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Disassembling the Amazon Dash

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Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#41

Post by monkeyprojects »

cushychicken wrote: post #28
michaelt wrote: post #7

One neat thing Amazon are doing with this product, which I hadn't considered as an "internet of things" option, is making each unit of hardware order a single supplier's goods. All the example buttons say "Tide" or "Bounty" or "Gillette" or "Olay" right on the button - all Procter & Gamble. And the other goods pictured [1] are all brand-name goods with fairly big marketing budgets. In the jargon of the grocery indust…

That's a really insightful strategy. Amazon wins by not needing to sink more development time into cheaper hardware by getting P&G to offset costs, while P&G wins by effectively pays a one-time fee per customer per product to ensure a steady stream of sales. Hadn't thought of that angle at all. Enlightening comment!

$2 a year for a permanent advert within someone's house which also generates sales.

Sounds like a win / win for both P&G and Amazon...

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#42

Post by userbinator »

pelf wrote: post #17

Is it just me that finds the entire concept of the Dash ridiculous? I mean, what's the idea, having a button for every single product we buy? And we need to set it up first. How is that any better than recurring ordering or just opening the website and ordering it? Are we expected to have an entire wall of dashes at our place? I guess we'll need to sort them alphabetically or by color, so we don't waste time searchin…

It's the mindless-consumerism aspect of the idea that I find most disturbing: "press this button to feed yourself with product".

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#43

Post by joezydeco »

madprops wrote: post #27
pelf wrote: post #17

Is it just me that finds the entire concept of the Dash ridiculous? I mean, what's the idea, having a button for every single product we buy? And we need to set it up first. How is that any better than recurring ordering or just opening the website and ordering it? Are we expected to have an entire wall of dashes at our place? I guess we'll need to sort them alphabetically or by color, so we don't waste time searchin…

Or you know, why not a phone application that would order the same thing with a single tap.

I think the idea is that this is eventually built right into the products. The washer with the built-in Amazon button for detergent, etc.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#44

Post by madprops »

joezydeco wrote: post #43
madprops wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you know, why not a phone application that would order the same thing with a single tap.

I think the idea is that this is eventually built right into the products. The washer with the built-in Amazon button for detergent, etc.

That's an interesting thought. There would be deals by detergent companies to include their button in a washer. Also maids could order the products themselves if they're responsible enough.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#45

Post by soylentcola »

userbinator wrote: post #42
pelf wrote: post #17

Is it just me that finds the entire concept of the Dash ridiculous? I mean, what's the idea, having a button for every single product we buy? And we need to set it up first. How is that any better than recurring ordering or just opening the website and ordering it? Are we expected to have an entire wall of dashes at our place? I guess we'll need to sort them alphabetically or by color, so we don't waste time searchin…

It's the mindless-consumerism aspect of the idea that I find most disturbing: "press this button to feed yourself with product".

I'm tempted to start a conspiracy theory that these are just phase one of a plan to eventually have us all living in actual Skinner boxes.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#46

Post by userbinator »

danellis wrote: post #25
minthd wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't have to be always on, it could be remotely controlled.

It's not powered up, though. That's why it lasts so long on one battery. The button wakes it up.

There's a 32kHz RTC oscillator in the MCU, which can be programmed to periodically wake it up as well.

Without analysing the firmware you wouldn't be able to confirm for sure what it's doing.

I suppose one exercise for those inclined would be to reprogram it to listen (perhaps only during the daytime) and see how long it lasts. You wouldn't need high fidelity so a low sample rate would be enough.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#47

Post by kbody »

eli wrote: post #39
pelf wrote: post #17

Is it just me that finds the entire concept of the Dash ridiculous? I mean, what's the idea, having a button for every single product we buy? And we need to set it up first. How is that any better than recurring ordering or just opening the website and ordering it? Are we expected to have an entire wall of dashes at our place? I guess we'll need to sort them alphabetically or by color, so we don't waste time searchin…

Sure, but just a few decades ago there were people dismissing all of e-commerce saying "why would I order online when I can just pick up the phone and call in my order?" I'm sure before that there were people saying, Why do I need phone ordering when I can just mail an order form to Sears? I think it's a mistake to bet against a more convenient form of consumerism.

The problem with Dash is that it doesn't really scale.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#48

Post by tomkinstinch »

I'll put in a shameless mention that this is exactly the sort of content my STEM education side project, TakeItApart[1] was meant to centralize. OP, we'd love to see the Dash included on TakeItApart so others can learn from your breakdown.

This annotation of the Dash components is terrific. It would be fun to probe the exposed pads to see if they have left an STM32 SWIM/JTAG header available. It's interesting that they choose to use a AAA battery but did not include a battery door so that users could replace it. Perhaps that is coming? Still, the power optimization is impressive considering how power hungry it can be to do wi-fi RF transmission (on the order of a 1 watt).

1. https://www.takeitapart.com/get-started

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#49

Post by maguirre »

Can anyone comment as to why they'd go for a cortex M3? @120Mhz it seems like overkill for the function of this device. I know it's pretty cheap but it could have made even cheaper with a less capable micro.
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