Linksys router turned into smartphone-controlled doorman (video)

Working for a large company comes with a lot of baggage, the least of which is an RFID security badge. For those small companies who can't afford such extravagantly wireless door key solutions there's another option: this DIY project completed by a team of developers at Sunlight Labs. It all centers around a Linksys WRT54GL, a Linux-based wireless router that, with a little firmware hackery and a bit of wiring, was tethered into the office's door release buzzer. The team then went about allowing SSH access to the router and created Android and iPhone apps that instantly connect to the device and open the door, authenticated by a PIN and a unique ID assigned to each device. Users can also deliver their PIN via SMS or a simple phone call to open the door. Elegant, impressive, open source, and one less thing to forget on a Monday morning when groggily heading to the office.

[Hell Angel Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:25AM]

That is really cool and all, but i dont think its very practical to keep a router for simply opening a door

[emopoops Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:33AM]

@Hell Angel of course it is! u stop dissing lynsys! just because lynsys is a router doesnt mean it cant do a bit more.

[Jinxey Posted Feb 25th 2010 10:58AM]

@Hell Angel

Does it not provide wireless authentication? Route people through the door? Or even act as a firewall to prevent others from getting in?

[abedinthehouse Posted Feb 25th 2010 6:33PM]

@Hell Angel
So what if my phone gets stolen?

but non-the-less, needz 1 at mi casa.
NOW

[TechTerry Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:27AM]

My future home entry security lock.

[bstock Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:29AM]

That video was very uninformative.

[Dee Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:32AM]

@bstock Exactly, I was expecting a tutorial or something, for all we know someone just pushed the door release buzzer to let him in...I guess I'd have to follow the link to see the implementation.

[Kots85 Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:36AM]

@bstock
http://sunlightlabs.com/blog/2010/our-door-opener-science-project/

[Jacob Apple Geek Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:42AM]

@bstock Yes it was terrible. Didn't tell you anything!

[mlongbsa Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:31AM]

I like that they are still coming up with ways to exploit the every lasting WRT54GL (or versions 1.1-4). Great Job Sunlight Labs!

[KAL326 Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:33AM]

I wonder if they can modify a Roomba to bring drinks and snacks to my cube by wifi?

[fourthletter Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:36AM]

EVERY router is Linux based.

[sbma84 Posted Feb 25th 2010 10:54AM]

@fourthletter I suggest you look up vxworks on wikipedia. being a know-it-all works better when you know things.

[alex7575 Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:40AM]

I think the big hole here is the fact that they are just assuming that everyone's going to own either an iPhone or an Android powered phone.

[mattscinto Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:47AM]

@alex7575 "Users can also deliver their PIN via SMS or a simple phone call to open the door." Reading is fun!

[Frankenstein Black Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:41AM]

Dratz! "Foiled again by the geeks". Now some Mega-corporation can't come in and charge millions for this tech.

[Gorante Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:45AM]

Ok, it's time to repair my old wrt54g!

[Jomolungma Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:47AM]

I can see it now: "Hey, I'm here, can you buzz me in?" "Sure, let me just call the door." "But there's nobody here." "No, not call someone AT the door, call the DOOR. Geez man, get with it, will ya!?"

[thoraudio Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:48AM]

So, when I'm late for work, I can just call the door and it will LOOK I got in on time, right?

[jwoelich Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:48AM]

Yeah, great, neat...but next time, a little warning to turn down the sound first. That music was asstastic.

[Smoothbassman Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:49AM]

Pretty cool. I'm going to have to do this mod to open my garage door.

[amneziac Posted Feb 25th 2010 5:00PM]

@Smoothbassman That is a great idea.

[Mtmrob Posted Feb 25th 2010 9:55AM]

I want one of these for my mini fridge where I keep all my beer!!! It has to be a beer icon. That would be BALLER!!!

[vintoe Posted Feb 25th 2010 11:30AM]

The man walks very awkwardly

[Jaylittles531 Posted Feb 25th 2010 12:44PM]

Where are the instructions?

[dkratter14 Posted Feb 25th 2010 1:01PM]

DOORKEY, or Dorky?

[hellfroze Posted Feb 25th 2010 1:14PM]

1 million times cooler would've been to use a Bluetooth receiver to proximity detect paired/allowed phones so as you got close to the door, it would open.

This has been my holy grail for years - please, take this idea someone and make it reality!

[sbma84 Posted Feb 25th 2010 2:34PM]

@hellfroze folks have done it. Counts on everyone having BT, though, and leaving it on all the time. Not only a security hole, but a waste of your battery. But eminently doable -- check out the BlueSMiRF modem on Sparkfun. That + Arduino = what you're asking for.

[hellfroze Posted Feb 25th 2010 3:41PM]

@sbma84

That's neat - seems like all the pieces are out there, now if someone could wrap that up into a nice, off-the-shelf solution :).

I'm mostly thinking this would be nice for our office door (there's 3 of us in here) and it would be in addition to using a regular key, so it would be an added convenience (not a requirement). I leave my bluetooth on all the time anyway and have never noticed it really making much difference in the battery life of my phone.

[leefhead Posted Feb 25th 2010 2:44PM]

maybe im just retarded...but couldnt have you just set the LED to turn on for a specific period of time (in this case, 30 seconds), and run the LED wires to the relay, which would trip the wires going to the button? Why are all of the other components necessary?

[SeanR Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:14PM]

this is pretty damn cool

[Seb6554 Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:19PM]

I could see people hack through theses...

[JCerna Posted Feb 25th 2010 4:42PM]

@Seb6554
So in the future someone will walk around trowing wifi packets until a garage door opens, nice :-)

[incognito Posted Feb 26th 2010 9:07AM]

Sweet, I own a WRT54GS, the older, more potent brother of GL, from the times before they destroyed the WRT54GS line by tying it to a non-Linux firmware. Things I did with that thing fall into the realm of $1000 commercial routers. I still use it as my primary home WiFi router... It's gathering rust now, tho - I have a new hackable toy to play with - the N900...

[Reaper man Posted Mar 1st 2010 4:26AM]

iphone? This wasn't tagged apple, why?