In what amounts to a very clever second of hardware hacking , developerdekuNukem(the hacker who created alittle equipment that mechanically change over your screen to workwhen a foreman walks by ) has detail a methodology for fill again the DRM - protected detergent cassettes for a $ 486 portable dishwasher calledBob .
Trust me , it ’s more interesting than it sounds .
Bob is basically a small dishwasher that sit on your counter . It holds half a dozen dishes and some silverware , and you add water to the system by hand . It looks like a great choice to a larger instal dishwasher or something nice for an apartment dweller . But it has a confidential bit of DRM built in that keep you wedded to the company ’s products .
Photo: dekuNukem
The Bob uses cassette , called Rock and Pop ( LOL ! ) , that control concentrated detergent and rinse liquid . The cassettes are like to inkjet cartridge in that they store a small amount of information on a built - in chip — in this case , a simple I2C EEPROM that can store a small amount of information .
This chip store the number of washes and will “ cancel ” a cassette when it ’s technically empty . The machine will then order newfangled cassettes mechanically . To Bob ’s deferred payment , you may use your own detergent , but it is n’t easy . And the cassette are n’t cheap .
“ With transportation and VAT add , it be a humongous £ 43 ( $ 60 ) for 90 washes ! That is 48p ( 67c ) per wash . It might not vocalise like much , but it cursorily adds up , ” save dekuNukem . “ Over a yr of daily washes , it would have cost £ 174 ( $ 242 ) in Bob cassettes alone ! Imagine pay that much recurring price for a dishwasher ! ”
Photo: Daan.Tech
Using an EEPROM reviewer , they were able to pull the data from the cassette and even modify it , resulting in a simple organisation to reset the cartridge back to their original wash counts or , in one causa , forcing the cassette to run about 70 more washes than originally advertised .
Once dekuNukem figured out the code mechanism , they had to figure out a way to refill the cassettes . They searched the net for saturated detergent offerings and found one that matched the web site verbal description exactly .
“ Fortunately , all chemical product in UK come with a Safety Data Sheet by regulation , which take the composition and concentration of what ’s at bottom . This mode , I can compare an unknown detergent with Bob Cassette and get a rough idea of how tight it is , ” they wrote .
Photo: dekuNukem
DekuNukem found a similar wash and rinse intersection , corrupt it , and squirted a mo into the cassette . Success !
The resolution ? A 65 - cent - per - wash cost saving .
“ replenish it yourself is more than 60 multiplication chintzy , result in a massive 98 % cost saving compared to buying new ! ” they compose .
The architectural plan and code for the unresolved - origin dishwasher DRM remotion system of rules are available ondekuNukem ’s Github , and they ’re really trade theCassette Rewinder , a pre - solder board that will automatically readjust the cassette EEPROM , for $ 29.99 . Obviously , this is n’t not bad for the company that gain Bob , but it may make the product more interesting to the true anti - DRM zealots out there .
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