Driving condition
This would allow me to automatically turn bluetooth on on my phone when I am driving to enable me to use my bluetooth adaptor.
This could be based on average speed being above 5 mph for example.
Roaders
shared this idea
Actually, I think there’s a better way to organize this:
I’m marking this feature request as complete, as there are two ways currently to detect when the phone is in a car: a car dock condition or a Bluetooth condition, both of which are available now as plug-ins on the Android Market.
In order to have the votes correctly tallied, created a new request for a speed condition. If you want a speed condition, vote here:
http://feedback.twofortyfouram.com/forums/5655-locale-feedback/suggestions/884809-speed-condition
34 comments
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EZ commented
The car mode that is detected, as suggested above, when placed in the car dock is utilized by DriveSafe.ly for detection of driving. I think that's a good alternative to bluetooth monitoring.
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k1sr
commented
Problem with all these polling situation is that you probably use more battery than you would if you just kept bluetooth on... my solution to this is that I use a face-down data-off condition, so if my device is face down, bluetooth is off... once the device is in my pocket, or in the car, it's no longer face down, and bluetooth is back on... with this setup, you get the exat same results as any location polling, except you're making better use of the battery...
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Daniel Iniguez
commented
I agree with Marcin that as long as the phone is plugged in it shouldn't matter how often the speed is detected. The problem arises when the phone is unplugged, but that just means another condition added to Locale.
I'm looking for a solution that will auto reply to SMS/MMS and maybe email when I'm driving for obvious reasons and also not to get a ticket.
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Marcin
commented
How about detecting power supply AND some kind of shaking, gps speed, unusually quick tower changing etc. No problem with battery as phone is plugged. If one of these conditions is detected once, no need to check second time until phone is unplugged.
Still far from perfect :/
EDIT: @janiskfp: your idea is actually better.
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JB
commented
Agree with Janisk... I have mine set to turn on BT when in car dock (dock plug-in). And an override setting that I keep off, but can turn on if needed. Too many variables for speed to be the condition.
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AdminCarter
(Admin, two forty four a.m.) commented
@janiskfp: Plug unplug detection should be fixed in 1.0.2, which contains a workaround for an Android bug that could cause battery changes to lag.
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janiskfp
commented
Michael T. Babcock and I are on the same page.
My workaround is having a "Car" Situation and a "Charging" Situation. The "Charging" Situation has locations as Condion criteria and is prioritized above my "Car" Situation, so that whenever my phone is charging and not at work or home, my Bluetooth is on (and whenever I'm at home or work, my Wifi is on as per "Charging"). My "Home" and "Work" Situations commandeer all the other settings from the "Car" Situation, so it really doesn't matter if it's on or not way down at the bottom of my list (except for the stinkin' notification that I wish would go away, like everyone else).
But I'm always the driver. If I'm not the driver, I guess I have to have the wherewithall to remeber to turn the BT on.
It's not ideal, but it's simple, and on the beta was reliable. Charging state doesn't seem to register on the 1.0.x series as well.
Using speed as a criteria would be really tough, simply because the train stops to pick up other people besides queen me, and I have to wait at stoplights, too (Why they don't have sensors to know when I'm coming is beyond me.)
I think the key is to have way too many Situations prioritized cleverly, with every little Setting specified in each Situation. Force it to work.
That said, I'm putting my votes into performace/speed improvements and allowing for a backup/restore process.
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taupan
commented
Detecting speed is only possible if you use gps, within limits. The accelerometer cannot detect speed, it detects acceleration. cell based location will cause huge jumps and bogus speeds. gps might not be reliable inside transportation other than a car (under the windshield).
I would like this but it seems very hard to me.
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billycrook
commented
1) similar to Billy Barnes suggested, poll lat/lon every minute, and compare the last five deltas. If they exceed an mph specified by the user, the condition matches.
2) approximately detect driving by long sustained slow accelerations in the same directionDetecting the presence of a specific bluetooth device is NOT a substitute because:
1) not all people have bluetooth in car, or will use this condition in regard to bluetooth.
2) you might additionally use this condition to automatically engage airplane mode when you exceed 100mph. (I would if I travelled alot.)
3) or when biking -
coldmiser487
commented
This feature is no different then the 'Driving Condition' marked here
and since they already have 250 votes, I'm removing my votes from this feature and adding it to the other (I suggest everyone else do the same).
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Chris Krough
commented
Sounds like a Bluetooth situation would more appropriately cover a lot of these needs. As others have stated, a driving condition would be difficult to identify. Consider voting up the bluetooth condition if that fits your needs.
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jimdibb
commented
I would really love to see 'car-dock' be a trigger. But like others, I'm working around with 'plugged in'
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tash.hepting
commented
Start with the "Car-Dock" since it would be a simple api call. Then get fancy for the non-droid phones...
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Billy Barnes
commented
Speed as a condition would be great in conjunction with a location polling frequency setting.
X = Polling frequency
Y = Distance traveled since last check
A = User-defined speed threshold
B = User-defined polling frequencyBy default, X=10. Whenever Y/X is greater than A, X is reduced to B. When Y/X is less than A, X goes back to 10.
The first time when Locale notices you're moving might take ten minutes, but after that it will be much more responsive. This might also be combined with a gradual change from the higher frequency back to the default but that might be harder to fit in with the Situation/Condition/Setting model.
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j.straughn
commented
Speed as a situation would be great in conjuntion with the fire shortcut already built. For example, if I drive over 10 mph, shortcut fire up my SMS autoresponder app.
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ktwombley
commented
The new Droid has a car dock which places the phone into a "Car Mode". Maybe Locale can detect car mode? It'd be killer, at least for this one handset. Maybe more Android 2.0 phones in the future will have a car mode.
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Fennem
commented
Here's my 2 cents for this condition.
It would be possible but would require a few conditions rather than just one.You would need the GPS or accelerometer to recognise you are travelling at a certain speed.
Once it sees you are moving, it turns bluetooth on and then off at 30 second segments for 5 minutes to provide ample time to identify and connect to any bluetooth devices that are yours. This avoids it confusing you with being on a train /bus /taxi.
If you stop or keep travelling under a certain speed, it starts a countdown timer to turn off your bluetooth. Once you go over the certain speed it turns off the timer.
I'm not sure if there is a voltage difference for car chargers and mains chargers. If there is a recognisable difference, you could use it as a trigger.These all seem to be the kind of conditions needed to recognise if you were driving.
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Brian commented
sorry my last comment got a little dyslexic... shouldn't skype and post at the same time :) minus that does it does part.
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I thought about this same feature the other day, the x mph, etc... but I personally saw too many flaws in it that it wouldn't be successful. The comment about bikes and buses is a good example, also what happens when you stop at a light for an excessive period of time, does it does... I'm not sure... This makes sense for the google gps style app thats always in your car, because the only time it's moving is when you're driving... but you mobile phone could be moving for lots of reasons, in lots of various situations (went with a friend in his car - for the activating bluetooth thing)
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Michael T. Babcock
commented
To be fair, I use the 'plugged in' designator to turn on my bluetooth because I always have my phone mounted and plugged in in the car.
