Personal safety app for cyclists

[Fox3]

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 care for tracking all the time...so if its just you and me thats a 50/50 split...

 

Thererfore the following - Tygerberg mountain bike club has like 6000 members if I remember reading correctly so if only 3000 of them use it and improve their safety by easily being located then it is already a win. Not to mention that if the app costs R10 a month they are looking at R30 000/month just in that area. Thats pretty real in the cycling world. Not to mention that from the app we might even get a nice small device if it really works and the developer really wants to make something out of it

[Beefy]

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.

Do you work for Microsoft?

 

I have a Windows phone but use an iPhone when riding due to the lack of apps

[Gordon15]

Do you work for Microsoft?

 

I have a Windows phone but use an iPhone when riding due to the lack of apps

Unfortunately I don't work for Microsoft.

 

Now you will be able to choose which phone to take with you. 

[bikebloke]

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

 

what you describe is the magic bullet anti theft device ....its what we all dream of .

 

but

this r400 thingy  when it is inside your frame completely surrounded by carbon or alu what will the range of signal or its receiving capacity be ?

 

how will you charge it / know when its flat ?

 

how will you track it ?

 

 

not knocking your idea just asking ?

 

because if that type of device where that simple they would be out there inside bikes everywhere and probably cost more than r400

 

there are lots of these things out there  that claim to work but all of them fall short somehow of actually working properly when you check the seller claims.

 

make sure what you get before you spend your r400

[Gordon15]

Thank you to everyone who has completed the survey, or responded on this thread.

 

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and has re-confirmed our commitment to the project and the need for the service. We're busy now with ensuring that the suggestions are implemented, where possible, and expect to be able to go live by the end of the month.