Remote node reference

Technical reference for the Remote node type. A Remote is the user interface for controlling Agents in the OctoMY™ network.

Did You Know?

The Remote is designed as a "thin client" - most of its logic comes from the Node base class, and each Agent connection is managed by a separate AgentClient instance. This makes the codebase simpler and means you can control multiple Agents simultaneously, each with its own connection state.

Overview

Architecture

Core components

Remote class

The main Remote class extends Node for control functionality:

class Remote : public Node {
    QSharedPointer<RemoteWindow> mWindow;
    // Node provides: keyStore, addressBook, comms, discovery...
};

The Remote is designed as a "thin client" - most complexity lives in the Node base class and in the AgentClient instances.

Key methods

Control role

The Remote has the ROLE_CONTROL role in OctoMY communication. This is shared with Hub but differs in purpose:

Agent management

AgentListModel

The Remote maintains a list of known Agents:

class AgentListModel : public QAbstractListModel {
    // Provides model for Agent list display
    // Updates from AddressBook
    // Tracks connection status
};

Client connections

For each paired Agent, the Remote creates an AgentClient:

Communication

As Control role

In communication, the Control role means:

• Sends commands to Agents
• Receives sensor data from Agents
• Sends Plan updates to Agents
• Requests state information

Couriers registered

Control modes

The Remote supports multiple levels of control:

Low-level control

Direct actuator manipulation with real-time feedback:

Mid-level control

Gesture-based commands:

• Move forward
• Turn left/right
• Stop
• Emergency stop (panic)

High-level control

Target-based navigation:

• Go to waypoint
• Follow path
• Execute Plan

UI components

RemoteWindow

The main window for Remote UI:

Activities

Control widgets

Storage location

~/.local/share/OctoMY™/OctoMY Remote/<personality>/
├── keystore.json       # Cryptographic keys
├── addressbook.json    # Known Agents
└── planbook/           # Stored Plans (optional)

First-time setup

The Remote "birth" process:

1. Key Generation - Create cryptographic identity
2. Personality Generation - Derive name, colors, identicon
3. Agent Discovery - Find nearby Agents
4. Pairing - Establish trust with first Agent
5. Control Setup - Configure preferred control mode

Command line

# Start Remote with default personality
./remote

# Start with specific personality
./remote --personality "MyController"

# Start with specific base directory
./remote --base-dir /path/to/data

# Enable debug output
./remote --debug

Services

The Remote activates these services in order:

API reference

Inherited from Node

The Node base class provides these inherited methods:

• keyStore() - Access cryptographic keys
• addressBook() - Access known Agents
• comms() - Access communication system
• discoveryClient() - Access Agent discovery
• nodeIdentity() - Get this node's identity
• clientList() - Get connected clients

Platform support