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Control Devices in Real Time with Bitcoin and Tokens?

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dsmalone

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Location: Austin, TX

I just created a website called www.ucontrol.tv which is a live demonstration of how bitcoin can be used to control real world devices. Currently, it's a very simple setup of 3 buckets and each bucket has a corresponding bitcoin address. The amount of bitcoin sent to a specific address proportionately fills the bucket with water and then will tip over. You can send amounts as small as 0.0005btc ($0.12).

My question for this forum is what if instead of bitcoin we used a token to control the devices. By sending a token to an address a callback api would trigger a real world action? I think I saw a bounty for someone to create a Tokenly callback API which would be incredibly awesome to control devices in the real world by possessing a digital token. For example, if I possess a certain token I am now allowed to open certain doors, devices, control valves, etc....

I know the aspects of TCA have been discussed before on the forums pertaining to digitial goods but I was hoping to get more feedback on TCA used for real world devices. Also any feedback on our site Ucontrol.TV is much appreciated.

Posted on October 8, 2015 at 9:34 AM
Last Edited: October 8, 2015 at 10:50 AM

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• davidareallen

  

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  Location: Canada

  This is very clever. May the applications runneth over.

  Posted on October 8, 2015 at 1:23 PM
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• pooktwo

  

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  Location: Indianapolis

  @dsmalone I just created a website called www.ucontrol.tv which is a live demonstration of how bitcoin can be used to control real world devices. Currently, it's a very simple setup of 3 buckets and each bucket has a corresponding bitcoin address. The amount of bitcoin sent to a specific address proportionately fills the bucket with water and then will tip over. You can send amounts as small as 0.0005btc ($0.12).

  My question for this forum is what if instead of bitcoin we used a token to control the devices. By sending a token to an address a callback api would trigger a real world action? I think I saw a bounty for someone to create a Tokenly callback API which would be incredibly awesome to control devices in the real world by possessing a digital token. For example, if I possess a certain token I am now allowed to open certain doors, devices, control valves, etc....

  I know the aspects of TCA have been discussed before on the forums pertaining to digitial goods but I was hoping to get more feedback on TCA used for real world devices. Also any feedback on our site Ucontrol.TV is much appreciated.

  I am not sure what TCA is really being used for yet with the exception of LTB TCA forums and SOG is technically a kind of TCA. Other then that (like many things in the space) its just theory at this point. It takes someone building something to be used for TCA at this point.

  Tokenly has been doing a really good job building all of the tools that would be useful in a TCA enviornment and you can see their website here https://tokenly.com/ (also has links to the github there)

  So when it comes to your ucontrol.tv site, I would think that one day using tokens for this would be a really good usecase for them, however, at this time it is a little expensive to send tokens unless you use some automated tokenly software. Perhaps @cryptonaut or @adam could weigh in, but if you are a developer of some sort, i would recommend starting at the tokenly github

  Posted on October 8, 2015 at 1:25 PM
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• adam

  

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  Location: California, USA

  @dsmalone I just created a website called www.ucontrol.tv which is a live demonstration of how bitcoin can be used to control real world devices. Currently, it's a very simple setup of 3 buckets and each bucket has a corresponding bitcoin address. The amount of bitcoin sent to a specific address proportionately fills the bucket with water and then will tip over. You can send amounts as small as 0.0005btc ($0.12).

  My question for this forum is what if instead of bitcoin we used a token to control the devices. By sending a token to an address a callback api would trigger a real world action? I think I saw a bounty for someone to create a Tokenly callback API which would be incredibly awesome to control devices in the real world by possessing a digital token. For example, if I possess a certain token I am now allowed to open certain doors, devices, control valves, etc....

  I know the aspects of TCA have been discussed before on the forums pertaining to digitial goods but I was hoping to get more feedback on TCA used for real world devices. Also any feedback on our site Ucontrol.TV is much appreciated.

  The TCA API is on the to-do list still, Devon has already done the precursor work needed in Tokenly Accounts so not too much left to do, just a gigantic to-do list everywhere else and still only Devon and Nick actively developing.

  Tell us what changes you need made to http://slots.tokenly.com to support what you want to do, that might already give you all the tools needed.

  Controlling physical items is interesting, happy to support it as much as possible with our very limited development resources.

  Posted on October 8, 2015 at 2:11 PM
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• pooktwo

  

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  Location: Indianapolis

  @adam

  @dsmalone I just created a website called www.ucontrol.tv which is a live demonstration of how bitcoin can be used to control real world devices. Currently, it's a very simple setup of 3 buckets and each bucket has a corresponding bitcoin address. The amount of bitcoin sent to a specific address proportionately fills the bucket with water and then will tip over. You can send amounts as small as 0.0005btc ($0.12).

  My question for this forum is what if instead of bitcoin we used a token to control the devices. By sending a token to an address a callback api would trigger a real world action? I think I saw a bounty for someone to create a Tokenly callback API which would be incredibly awesome to control devices in the real world by possessing a digital token. For example, if I possess a certain token I am now allowed to open certain doors, devices, control valves, etc....

  I know the aspects of TCA have been discussed before on the forums pertaining to digitial goods but I was hoping to get more feedback on TCA used for real world devices. Also any feedback on our site Ucontrol.TV is much appreciated.

  The TCA API is on the to-do list still, Devon has already done the precursor work needed in Tokenly Accounts so not too much left to do, just a gigantic to-do list everywhere else and still only Devon and Nick actively developing.

  Tell us what changes you need made to http://slots.tokenly.com to support what you want to do, that might already give you all the tools needed.

  Controlling physical items is interesting, happy to support it as much as possible with our very limited development resources.

  As always in the open source space, feel free to add your own commits to tokenly :D

  Posted on October 8, 2015 at 2:43 PM
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• Cryptonaut

  

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  Location: Canada

  Yeah, Token Slot can handle something like that already. You can easily generate a unique payment address for whatever it is you want to unlock, and then Token Slot notifies your application when payment is received / confirmed - up to the App to decide what to do with that information though. Tokens are then automatically forwarded to an address under your control.

  Posted on October 8, 2015 at 10:47 PM
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• dsmalone

  

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  Posts: 30
  Location: Austin, TX

  Thanks @adam and Cryptonaut for the info on the Token Slot... this looks like it might already do what we want..... I'll talk to our dev and see if we can do a test.... controlling real world devices with digital tokens adds another application to the long list of what Tokenly can ultimately enable.... LOVE what you guys are building and hope we can contribute on the additional uses for tokens....

  Will keep you posted as we try out Token Slot. Thanks again.

  Posted on October 9, 2015 at 9:13 AM
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