On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 5:44 AM, Stroller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On 2 Jun 2008, at 12:06, Mathieu Rochette wrote: > > > > I recently discover the foxytag project . I'm wondering if this > > apps could run on the freerunner, if so I'll definitly buy one :D > > amAze will soon integrate foxytag but I think the software > > requierement are the same as each apps is a java-based. > > > > I don't know if a jvm is available for openmoko, and I think that > > maybe java apps for mobile phone require specific library. > > can anyone tell me a bit about all this ? > > Looks a bit ugly to me. > > I've thought about this type of application a little bit because I'd > love to write one and IMO this type of program doesn't need a GUI. > > The program should, IMO, just run as a daemon, loading the gatso > locations at startup, and checking continuously to see if any are > nearby. There's no need to see the location of the gatso, it should > merely emit audio upon approach to the danger zone. The audio can > repeat as the unit approaches the gatso, getting louder with > proximity. This somewhat accommodates whether you're driving straight > at the danger zone, or whether it appears likely to pass nearby - > without streetdata it's impossible to know whether the road you're on > continues straight or curves, so one can't know for sure whether the > camera will be passed or avoided, but if the alert sound increases > volume based on rate-of-distance-change (congruity?) it'll be pretty > intuitive to the driver, I think (diagram here if I had the time). I > don't think it's at all necessary to incorporate roadmap data - I > think the system can provide perfect warning without it, based on > direction and speed-of-approach.
that's a damn good idea! > > I don't really see any benefit of a visual display and it gets in the > way of using any other GPS application (such as Google maps, which is > sure never to carry camera-location data); I'm cynical over amazegps > - why is it free if it's any good? Isn't it going to pop up > advertising all over my phone? > > Last time I looked into this - perhaps two years ago - I'm sure there > was a free Gatso camera location database available, for the UK, at > least. However all I can find now is pocketgpsworld.com and > www.scdb.info/en/, which both take user-submitted data and then > charge a subscription back for it. At least the pocketgpsworld.com > one does look like a pretty good source of data, regularly updated, > covering Europe & used by off-duty coppers themselves, but it's not > free in any sense of the term. Looking on scdb.info at a road I > travelled down this evening, I'm immediately pretty sure I can spot > errors - regular road surveillance cameras marked as speed-traps. > > The download link at <http://www.gps-data-team.com/poi/united_kingdom/ > safety/GATSO_UK.html> has CSV files with 4200 locations (80% UK > coverage?), but it's not clear if these are up-to-date, as it seems > to be implied that they come from scdb.info. However the same site > has lists of accident blackspots which may benefit those concerned > about road safety who feel themselves immune to the risk of > prosecution. <http://www.gps-data-team.com/poi/united_kingdom/safety/ > Accident_Black_Spots-UK.html> > donwloading the file to offline access is good only if you want to know about fixed speed cam. what I want is to know about mobile speed cam (eg: policemen check speed for only two hours at some spot). and these cam can't be register in POI files; > > The FoxyTag collaborative thing sounds productive, so an alternative > FoxyTag client might be appealing. It looks like a genuine not-for- > profit project, but it's not obvious that one can use it offline - > ideally one would download a complete data-file and upload one's > corrections later. I don't really want to have to take my hands off > the wheel to mark my changes to a nearby camera - I'd much rather > click on a map on a webpage later to register my votes, and if > marking a new camera I'd rather stop my car & park to ensure I get as > accurate a fix as possible again, register votes on a webpage later can't be use for mobile speed cam. > (but "Tags posted by FoxyTag are > directional, so, tags posted for users driving in the opposite > direction won't be signalized to you" - what happens if I'm > stationary?). you can't register a POI when you're under X km/h (X=I can't remember) > > > Let's say I know that a local camera is only used for video > surveillance of road traffic (sadly these too are common in the UK) - > it is only for awareness of traffic jams (I read that > trafficmaster.co.uk may site such cameras) and does not register > speed. But nevertheless many users who know nothing about the > different types of cameras keep registering the camera location on > the collaborative system. On a system more like OpenStreetMap the > wiki features allow me to post "don't mark this as a gatso, it > isn't", upload a photo of the camera in question and, in the event of > dispute, a moderator can block or ban users who get involved in "edit > wars". The contentiousness of gatso-warning alarms suggests that it > is unlikely to be incorporated into OpenStreetMap, however - see > <http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Proposed_features/ > Speed_trap>. Personally, I think this is well and good - the issue > appears to evoke strong views without much room for consensus (the > split of opinion seems to be 50/50) and it's less divisive to just > have a dedicated site for those who want speed-camera data. I don't think foxytag has something like this > > > Substantially, FoxyTag is written in Java so it can run on a variety > of closed mobile phone platforms - on OpenMoko we can do far better, > I think. The phone software is not difficult to write, and alone > would not be deemed sufficiently complex to justify it as a final- > year undergraduate project. > > The location data is a different matter and, with 5,000 cameras in > the UK alone, it's not trivial. There are likely users with many more > local cameras who could contribute more, but I could probably only > think of 5 cameras to contribute to a database; some people will wish > to make use of the system without any location contributions, so I'd > guess 1000 users is a reasonable estimate to build up a usable > database, for the UK alone! > > If anyone knows of other sources of speed-camera location data then > please post them. It's likely that someone else will have something > like this working on OpenMoko before I get my ass in gear enough to > do anything about it. That's why I post my thoughts any time I see > something about GPS - hopefully I may influence the motivated author. > Foxytag do give an email address on their participate page, if "you > want to do a new client that is compatible with FoxyTag", so should > one get a proof-of-concept working on OpenMoko they're surely worth > contacting. > > Stroller. > > > _______________________________________________ > Openmoko community mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community > A lot of limitation are due to the foxytag apps --- register only when you are driving, and (almost) just when you're in front of the POI. I agree that an openmoko client could be >really< interessting. moreover this will resolve the external/internal gps problem. -- Il y a 10 types de personnes, ceux qui savent, et ceux qui ne savent pas...
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