM, but his name is what really caught my eye in the first place.

You may also find these interesting:

http://www.open-electronics.org/gsm-gps-shield-for-arduino/

http://www.instructables.com/id/ArduinoPhone/

I'm sure there's room to mix and match improvements.

rsync• 13 years ago

... all of which have totally locked up, closed off baseband firmware. Which can be controlled all the way down to DMA by OTA updates by a provider.

No, none of this is very interesting at all until there is an open, free baseband firmware.

pcunite2• 13 years ago

Cool ... this gives me hope for the future I want.

The day will come when we will all hold cell phone shaped PCs. You'll be able to interact with them as you do now. However, when placed within 10 feet of a keyboard or mouse, they'll automatically (configurable) and wirelessly use those peripherals ... keyboard and monitors on the fly baby!

Imagine optional super thin foldable displays to pack in the bag ... keyboards too ... or, go big and use production color accurate displays like my NEC 2490WUXi2. Thus making our own like this seems appropriate.

krapp4• 13 years ago

So in the future if I carry a keyboard around folded up in my pocket I can get root on any phone within ten feet? Neato.

Re the actual article - very interesting. Wish I knew how to solder. Reminds me of the ancient days when people bought their computers as kits.

pcunite2• 13 years ago

Keyboard and mouse availability ... it will be configurable. In your own home you'll be able to move from display to display as needed.

eksith3• 13 years ago

I'm not sure if the idea of "peripherals" matching such a device appeals to me.

Let's think about this... A keyboard is basically a device for entering text via mechanical (or touch) switches which appear on your console/screen. A mouse is a virtual index finger.

Even though most of us can't imagine our daily lives without them at the moment, they both seem archaic in a way. Don't get me wrong; I think that's part of their appeal (I have an IBM model M somewhere in storage), but their high-tech-ness(?) is a bit of a non-sequitur when the day comes when our phone/device/gadget/pc-thing can talk effortlessly to a keyboard and mouse.

It's almost as if a mirror with built in camera interfacing to your straight razor. Some things are best left old-fashioned.

krapp4• 13 years ago

Pens and pencils are archaic interfaces as well, but they're still perfectly suited for their task.

rjsw• 13 years ago

Why bother with peripherals.

Project the display onto a wall and project the keyboard onto the desk, the unit would detect the position of your fingers over the keys using similar techniques to how Kinect works.

drakeandrews• 13 years ago

Infrared keyboards already exist, they're generally unsatisfying and tempermental.

prawn• 13 years ago

I see this coming too. On the go or sitting on the couch, your portable device operates largely like the smartphones we use today. In your pocket at your desk, it can seamlessly and securely interface with your other devices for a "bigger" experience.

Vistz• 13 years ago

I can't wait to get the SDK and start developing apps for this.

agumonkey• 13 years ago

I'm happy to scan through the bill of material, I was curious about what price point could be a headless cellular widget for bike tagging.

cinquemb• 13 years ago

Previous discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5441650

mknappen• 13 years ago

Spooky- Just this morning I decided that building a cell phone would be my next evening project.

reedlaw3• 13 years ago

Does it require any binary blobs for the GSM module or other components? If not, this would be a pretty good choice for someone wanting complete control over his phone's software stack.

dchichkov• 13 years ago

I'm pretty sure it does. Binary blobs hidden in the GSM module and communication with the GSM module is done with AT commands via some serial bus.

reedlaw3• 13 years ago

Binary blobs embedded in hardware are acceptable from a free software standpoint. As long as they can't be remotely updated.

derekp7• 13 years ago

Only one question -- can you take this on a plane?

A while ago I had a cell phone where the battery charging circuitry went out. The battery was 3.6v, so I hooked up (via Velcro) a AAA battery holder and used rechargable NiMH batteries. However I was told (when I called the airline I was traveling) that it most likely wouldn't make it past TSA.

droopybuns• 13 years ago

Permission Procurement difficulty: High. Likelihood of success: Low.

Forgiveness Procurement difficulty: Low. Likelihood of successs: High.

mellis• 13 years ago

I haven't had any problems. Only one TSA security person noticed it, and they didn't give me any trouble.

zooka2• 13 years ago

I made my own cellphone once by purchasing the battery separately.

fac13• 13 years ago

My thought exactly, the first time I saw this.

But this is a much more advanced project - you need to supply your own box to put it in too ..

DIY Cellphone

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