The first issue I see with the "Central Bank" repository is security. Not seeing the entire picture that you have, I am just throwing out things I see that could be a liability.

If anyone is able to upload XML data files of "Knowledge" what would need be security measures to ensure that the files are not compromised in some fashion. And I know that is a very broad statement. Who would be the end controller of this collected database?

I see you are feeling this out and I get it. Given your position and profession I know you will be looking deeply into the security side of this.

I like the EZ-Robot approach. Everything they host for public consumption is in small bite size custom pieces, searchable for a given solution. Again I realize this is a different animal it does pose many questions.

I am a realist. With this IOT being the new buzz word I see lots of problems that will offset the usability of everything connected. I am huge on security. Any open system is a security problem and always will be.

I am a fan of closed and secured systems (even with these there is always a threat but more manageable). If anything I would see a subscription service vetted by person or organization where there is a clear chain of command and accountability.

I cannot count the times a Microsoft Update did one of my systems in.

Long ago I used to frequent a restaurant when we had some downtime in Arizona. When you walked into this establishment the owners had a very vocal Parrot to greet you. It was fun because the bird would pickup things quickly. Lots of different types of people frequented that place and lots of different types taught the Parrot many words. After a time they got rid of the parrot because he started cussing to much for the kids that came in.

Just a thought

Pacowang,

You bring up good points and it is something that I have considered but not shared simply because sharing the security model would compromise it. Here is what I can tell you without going too deep into it.

The database has the ability to hold encrypted values. We will be implementing a serial key when the knowledge base starts up. The application will be the only thing that can upload data to the ftp server. Also, the XML file will have information in it that will be used to validate that it is authentic from a valid user and a valid encrypted value is included. The encrypted value will be generated every time a xml file is created based on a hash key that will also be encrypted. We will be obfuscating the code starting with version 1.0.1.0. and only be releasing release exe instead of the debug exe at that point. Xml files can be zipped and that zip can be password protected.

Information that is added to the knowledge base will have a reliability rating system. Myself and my other employee will have the ability to validate that data is accurate and promote it to the distribution level. More than one source providing a certain number of the same key words would also increase the rating. A certain number of these xml files from different sources containing the same information about a topic will promote a piece of information's rating. Only after a certain rating is at a certain number will the information be pushed to a client.

Language filters will be in place that will block profanity from entering the system on two levels, one at the client and one at the server. A separate FTP server and database will exist for customers who need their data isolated. These will be paying customers who will have their own method of validating the data before allowing it to be pushed to other branches. This will be worked out with the customers as to the level of security they require. Setting up a securID server is simple and if the customer wants to go to that level of authorization, I would do that for a fee. This would provide 2 factor authentication. This along with what is described above would provide more security than is currently required by banks.

I do appreciate your thought and hope that you will continue to post them. I dont have all of the answers by any means and if you see a flaw in what I have posted, please point it out because I may not have considered it yet.

will this work with EZB 3?

thanks!

Yes. It works with ARC and not the board directly. It will have no issue working with the v3.

Yeh!

@d.cochran . . .. I believe you are onto something excellent. Whichever way you go with this I believe it will be blessed.

It's a hard but satisfying road from home-brew to commercial. I look forward to seeing this project grow.

Thanks pacowang, I am very interested in your results from your installs. When you get a chance to do them, please let me know the results. It will be very useful information to have and will let me know if something needs to be addressed.

I totally agree about going commercial. I have worked for a few commercial software companies in the past as a programmer. Long nights and little sleep were the norm. It is very exciting but so exhausting.

We will be publishing one more release before we do some pretty drastic changes to EZ-AI behind the curtains. This will be for the distance measuring via camera(s) module. We are wrapping those up this week. This will be version 1.0.0.7

We will be working on the following things for the 1.0.0.8

We will be writing an install application which will allow you to place EZ-AI in a user definable folder.

We will be introducing the knowledge base system (Not Cloud based at this time).

This versions code will have some cleanup and duplicate code in the project will be reduced by refactoring. For example, calls to the ARC TCP server to set the Robot Answer variable will be all run from a single class. Calls to internet based information will all be made from a single class. We will be combining some of the screens like the Driving Directions screen and the Walking directions screen. There are some other things but you get the idea. We will also be moving everything to a framework that is much newer and easier for other developers to understand what is going on in the code, along with commenting a lot of the code that I put together in an attempt to get "usefulness" out quickly.

For version 1.0.0.9 we will add the cloud based knowledge base and security.

Because EZ-AI is pretty self confined and uses a TCP server to communicate with ARC, it wouldn't be too difficult to open this application up to other software platforms. I am exploring the options that some other platforms have. It might also be used by things not related to robotics at all. I dont know at this point, but having the ability to allow the user to choose which platform that they want to use and the application interface through a TCP server seems like a good fit for the EZ-AI. We are also looking at making a linux version of EZ-AI using Microsoft's implementation of .NET for linux.

I will be reworking my website and it will include a forum for specifically EZ-AI questions and answers. I feel bad about using EZ-Robots forum for this anyway. I just have to work on it before 1.0.1.0 comes out.

As you can see, we are gearing up to add more programmers as needed. I know quite a few who work on a contractual basis and I want to be able to bring them in to do work when needed. To cut costs due to development time, we are getting a few items in place. These will reduce the time needed for development and implementing things and will allow a new developer to come in and pickup where another developer left off. All of this will make for faster turnaround on modifications and new features. It also sets us up for the future development efforts with some of the things I have mentioned before.

I can say that EZ-AI is starting to get a lot of attention. I am in conversations with people almost daily now about what it does and what the plans are for it. Some of the people on this forum have been very helpful and I dont want to mention names but just know that you are appreciated. There are some other things that I can't talk about or won't talk about out of respect for others in this community and others. Just know that the ball has started rolling down hill with EZ-AI and it is gaining momentum. Its very exciting and I look forward to getting past the boring housework that needs to be done before we can really get rolling.