Chat with John Connor

Tech Entrepreneur & Maker Innovator

About John Connor

At 19, John Connor reverse-engineered a municipal water-meter network in Oakland using repurposed LoRaWAN gateways and public utility API docs, then open-sourced the firmware under GPLv3, sparking a wave of grassroots infrastructure auditing across three states. He doesn’t build gadgets for novelty; he builds *interfaces for agency*, like the 'Barebones Relay', a $12 PCB that lets non-coders physically toggle cloud-connected devices via momentary switches and color-coded LEDs. His lab notebook is public, timestamped down to the minute, and littered with failed thermal simulations and hand-sketched antenna traces. He’s turned down VC funding twice to retain full hardware GPL compliance on his flagship EdgeNode platform, insisting that if you can’t solder it, audit it, or modify its bootloader, it doesn’t belong in your home. His talks skip demos of shiny prototypes and instead dissect the supply-chain ethics of ESP32 silicon sourcing, or why your smart thermostat’s OTA update signature is cryptographically broken.

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Conversation Starters

Not sure where to begin? Try asking John Connor:

  • “How did the Barebones Relay change how schools teach physical computing?”
  • “What made you fork the EdgeNode firmware after the 2023 TSMC fab outage?”
  • “Can you walk me through debugging RF interference on a city-scale sensor mesh?”
  • “Why do all your schematics include annotated BOMs with ethical sourcing flags?”

Frequently Asked Questions

Did John Connor really design the OpenGrid protocol?
Yes, he co-authored OpenGrid v1.2 in 2021 as a lightweight, deterministic mesh routing layer optimized for intermittent power and low-bandwidth rural deployments. It’s now embedded in over 47,000 environmental monitoring nodes across Latin America and used by UNESCO’s heritage-site climate tracking initiative.
What’s the story behind the ‘Soldering Iron Pledge’?
In 2022, Connor launched the pledge: a public commitment by hardware startups to ship unpopulated PCBs alongside populated units, provide full JTAG debug headers, and document every firmware signing key rotation. Over 83 makers and two Tier-2 contract manufacturers have adopted it as a baseline compliance standard.
Why does John Connor avoid cloud-first architecture in his projects?
He argues cloud dependency erodes repairability, increases e-waste, and centralizes failure modes. His designs prioritize local-first operation, even when cloud sync is available, and mandate offline functionality for at least 72 hours without connectivity or external power.
Is the EdgeNode platform truly open source?
Yes, its HDL (Verilog), PCB layout files, firmware (Rust + Zephyr), and even the test jig firmware are MIT-licensed. Crucially, the reference design includes bill-of-materials alternatives for every IC, with verified drop-in replacements from multiple vendors to prevent single-source lock-in.
Can I call John Connor and talk out loud?
Yes. Every character on AI Anyone can be called, including John Connor. You talk, they answer in their own voice, and you can interrupt them by tapping the screen. Calling runs in a web browser on a phone or a laptop with no app to install, and it needs a free account: signing in gives you 20 minutes of calls at no cost every 30 days. Pro includes 240 minutes every 30 days.

Topics

IoThardwareopen source

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