This past week I thought a little bit more about what the interface between the interaction layer and the hardware layer will look like. I started with a few assumption:
- The devices running the interaction layer will need to register their device type and their functionalities
- The interaction layer will need to access and control the device hardware
- The device should be identifiable at the hardware layer, so that the interaction layer can self identify if the power is cut out or the interaction layer is messed up
From this I thought about how the device would be commission. I want setup to use standard interfaces, so a json setup file will be sent from the interaction layer on the device to the hardware layer. This will tell the hardware layer everything about the physical setup, where sensors are plugged in, how they’re interfaced with, etc..
From there the hardware layer will store that profile and offer standard interfaces for each sensor or actuator. For example, there will be a read temp function a thermistor. I think this type of dynamic interface will be really intuitive to use for the interaction layer and will easily scale to many devices, whether it be with hardware or in a software domain like this project is.
I want to start working on this layer this week, and create more block diagrams to explain this more specifically. I think this online system can be used as a testbed if this system ever gets put on to actual hardware.
