Camera Texting
Discussion
Would it be legal / Is there something similar / should someone do it ?
I was thinking about the following scenario.
A website where you have people do annual subscriptions to be members. It is a little like multimap where you do a journey planner just before you are going on your merry way and when you press 'GO', it texts you with locations of police speed traps.
If you are wondering how this site would know where the traps are, it would be a website a little like PH where it is a community based thing and any traps spotted by members, the member texts location to a unique number.
This way, any additions to traps during your journey, they will be texted to you on route.
I quite liked the idea and I have no doubt that a mobile network would be happy to get involved too.
Thoughts
I was thinking about the following scenario.
A website where you have people do annual subscriptions to be members. It is a little like multimap where you do a journey planner just before you are going on your merry way and when you press 'GO', it texts you with locations of police speed traps.
If you are wondering how this site would know where the traps are, it would be a website a little like PH where it is a community based thing and any traps spotted by members, the member texts location to a unique number.
This way, any additions to traps during your journey, they will be texted to you on route.
I quite liked the idea and I have no doubt that a mobile network would be happy to get involved too.
Thoughts
Something similar has already been done. Basically instead of a website like multimap its a place that lets you download a list of GPS coordinates. Submitting new coordinates is done in the same way you mention, although you can imagine that there are people out there who would take great delight in submitting false coordinated to mess the system up. People like scamera partnership members.
However this does allow people using PDA or laptop based GPS nav systems to act as a GPS camera warning system
I cant search for the link at work, could someone please post it?
However this does allow people using PDA or laptop based GPS nav systems to act as a GPS camera warning system
I cant search for the link at work, could someone please post it?
OK, on that basis:
www.trafcam.com
I should add here it's not quite the same as you suggested - the camera locations are stored in the phone. For your scenario you'd still need some way of figuring out your location so that the system could provide relevant reports, but you'd also have the added cost of the text messages.
Products such as Wayfinder use GPRS to get the data, but that's because the map data is too big to load into the phone. The UK camera database is much smaller, plenty small enough to go into the memory of the phones that we can run on, so there's no need to have the forward planning aspect of having to book a route and get the relevant information each time.
The only problem is with mobile traps which are noted but often empty, as with most GPS systems.
>> Edited by droopsnoot on Tuesday 10th August 17:12
www.trafcam.com
I should add here it's not quite the same as you suggested - the camera locations are stored in the phone. For your scenario you'd still need some way of figuring out your location so that the system could provide relevant reports, but you'd also have the added cost of the text messages.
Products such as Wayfinder use GPRS to get the data, but that's because the map data is too big to load into the phone. The UK camera database is much smaller, plenty small enough to go into the memory of the phones that we can run on, so there's no need to have the forward planning aspect of having to book a route and get the relevant information each time.
The only problem is with mobile traps which are noted but often empty, as with most GPS systems.
>> Edited by droopsnoot on Tuesday 10th August 17:12
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