
Show HN: The Bus Stop Bus - StavrosK
https://www.stavros.io/posts/bus-stop-bus/
======
jgrahamc
So, I've been using my [http://blog.jgc.org/2012/03/ambient-bus-arrival-
monitor-from...](http://blog.jgc.org/2012/03/ambient-bus-arrival-monitor-from-
hacked.html) for well over 4 years and it's proved to be really useful. Today,
I would likely follow Stavros' lead and use the ESP8266 since it's a nice
module and OLED displays are cool.

What I learnt from the project was that the _most important_ part was the
model bus. This made it acceptable for my SO to have the thing in the house
and she's the one that uses it a lot more than me.

I've built other "IoT" things around the house (lots of Amazon Dash buttons
that don't do what they were intended for and other stuff) and the packaging
matters a lot. It makes the things seem less like technology and more like
part of the environment.

Since I wrote that blog post TfL have created a proper API and it has loads of
goodies in it: [https://api.tfl.gov.uk/](https://api.tfl.gov.uk/)

~~~
StavrosK
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I had the same reaction from my SO. She _loves_ this
bus, to my dismay, because my reaction is "it took me countless hours to build
a sensor and automation network for the house so it can all be centrally
controlled, and you like a two-hour bus build?"

It seems that people like things by how useful they are for them, not by how
cool they were to build, which is frustrating but not surprising.

The packaging is why I got a 3D printer and am learning CAD. I want to create
little stylish boxes for my sensors, so they look more like devices and less
like bombs.

~~~
jgrahamc
Well, the buses do one thing well. Massive sensor/automation networks tend to
be a pain to use for any 'normal' person but fun for nerds.

~~~
StavrosK
That's true, although the motion-activated lights work well enough. I think
it's just the utility for her, because she can just glance at the bus and know
when she needs to leave, when it's not that big a hassle to flick the switch
when you walk into a room.

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milankragujevic
Wow, an excellent post! I'm really motivated now to finish my own project,
which is a little bit more bulky (a lot more bulky: An old 7" netbook which
has been gutted and I made a wooden frame and box to hold it and put it on the
wall). I'm still thinking of what to do with it, but I'd like it to be sort of
a hub of info, with time, weather, news, HN, bus, etc., which me and other
people in the house can use. I'd also like to implement a webcam feature which
would turn off the display unless there is someone near the device moving.

~~~
StavrosK
That's a great idea! You should add a distance sensor so it only activates
when someone comes within a meter or so of it.

If you have temperature/motion/light/etc sensors around the house, you could
use those, or maybe show the HomeAssistant dashboard on it.

------
bass_case
I've done something similar myself. I published everything to github awhile
back:
[https://github.com/chrisgillis/nextbusclock](https://github.com/chrisgillis/nextbusclock)

------
rubidium
The takeaway for me is that it costs roughly $15-20 of hardware parts to have
a stand-alone status indicator. That's pretty cheap, but not "no brainer"
cheap.

I start asking myself what are the status indicators we really need? That
people would pay $50 for?

~~~
StavrosK
This particular build cost, hmm, $6, plus $3 for the bus (I'm assuming you
have the three wires already).

~~~
rubidium
Ah, yes. I double counted the chip and the board for some reason.

------
BeniBoy
Great build!

Guess this is a pretty common need! My take based on a priority sign:
[https://github.com/Seed-Up/BusSign](https://github.com/Seed-Up/BusSign)

------
joshwa
Is there any alternative to wired USB power for these kinds of projects? Are
there any teeny wifi boards that can be powered for long periods by a AAA, 9V,
or button cell?

(IoT newb)

~~~
StavrosK
"Long periods" "wifi" and AAA, pick two. Wifi is too power-hungry for
batteries, unfortunately. You'd probably get a day or two of continuous
operation on a biggish battery, I'm guessing.

~~~
pja
You could probably use Zigbee for something like this, although I don’t know
whether there are any v.small zigbee capable arduino interfaces. Running the
display is going to take some power too, unless you can find a small e-ink
option.

------
bitJericho
As a freerangekids.com parent, my kids will love this! Gonna do it asap. If
anything it should get them thinking about going out.

------
Animats
The original NextBus output device prototype was a pyramid which lit up at the
top when a bus was arriving.

------
B1FF_PSUVM
> despite literally having discovered electricity.

Braggart. Fat lot of good it did you, until the Italians came up with
batteries.

;-)

~~~
StavrosK
Can you make small pieces of paper stick to a battery? No. Can you make them
stick to a balloon if you rub it on your sweater? Yes. Greece - Italy 1-0.

