Slashgeo Log In
Project Turns GPS Phones Into Traffic Reporters
posted by lxnyce
on Friday November 07, @07:36AM
Permalink
Trackback URI
Slashdotthis
Diggthis
Del.icio.us
from the big-brother-is-watching dept.
Permalink
Trackback URI
Slashdotthis
Diggthis
Del.icio.us
from the big-brother-is-watching dept.
This story is currently being discussed on slashdot. This is kinda another kicker into to dash business model which just tanked earlier this week. Here is the slashdot summary : "Starting on Monday, researchers from Nokia and UC Berkeley will kick off the Mobile Millennium project. The researchers hope that thousands of volunteers will download a free Java program that figures out by their movement and location when they are driving, and then transmits that information to the project's servers, which then crunch it into a Bay Area traffic map. 'The whole concept here is that if everyone shares just a little bit of what they're seeing ... then everyone can benefit by seeing the conditions ahead of them,' said Quinn Jacobson, a research leader with Nokia in Palo Alto."
Related Stories
GPS News: Dash, SatNav on the Windshield and More 1 comment
[+]
Here's a collection of recent GPS-related news items. First, the crowdsourcing GPS system named Dash recently discussed is now available for pre-order. From Engaget: "Compared to your usual, run of the mill GPS, whole connected navigator experience was not dissimilar from the jump between going from a VCR to a TiVo -- which is why we think maybe, just maybe, people might actually want to pay for service with this thing. Of course, the downside for dash is most people won't even realize what an amazing boon these kinds of features really are until they've taken one home and discovered it first hand out in the world." Very Spatial discuss a GPS navigation system which projects information on your windshield. Here' a very short entry on 3D buildings displayed on your SatNav. Here's another entry on the development of indoor positioning systems.
Dash Express Now Shipping: As cool as it sounded!
[+]
Engadget has a great review on the now shipping Dash Express portable GPS unit. It seems every bit as cool as it sounds, but the price may leave your pocketbook a little light. Will the Community features and Internet connectivity cause you to open your wallet?
"Just like TiVo, the Dash Express is best-in-class at what it does, but that monthly fee is going to be a deal-breaker for a lot of people. If $600 bought you the Express and lifetime service, we'd be all over this thing; for now, we're going to say that it's revolutionary enough for road warriors and golden-pocketed early adopters to buy immediately, but we'll eagerly await the day when the power of the Dash community makes us willingly pay to join the club."
CNN Demoes Dash Networking GPS
[+]
The Earth Is Square blog, has an article featuring the CNN video review of this product. From their summary : "Found this CNN video on the Dash Networking GPS. What made this GPS interesting for me was the traffic updating and the finding gas stations and sorting by the latest price. But the "downfall" of this GPS with the traffic conditions is that you need multiple vehicles in the area also using the Dash GPS so that you get a detailed traffic report."
This story was also covered in this article. For more information, and to see the video, head on over to the Earth Is Square blog.
This story was also covered in this article. For more information, and to see the video, head on over to the Earth Is Square blog.
Application Domains: Mapping Speed Traps Service for GPS-Enabled Cell Phones
[+]
Slashdot discuss a new service mapping speed traps using GPS-enabled cellphones. Their summary: "In a modern equivalent of flashing your headlights to warn other motorists of police speed traps, you can now warn fellow drivers with a cell phone or personal digital assistant about speed traps, red-light cameras, and other threats to ticket-free driving. And as you approach a known threat, you'll get an audio alert on your mobile device. The developer of Trapster, Pete Tenereillo, said the system, which requires punching in a few keys such as '#1' to submit information to Trapster's database, should comply with laws banning talking on cell phones. The free service can automatically detect location using mobile devices' GPS capabilities or tap their Wi-Fi and get location from a database run by Skyhook Wireless. Police officials that Tenereillo has talked to haven't complained about the service because it inevitably encourages drivers to slow down." See also previous related stories below
Application Domains: Tracking Mobile Phones for Shopping Habbits
[+]
The Earth is Square discussed an interesting BBC article about tracking mobile phones to track spending and shopping habbits.
From the BBC article: "Mobiles are assigned a temporary anonymous number by the network called a temporary mobile subscriber identity, or TMSI, which the phone periodically transmits to advise of its location. [...] By contrast, depending on how many of their detectors they place in a given space, FootPath's tracking can be done to a precision of about a metre or two."
From the PI website: "These units calculate the movement of consumers without trequiring the shopper to wear or carry any special equipment."
From the EiS: "But there are good sides to this technology and use. The system could also be useful for researching the layout of train stations, airports, shopping centers, etc. This system ould also be used to find contraband phones in jails and prisons."
See also related stories below.
Project Turns GPS Phones Into Traffic Reporters
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
