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Smartphone Awareness System

Collision detection and course drifting notification for the hardcore smartphone users
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Imagine, don't feel you need to be distracted by that staircase coming up, or that person coming out of the elevator after you've been waiting on it thinking it'd be empty, or that sidewalk you're about to walk off of straight into traffic because you are drifting off course. You can mind your own business like a boss with the new SmartPhone Awareness System (SPAS).

This phone application utilizes radar to sense oncoming objects, objects that have slowed down and now become an obstacle, detect drifting and swaying out of a straight line.

As you're texting, or readying yourself for your next meeting struggling to read the small print, you're awareness system flashes on each side of the screen to politely notify you that you may either be heading into a wall or oncoming traffic.

BONUS!! There is an inebriated mode for our overserved pedestrians who need a bit of help getting there swerve on. Simply click this option and a bubble will appear over your current application, whether its texting or locating the number for a cab cab service. As long as the bubble is in the center of the phone, you're steady as she goes!

Bi-Bonus!!! There is also a built in sensor that sends off a beep inside the phone that indicates the background noise is far too much interference for those in the receiving end to understand your voice.

jamm3r, Mar 22 2012

Bosch LRR3 http://www.bosch-au...enblatt_de_2009.pdf
Small (77x74mm) radar for cars. [DIYMatt, Mar 23 2012]

Ultrasonic Backup Sensor http://www.amazon.c...d=1332546159&sr=8-2
Could easily be built into a phone (probably). [DIYMatt, Mar 23 2012]

[link]






       Very non-Darwinian [-].   

       The whole point of smartphones is to help weed out the less fit.
8th of 7, Mar 22 2012
  

       As of today, there is no unclassified self-contained radar system that can fit in the palm of the hand, much less be crammed into a hand-held device containing a bunch of other crap. If there was, it would chew up your battery charge in just few minutes. Also, the conflicting signals would probably play merry hell with reception, as (I think, I don't have the books right in front of me) the frequencies required to generate an ultra-close return of any accuracy are pretty close to those used in cellular communication. Finally, local and state law-enforcement agencies, the NTSB, and the military generally frown upon the unregulated use of radar devices.
Alterother, Mar 23 2012
  

       Having it kill their battery in a few minutes would give them a sonar capability as they start screaming...
StarChaser, Mar 23 2012
  

       Ever heard of Micropower Impulse Radar?   

       I think that can fit into the palm of you hand. It probably needs some refinement to get it into a cell phone.   

       It's probably not capable enough to provide all the functionality in this idea, but it might be able to warn you before you bump into a wall.   

       Actually I'd say that this app is very Darwinian. Something like this will never be 100% reliable. Currently, people who are sucked into their phones often try to give a little attention to the outside world. With this app they would give up all efforts to keep track of what's happening. When the app failed, they would meet an (un)timely end.
scad mientist, Mar 23 2012
  

       //        Ever heard of Micropower Impulse Radar?   //   

       Yes, I have. It's one of the last things my grandfather was involved with before his death in 1996. Before posting my previous anno, I searched around the 'net; the only self- contained MIR devices comparable in size to a cellphone available to the civilian sector that I could find are studfinders with a maximum range of a few inches. All of the devices of such size but capable of registering accurate returns at greater ranges rely on external power sources. If I missed something, please correct me.
Alterother, Mar 23 2012
  

       You did, and we could, but then we'd have to kill you.   

       Not that that's a problem, you understand ...
8th of 7, Mar 23 2012
  

       Re: unclassified; civilian sector. I know about that wall- penetrating sentry-sensor you limeys have hidden up your sleeves. I have a Jane's subscription too, you know (or at least I will until they find out my Grandad's been dead for eighteen years).
Alterother, Mar 23 2012
  

       We'd have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you pesky kids ...
8th of 7, Mar 23 2012
  

       Common halfbakers, what about ultrasonic backup sensors on cars? Those have at least a five foot range. What about the actual radar sensors used on cars with adaptive cruise control? They wouldn't fit in a normal cell phone but could be worn on the chest, and send warnings through the phone via Bluetooth. As a bonus you would look like Iron Man.
DIYMatt, Mar 23 2012
  

       // what about ultrasonic backup sensors on cars? //   

       // All of the devices of such size but capable of registering accurate returns at greater ranges rely on external power sources.//   

       In this case, a 12v car battery.   

       // As a bonus you would look like Iron Man. //   

       That _is_ a bonus. Iron Man is the balls.
Alterother, Mar 23 2012
  

       The MIR device that [8th] was cryptically muttering about is a secret piece of tech currently being field-tested by British special forces units in Afghanistan (most likely the SAS). It's a remote sentry alarm that that uses MIR to detect movement. These are everyone's (i.e. Jane's Defence, CIA, Mossad, and [The Alterother]) best guesses on the specs: a little larger than a deck of cards, has a range of 7 - 9 meters, can somehow tell the difference between a human and an animal of equivalent size (maybe by metal detection, maybe more sophisticated), has a battery life of 10-15 hours, and is stenciled with that new UK camo pattern I can't remember the name of. It broadcasts a silent alarm on some hard-to- find frequency to a receiver/remote control, which has a reception range of up to 1 km.
Alterother, Mar 23 2012
  
      
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