[guardian-dev] Gilgamesh, FireChat etc

[Nathan of Guardian]

On Tue, Nov 4, 2014, at 10:28 AM, Michael Rogers wrote:
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> Resurrecting this thread to mention an idea that came to me last
> night. I don't have time to try it out at the moment, but it might
> allow us to create a Wi-Fi Direct connection between two devices
> without any user interaction:
> 
> * Alice creates a legacy mode AP via WifiP2pManager.createGroup()
> * The AP has a random SSID and password, which Bob doesn't know
> * Alice packs the SSID and password into a WifiP2pServiceInfo object
> * Alice advertises the service via WifiP2pManager.addLocalService()
> * Bob discovers the service via WifiP2pManager.addServiceRequest()
> * Bob unpacks the SSID and password and connects to the AP as a legacy
> client
> 
> As always, the devil's in the details - it's possible that one of
> these calls requires (or has a prerequisite that requires) user
> interaction.

True, but even if there is some interaction, the more data you can
pre-fill for the user, the better. Using Bluetooth or WifiDirect service
broadcast capabilities can make things like "Connect to my phone's wifi
hotspot called 'foo' and enter this IP address to access the web server
I am running" become a one-tap process.

This is a bit of the magic of how connecting to a Chromecast works -
though they are using ultrasonic frequencies, but the concept, that the
bootstrap info is just automatically there, makes the process that much
more easy:

"Once you’ve configured your Chromecast to allow nearby devices to
connect, the Chromecast will push a uniquely generated ultrasonic sound
through your TV’s speakers. Encoded in that soundwave is everything a
phone needs to know to get paired up. You can’t hear these sounds, but
your phone can."

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/26/how-can-chromecast-connect-to-your-friends-phones-without-using-wifi-ultrasonic-sounds/