Send Commands Via XMPP Chat

Your Cellbot can now take commands from anywhere in the world via XMPP chat. In this example we’ve created a new Google Account just for the robot, and put the username and password in a brand new config file we’ve added to the platform. This config file also lets you set the default command method, which now includes telnet, voice recognition, or xmpp.

We started by using the SayChat script from the sample code in the Android Scripting Environment. It took a little bit of customization to incorporate it into our platform, but a rough prototype was up and running in about an hour. It really proved how powerful it is to have Python on Android, and how quickly we can iterate using it.

The config file is read wen we launch the program from ASE. We see the username being used on screen and then we know we’re ready to use chat to send commands.

There are now many more human readable commands to send thanks to the work we did when adding voice recognition. We still support all of the same single character commands that work well over telnet, but you can also check out the source code to see a list of full words that are available. The robot doesn’t reply back yet so hopefully someone out there can submit a patch, or we’ll get around to it soon.

The new config file should also make it easier for you to customize the settings for your robot and still update the main source code as new features are added. Over time we hope this develops into a nice API with multiple layers to support a wide range of devices. For now, enjoy the new XMPP capability and chatting with your robot from anywhere in the world!