That's exactly what our Android app is for: collect data from any
source (= sensor), and upload it to anywhere you want.
On this mailing list I see a lot of discussions about sensors. Then
there is Safecast, which is basically a map website. But how do you
get the data off your sensors and onto the Safecast website? That's
what our Android app can do for you.
This Android app was designed with these main goals:
1. Make it possible to gather data from as many sources (= sensors) as possible
2. Make it really easy to use (and preferably stylish) to entice as
many citizens as possible to collect and contribute data
It should be really useful to bridge the gap between offline sensors
and the Safecast website.
Cheers,
Janos
--
Janos Gyerik
http://blog.ecomobilecitizen.com/android/
http://blog.ecomobilecitizen.com/project/
On this mailing list I see a lot of discussions about sensors. Thenthere is Safecast, which is basically a map website.
But how do you
get the data off your sensors and onto the Safecast website? That's
what our Android app can do for you.
This Android app was designed with these main goals:
1. Make it possible to gather data from as many sources (= sensors) as possible
2. Make it really easy to use (and preferably stylish) to entice as
many citizens as possible to collect and contribute data
It should be really useful to bridge the gap between offline sensors
and the Safecast website.
Cheers,
Janos
--
Janos Gyerik
http://blog.ecomobilecitizen.com/android/
http://blog.ecomobilecitizen.com/project/
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You're right, I phrased incorrectly. I meant about the technicality of
getting data from offline sensors to a web service.
> We have a number of databases and custom applications (and APIs) that do
> just that, many of our sensors are web connected and publish the data
> directly to us, others are handheld and people upload the data to us
> directly when they get a connection.
Where are these APIs? I looked for them several times in the past (2
months ago) and couldn't find them. I am completely unaware of your
APIs and documentation, and would be happy to read up if you give me
the links.
> We also publish our data out to the world so other people can use it.
The app just uploads to Safecast. Yes, as we all know already very
well, Safecast publishes out to the world so other people can use it,
I don't know you felt compelled to stress that.
I don't know why are so strongly against a 3rd app in the middle.
Without an app in the middle, all sensors are required to be not only
internet enabled, but to implement your APIs. In our project we're
targeting environmental and physiological sensors, and most sensors
I've seen and work with are not internet enabled. And why should they
be! I think a sensor should be a sensor, and you should not have to
re-implement protocols per device type, it's much better to have a
smart glue in the middle to bridge the gap. Without the Android app
the sensors I work with are very inconvenient to use, and to get the
data from them on the internet you have to have something in between.
A smart phone app is perfect to fill that gap.
Let's say you make a home made sensor at your local hacker space. Will
that come with internet and ready to upload to Safecast? If you can
focus on just making a sensor that works well and can transmit raw
data wirelessly and pass it on to our Android app to pass it on to
Safecast that would be nice don't you think? Don't you want to attract
the widest possible audience? The app I'm trying to introduce here is
made for this very purpose. And it's open-source. It does something
that you would have to do anyway to enable sensors that are not
internet enabled.
Hope that makes more sense.
Janos
> That's incorrect. Safecast is a large volunteer driven organization that
> collects and publishes data. The map on the website is just one small piece
> of that visualizing the data we're providing.
You're right, I phrased incorrectly. I meant about the technicality of
getting data from offline sensors to a web service.
> We have a number of databases and custom applications (and APIs) that do
> just that, many of our sensors are web connected and publish the data
> directly to us, others are handheld and people upload the data to us
> directly when they get a connection.
Where are these APIs? I looked for them several times in the past (2
months ago) and couldn't find them. I am completely unaware of your
APIs and documentation, and would be happy to read up if you give me
the links.
> We also publish our data out to the world so other people can use it.
The app just uploads to Safecast. Yes, as we all know already very
well, Safecast publishes out to the world so other people can use it,
I don't know you felt compelled to stress that.
I don't know why are so strongly against a 3rd app in the middle.
Without an app in the middle, all sensors are required to be not only
internet enabled, but to implement your APIs.
In our project we're
targeting environmental and physiological sensors, and most sensors
I've seen and work with are not internet enabled. And why should they
be! I think a sensor should be a sensor, and you should not have to
re-implement protocols per device type, it's much better to have a
smart glue in the middle to bridge the gap. Without the Android app
the sensors I work with are very inconvenient to use, and to get the
data from them on the internet you have to have something in between.
A smart phone app is perfect to fill that gap.
Let's say you make a home made sensor at your local hacker space. Will
that come with internet and ready to upload to Safecast?
If you can
focus on just making a sensor that works well and can transmit raw
data wirelessly and pass it on to our Android app to pass it on to
Safecast that would be nice don't you think?
Don't you want to attract
the widest possible audience? The app I'm trying to introduce here is
made for this very purpose. And it's open-source. It does something
that you would have to do anyway to enable sensors that are not
internet enabled.
Hope that makes more sense.
Janos
--
Janos Gyerik
http://blog.ecomobilecitizen.com/android/
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Aha! So you already have a phone app in the works.
> I think you are askin us if you can do something that we've already set out
> to allow people to do. We don't need AN app, all apps will be able to do
> this.
I was not *asking* for anything. I was trying to *offer* something you
could use, for free, open-source, something I assumed you didn't have,
having researched the Safecast website not so long ago, several times,
and being a regular follower of the project.
We have developed our app because it did not exist. We developed it in
a way to be as open and extensible as possible, to cover the widest
audience, because we want to enable all citizens to be able to collect
environmental data and build a public pollution map for everyone.
Since our goals obviously have some overlap, and I had no knowledge of
similar work on this at Safecast, I came forward to offer something
you can use.
I get it now, you're already developing your own thing. That's
awesome. I had no idea about that until your last response.
> We agree, which is why the cat majority of the devices we've made are notAha! So you already have a phone app in the works.
> connected as well as the new design we've just released that is going into
> production is not connected and relies on a smartphone, feature phone or
> hand entering data onthe website.
Our tools (the app and the map) will be finished this year, they are
not ready yet. We do not yet have current streams of data.
> For your app do you currently have sensors linked to any Android
> devices? If so could you let us know what the sensor specs are, and
> if we could see some example datafiles?
The app is confirmed to work with the environmental sensors on this page:
http://www.sensaris.com/products/senspod/
...and with the health sensors on this page:
http://www.zephyr-technology.com/bioharness-bt
The environmental sensors send data as text "sentences" like this:
$PSEN,CO2,ppm, 0455
$PSEN,Noise,dB,039
$PSEN,NOx,V,2.574
$PSEN,COx,V,1.627
$PSEN,Hum,H,49.48,T,31.22
Cheers,
Janos
--
Janos Gyerik
http://www.janosgyerik.com/
Thanks for the assessment, it's interesting info for us.
Keep in mind that we are only a customer of this company. They are
just an example of what our app can work with. I can share with you
our personal experience with them and probably I can answer some of
your questions, but I prefer to do that in a private mail, not on this
mailing list, and only if you are interested.
Cheers,
Janos
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>
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Janos Gyerik
http://www.janosgyerik.com/
just an example of what our app can work with.
I can share with you our personal experience with them and probably I can answer some of your questions, but I prefer to do that in a private mail, not on this mailing list, and only if you are interested.