Personal safety app for cyclists

[lerouc]

I have a client who is looking for something like this, and we've been struggling to find one which is waterproof. Any idea if this one is? 

 

Like your idea of the cold beer. Might need to include it in our marketing material as another benefit! 

 

Hahahaha cool! This unit is also not waterproof. I was thinking of building it into a small custom case but i dont know how this will impact the signal.

 

Was thinking of making a case that "locks" onto seat rails of the bike which will also hide it quite well.

[Slowbee]

My problem is i dont ride with with a smartphone for fear when i fall or get held up at knife point i dont want to still worry about my phone etc.

 

If you do ride with your phone there is alot of tracking tools out there, have been using them for 5 years when i ride a race like argus or k2c so that the wife knows when to be at the end waiting with a cold beer.

 

The thing that i am really interested in (and have been discussing this with alot of trail runners as well that dont want to carry heavy big phones) you get a small device, something like 4x2x1cm which is a gps/gsm module. You insert a simcard in it and you can be tracked. Its got a lithium battery and because no display it can go without charge for a while.

 

Its got a panic button on it which will send out SOS to certain numbers and it can be activated remotely for when someone searches for you.

 

I've been eyeing one of these to hide in my frame for if (when) my bike gets stolen i can track it live. Best part, they retail for less than R400.

 

gps.png

ok spill the beans ! who is your mate selling these?

 

if enough hubbers are keen, maybe you could do a bulk order and we get cheaper ? I know it relies on cell signal, which in the mtns is not always available, but at r400 bucks its a good option for most of us.

 

*only kidding about your mate selling them.

[Gordon15]

Thanks to everyone who has commented or completed the survey.

 

It's really encouraging to know that not only is there clearly a need for our safety app, but that we also seem to be providing all of the features which cyclists require, plus a few more, and at a price that's less than most respondents are prepared to pay.  

 

As soon as the app is ready and approved by the app stores (quite a process!) we will submit it to the Bike Hub for testing, so that you can get an independent, unbiased review.

[EmptyB]

Can't open the survey on my phone?? Will try later on PC....I would also like to get the email updates etc.

[Gordon15]

Can't open the survey on my phone?? Will try later on PC....I would also like to get the email updates etc.

Hi,

Did you manage to open the survey? 

[Lurch the stalker]

Cool idea.

I've done the survey.

Are you looking at having this available on iOS and Android?

Any idea how much data traffic is involved in the live tracking.

What I would like to see is setting up multiple zones that you could send auto notifications from.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who commutes on a regular basis, and while I generally leave the same sort of time I find if I need to work a bit later then I need to remember that I must let somebody know I'll be leaving my office late or there's that assumption I'm dead on the side of the road.

[EmptyB]

Hi,

Did you manage to open the survey?

I did but when I push next after entering my email address the page just goes blank?

 

Not sure if you got my email...will send PM.

[Pointer]

Looking at the posts on Bike Hub, it’s obvious that drivers and potholes aren’t the only dangers out there.

 

We have an award winning personal safety app, used by some of the top security companies in the world, which we are now keen to offer directly to everyone else, as there is clearly a need for cutting edge technology such as this.

 

While I think the product is already getting close to perfect for cyclists, I would appreciate it if you could click here and take 2 minutes to answer a few questions, to ensure that we’re on the right track.

 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YFLGHGY

 

Thanks!

will it be compatible between android and apple?

[Gordon15]

Cool idea.

I've done the survey.

Are you looking at having this available on iOS and Android?

Any idea how much data traffic is involved in the live tracking.

What I would like to see is setting up multiple zones that you could send auto notifications from.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who commutes on a regular basis, and while I generally leave the same sort of time I find if I need to work a bit later then I need to remember that I must let somebody know I'll be leaving my office late or there's that assumption I'm dead on the side of the road.

Hi Lurch,

 

Thanks for the positive feedback.

 

We will be on iOS, Android and Windows, but not BB (sorry to any BB users out there, but it's just too much trouble!)

 

The location level will be user defined, from every 10 seconds upwards, and as it's just sending a location pin there is very little data useage. About the same as any other background location app, such as FourSquare or Facebook.

Obviously when you trigger an alert though, and it's sending video and audio then data useage will go up, but we figured that at that point data use is maybe the least of your problems.

 

There will be a Journey function which should be perfect for your commute. Whenever you leave the office, just start it and your emergency contact will be notified that you're on your way. They can watch your progress on-line if they want, and they get another message when you safely reach your destination. We're also going to be building in some auto-alert features into the Journey function, so that you can set an expected duration, and if you are over that then it can activate the alert. Also a non movement period alert, so that if you're maybe unconscious, your phone will still be able to send out your location.

[Gordon15]

will it be compatible between android and apple?

Yes, and also Windows.

[Lurch the stalker]

Hi Lurch,

 

Thanks for the positive feedback.

 

We will be on iOS, Android and Windows, but not BB (sorry to any BB users out there, but it's just too much trouble!)

 

The location level will be user defined, from every 10 seconds upwards, and as it's just sending a location pin there is very little data useage. About the same as any other background location app, such as FourSquare or Facebook.

Obviously when you trigger an alert though, and it's sending video and audio then data useage will go up, but we figured that at that point data use is maybe the least of your problems.

 

There will be a Journey function which should be perfect for your commute. Whenever you leave the office, just start it and your emergency contact will be notified that you're on your way. They can watch your progress on-line if they want, and they get another message when you safely reach your destination. We're also going to be building in some auto-alert features into the Journey function, so that you can set an expected duration, and if you are over that then it can activate the alert. Also a non movement period alert, so that if you're maybe unconscious, your phone will still be able to send out your location.

Looks like you guys really did your homework on this.

As for no BlackBerry support, all the newer BB's run Android, and they (BB) have apparently stopped making phones now anyway so I don't see that being an issue in anybody's life.

 

I agree on data not being an issue if something happens, I was just curious on the level of expected usage.

 

I like the idea on the lack of movement, but, just in case you didn't think of it, build in an option that you can stop for coffee on a ride without it thinking you're dead. I guess one idea is to have to hit a button within a certain time for it to not send an alert, possibly with the option to suppress for a certain amount of time before you have to interact again (you wouldn't want to have to interact with the phone every minute while on the coffee stop )

[Gordon15]

Looks like you guys really did your homework on this.

As for no BlackBerry support, all the newer BB's run Android, and they (BB) have apparently stopped making phones now anyway so I don't see that being an issue in anybody's life.

 

I agree on data not being an issue if something happens, I was just curious on the level of expected usage.

 

I like the idea on the lack of movement, but, just in case you didn't think of it, build in an option that you can stop for coffee on a ride without it thinking you're dead. I guess one idea is to have to hit a button within a certain time for it to not send an alert, possibly with the option to suppress for a certain amount of time before you have to interact again (you wouldn't want to have to interact with the phone every minute while on the coffee stop )

Yes, have considered the coffee stop, and also that sometimes we are over confident about what old legs like mine are capable of! 

[Dicky DQ]

To be honest, an app is a waste of time in the real cycling world, because of battery life. you need to have a small module with looong battery life.

 

I only care for tracking if I am riding alone at night and/or if the rides get longer than 8 hrs and in both these cases my phone would not last when using gps. 

 

I turn my phone off or use ultra battery saving mode which turns everything off on these long rides.

[JonoZA]

Real cycling world? I would assume that the majority of cyclists rides are far less than 8 hours.

 

App sounds great and I think it would suit the large majority of us out there.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lurch the stalker]

To be honest, an app is a waste of time in the real cycling world, because of battery life. you need to have a small module with looong battery life.

 

I only care for tracking if I am riding alone at night and/or if the rides get longer than 8 hrs and in both these cases my phone would not last when using gps. 

 

I turn my phone off or use ultra battery saving mode which turns everything off on these long rides.

 

I do get where you are coming from, but from a personal point of view, the majority of times I have actually needed help was when I was commuting (I've been taken out twice by cars and once fell because of a car though that one did not hit me) and the other morning I was nearly taken out by a taxi, less than 10 minutes from my house. If I had been hit, it would be nice to know somebody would have had an immediate alert (to be fair, that could be from either a phone or a standalone device, and there's probably just as much chance that either type of device could be destroyed in a serious crash)

[EmptyB]

To be honest, an app is a waste of time in the real cycling world, because of battery life. you need to have a small module with looong battery life.

 

I only care for tracking if I am riding alone at night and/or if the rides get longer than 8 hrs and in both these cases my phone would not last when using gps.

 

I turn my phone off or use ultra battery saving mode which turns everything off on these long rides.

What is the real cycling world?