text messaging

[Whiteknight]

I am getting started on my capstone design project, but i have some immediate hurdles to jump over before i can get started. first off, i am trying to figure out whether it is possible to accept text-messages via modem (or even ethernet, any interface will do). if that is not possible, i need to figure out how to accept incoming calls, and intercept touch-tone button information ("please press 1 for english....")

does anybody have this kind of information in their back pocket, or does anybody know a source for this kind of stuff?

thanks.

[FolkDude]

A text message is essentially an email, so sure, that's possible. My cellphone lets me send text messages to any email address. Is that what you're asking?

[Whiteknight]

thats basically what I was thinking, i just am going to need to know the specifics because i need to write the client. i sent out a few emails (verison, cingular, AT&T, etc...) so hopefully one of them will send me a response soonish.

[Tammy]

You want to set up your own VoIP service! That's a major project!

[Whiteknight]

no, it's not a VoIP exactly. what we are trying to do is create a minimalist scripting language that we can send to an internet-based central control server via text-messaging. we will then interface the central control module with outside devices, so that a home-owner basically gains remote control access to their house from anywhere within cellular coverage area (especially in places with out internet access).

although, a VoIP system might be a nice backup...

[sicarius]

Well, the reason people are able to send text-messages to other peoples e-mail addresses is because the text message gets reprocessed by some central server that the service controls and then resent as an e-mail.

I would actually do the following:

Instead of expecting the input to come directly from the phone, expect it to come from e-mail. This way you have more flexibility with your input. A user could either send something directly through e-mail, or they could use their phone if they had text-messaging enabled.

A tip for capstone projects in general: use existing technology where ever possible.

[stuka]

http://freshmeat.net/projects/sms-mail/
Check out this project - it's related to what you're interested in (SMS is the 'official' acronym for text messaging via phones).

[Whiteknight]

haha, i knew this was the place to go. I downloaded that program for testing, and I sent the author an email as well. we are trying to keep open alot of options. for this, so we wont necessarily use text-messages. if we can find a better option.

[sicarius]

Yeah, the other thing to be careful of it that unless you use a dedicated e-mail account, which a lot of people won't do, you need a little daemon to check their e-mail automagically and filter out only the ones with code in them.

For example, a message intended for your service might look like:


--->>>>>start_script

do somecrap;

<<<<<---end_script

or similar.

[zachogden]

What is a capstone project?

[sicarius]

Generally speaking engineering students are required to do a "large" project around the time they are graduating (most take it first semeseter of their senior year, or last semester of their junior year).

The project is supposed to simulate a real engineering environment to the extent possible so that both students and teachers can determine how they'd perform.

Most of the time the projects will encompass 75-80% of what you've learned in school.

[zachogden]

Sounds awesome. Glad I don't have to do one.

[sicarius]

You are only in HS though right? I haven't heard of High Schools doing capstones, although anything is possible.

[Whiteknight]

i am going to have a dedicated address, and I will be having a dedicated daemon that will scroll through every email received, and search for validation information to pick the "good emails" from the "bad" ones. most likely, we will cross check received emails against a list of known senders.

once we validate, we will take all the text in the email as code, and parse and run directly.

my group and I are expanding the project (probably) to interface directly with a telephone line, and maintain a call log (of incoming phone calls) probably (along with caller ID information if available).

my group has 4 people, 2 of which arent programmers, so we are trying to find things that dont require 100% code work to accomplish.

[zachogden]

You are only in HS though right? I haven't heard of High Schools doing capstones, although anything is possible.

Yeah, I'm in HS, ergo, I don't have to do one. Whiteknight, this sounds like a huge undertaking, and I wish you the best of luck with this. All the advice I could give you would be to keep in touch with the big telephone companies (AT&T, SBC, etc) and see if they can offer you some help. Keep us posted.

[Whiteknight]

haha, funny thing is that I was talking with my group yesterday, and I think we are all figuring that this project wont give us ENOUGH work. so, we are looking for something bigger. My group has 2 ECEs (who are essentially glorified programmers) and 2 EEs (which do hardware stuff), so we are trying to find a project that will let each of us get an equal hand in the work.

one project that I wanted to do would be to create a mechanical glove (and a driver program) that would allow mute people to interface a computer via sign language.

My buddy wanted to make a wireless interface device for a car computer, that would send emails to the driver when the gas tank was empty, or the oil was low, or the airbags were deployed (like an email version of OnStar).

either way, we have a whole semester to figure out what we want to do, so there is no rush

[sicarius]

I am actually surprised that you get to pick your own project.

The capstone's at my school were basically: "Hey, go make me this"

One year some EEs and CEs made a drive by wire golf cart where the controller was a wireless joystick. Another year they made some kind of scooter thing.

The MEs ussually do something somewhat automotive.