Just what us solo 'not too far from home but far enough' riders have been waiting for.
[url= http://www.2pure.co.uk/our-brands/icedot/ ]http://www.2pure.co.uk/our-brands/icedot/[/url]
doesn't look like it's available to buy yet, though?
Assuming you can get a signal.
Given the amount of times I'm on my arse, not sure I could be bothered rummaging in my bag to stop the countdown to thunderbirds being mobilised to save me.
You could just put a sticker with your name and contact details of a relative on any helmet.
that assumes someone finds you. The ICEdot thing connects via bluetooth to your phone, and if you aren't responsive to its signal, automatically phones for help, together with a gps position.
You could just put a sticker with your name and contact details of a relative on any helmet
^ this ^ is what I do. And, it's quite a bit cheaper than icedot.
Drac - friend of mine was unconscious on the South Downs for 3 hours from about 7pm one evening in July before he was found by chance by a couple out for an evening walk as the weather was warm. He was unconscious for 2 days and is just completing his return to work now.
They didn't have any trouble identifying him when he was found but if he'd done the same in January he'd probably not have been found until the morning - I doubt he'd have survived.
I have just noticed it's currently iOs only - hopefully an Android version will be out soon.
[edit] mobile reception around Brighton is pretty good - there's very few dead spots in places I ride and he was only about 300 yards from the nearest houses.
Ah wait I see it detects impacts then decides to start counting down before sending a signal. Not a bad idea I suppose wonder how well it works.
$150 so it'll be at least £100 quid when available, hmmm, great idea tho...
If it's reliant on the user's mobile phone signal, then I'm stuffed if I take it with me up somewhere like the Brecon Beacons. Was there last week and had zero signal the whole time I was on SENTA and Pen Y Fan, only getting a normal return to service when I crossed back into England.
I am on 3 though...
I think for remoter locations a Spot Tracker with their emergency add on that people can use to ping the device and see if you've moved is probably still a better bet.
For local rides this looks a bit cheaper and also triggers automatically if you're immobilized after an impact.
What if you finish the ride then chuck your helmet in the back of the car?
Hey all
We (2pure) have this in stock in the warehouse and has been shipping to our dealers.
Just get in touch with your bike shop and get them to order you one if you like. The Crash Sensor retails at £139 and is compatible with iPhone 4s/5. Android should be on line soon once they sort out the Bluetooth stuff.
If you have any queries on it's operation you can see more detail on https://icedot.org/site/
Cheers
Think the local cell signal can be boosted if it's and emergency, wonder if this is capable of doing this?
I have a 'find my phone' app installed on my phone.
If I am unduely late my better half just has to text 'locate' to my phone & she (& I) gets an email with a google map of my location.
quite useful for finding the phone too.
willard - in theory, if it's an emergency call, you can use any network.
That should help in quite a lot of situations.
willard - in theory, if it's an emergency call, you can use any network.
I don't think it is, it is alerting friends and families, not the emergency services directly (from my understanding) the networks have no way of knowing if it is an emergency situation or not.
Unless the countdown clock is stopped, the app will then notify your emergency contacts and send GPS coordinates of the incident so that appropriate follow up actions can be taken.
Yup sends it to dedicated numbers rather than 999 which is more sensible should reduce the risk of false alarms.
Currently on the Cyclestore newsletter at £139
This gizmo looks pretty clever.
I did a similar emergency thing in Tasker (available on google play) where if my GPS position didn't move for >30mins then it would send a text to my mrs with my co-ordinates. I just pressed a widget which set it on.
She knows the co-ordinates for White Horse, Steyning, the Red Lion, Shoreham and The Bridge Inn, Shoreham off by heart now.
Curious to know how folk think a sticker on their helmet is going to call their relatives when they are incapacitated in a ditch in the dark in the middle of no where with no one to find you.
I think it is a great idea for those who ride alone in the dark in unpopulated areas.
I already have a Garmin Edge 810 and a phone Garmin Live Tracking sends out my position as I go (phone signal permitting).
I think the advantage of this (and the one that muggomagic mentions) is that it still works with no monitoring by a third party.
The phone initiates the text as soon as it's needed - it doesn't rely on someone thinking 'I wonder where X is he should have been back hours ago?' and looking them up on a web page mapping thing only to find they were knocked out 10 minutes into a 4 hour ride?
Free app called 'Stay Safe' works; set a countdown going, sends an email to the nominated contact, activates an alert if not cancelled before countdown finishes.
MSP - Member
I don't think it is, it is alerting friends and families, not the emergency services directly (from my understanding) the networks have no way of knowing if it is an emergency situation or not.
Ah - I get you.
Phone battery life is the sticking point for me (well, signal availability too). It'll need the Bluetooth radio to he on and that will deplete the phone battery even quicker. Should be ok for short rides I guess.
Spot Gen3 is available next month at £135 for the hardware, though you do also need to subscribe to the service. As a stand-alone, long-battery life unit, it ticks more of my boxes.
does the spot have a 'send an alert if I stop moving' feature?
I think that, for me, this is the crucial thing.
Relying on someone to notice I've not been around for a bit may mean delays.
I keep coming back to my mate but he lived alone and it was a Friday night. It could have been Monday when he didn't start work before he was missed.
We're just charging up the Ice Dot thing and having a go. You do need to activate it by finding the Dot before each ride and launching the app too. So far it can tell the difference between 'jumping up and down' and 'helmet dropped onto the ground'. It does need a jolt to trigger it, but then anything sudden enough to knock you out will trigger it. And if you've 'merely' broken your leg, you can always just smack your head on the ground anyway. 🙂
It can send whatever text you want though, so it's probably best to use set up with a friend/partner. They should know where you're going and they're the one to get the alert. You need to make sure you agree what the next move is then - Mountain Rescue, or whatever. They also need to have their phone one and with them...
It does need a phone signal though (and the instructions imply a data connection too, but I'm trying to work out if and why that's the case...)
Review in a bit when we've had a good play with it.
If anyone wants the code for the emergency alert for tasker then let me know (email in profile) You'll need an android handset probably with relatively up to date OS and to download tasker from google play I think it's about £4 and keeping in mind everything you can do with tasker it's worth every penny.
Just remember to hit the toggle widget when you get to the pub.
i just bought one of these for my camelback. To cover and reinforce a hole/rip
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£2.75
I have a 'find my phone' app installed on my phone.
If I am unduely late my better half just has to text 'locate' to my phone & she (& I) gets an email with a google map of my location.
quite useful for finding the phone too.
Madmike
What app is that?
It'll be this one.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsp.android.phonetracker
iPhone
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/find-my-iphone/id376101648?mt=8
it is possible to text the emergency services on 112 if you register your phone for that service, so you could get it to do that instead of relying on someone else to do it for you
the instructions imply a data connection too
Disappointing if so, I'd be interested in buying as I usually ride solo but often in areas where there's a voice signal but not usually even GRPS.
it is possible to text the emergency services on 112 if you register your phone for that service, so you could get it to do that instead of relying on someone else to do it for you
Problem with that is if they're false alarms a response will be dispatched.
This idea is nothing new and to be quite frank well away from industrial type devices which have Sims installed. Baring in mind it works on a mercury type switch, it will be useless for mtb due to the impact and sudden movements you do when out on the bike.
We've been using the Find Friends app on iOS (which should really be called 'Stalker App'), with only the two of us able to see where each other is. Useful for seeing if I'm stuck in traffic, stuck up a hill or grabbing a pint on the way to pick up a takeaway...
It has its limitations, but seems to work pretty well across most of the Lakes, Dales and even southern Highlands. Oh, and its free.
it will be useless for mtb due to the impact and sudden movements you do when out on the bike.
nothing like informed comment is there! well done sui, why not just rubbish it before you've even seen it -
Road id is like a posh version of a sticker. Looks nicer too.
It has its limitations, but seems to work pretty well across most of the Lakes, Dales and even southern Highlands. Oh, and its free.
Network dependent.
I have my smartphone automatically updating my STRAVA runs as I go, and I've put my wife's number as the 'default' text number.
She typically expects 10-14 "well done DrP, you're the new KOM" messages every ride.
If this doesn't occur, the only possible explanation is I'm dying in a ditch, and as such my band of followers are released, and they ususally sniff me out in a few hours...
Probably.
DrP
Presumably the device contains an accelerometer, cpu, bluetooth module and a battery.
Things that all appear to exist in a phone that it connects to?
It has its limitations, but seems to work pretty well across most of the Lakes, Dales and even southern Highlands. Oh, and its free.
Network dependent.
Slightly related but I read recently a fell runners solution was to use an pay as you go SIM from Ireland as when used in the UK it will switch to roaming and use whatever network it could find.
It has its limitations, but seems to work pretty well across most of the Lakes, Dales and even southern Highlands. Oh, and its free.
Network dependent.
Fair enough - we're both on VF and it mostly updates itself within 2-3 minutes, otherwise it just shows the last known position, and how long ago that location was valid. Seems fine for keeping a check on where someone is on a solo ride/run.
Just remember to switch it off if making a cheeky run to the pub!
Asterix, I've used industrial type ones which is where the design for this comes from, they are called lone worker alarms. This is no different, however it has to recognise that your sudden stop, loss in hight etc is not an actual accident please do tell me how it does this??? It's designed for roadies and canal paths and that's it. Apps which in effect act as route cards are far safer.
There's a road I'd app that can alert people if you don't arrive back before a certain time. It's free too.
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/road-id/id569352341?mt=8
It also displays your ICE details on your home screen.
This is no different, however it has to recognise that your sudden stop, loss in hight etc is not an actual accident please do tell me how it does this???
The sudden deceleration triggers the app; I gather there's a count-down (which can be stopped) until the distress signal is sent.
IanMunro
Presumably the device contains an accelerometer, cpu, bluetooth module and a battery.Things that all appear to exist in a phone that it connects to?
Fair point! Why do we need to buy another set of those items when we carry them around already in our smartphone?
Surely, just an App would do, you'd get GPS, Accelerometer, Text messaging GPRS, everything you wanted?
I guess in a really big crash, perhaps they were worried you'd smash your phone? (then again, that would stop this device working too??)
Like all these electronic widgets, they are a bit of a fad imo. We've managed fine for the last couple of thousand years without them, so i think we'll survive........
BTW, i don't see that the recognising the accident acceleration profile is the critical bit, it's the bit where you don't move at all for the next x minutes that's important!
[quote=maxtorque ]
Fair point! Why do we need to buy another set of those items when we carry them around already in our smartphone?
Surely, just an App would do, you'd get GPS, Accelerometer, Text messaging GPRS, everything you wanted?
I'd think that a dedicated GPSR would use less battery than a Smartphone? I'd really need to see some statistics showing phone battery life with the various radios (GPSR, Bluetooth, GPRS) switched on and off to get some idea.
Personally, I like the idea of keeping my phone safe and secure and not running the batteries down - just in case I actually need to use it in an emergency. Having another device that does route logging etc doesn't therefore bother me and, like I said above, for multi-day rides, everything needs to be working off replaceable batteries (or you're going to need to rig up some solar/dynamo charging system).
he sudden deceleration triggers the app; I gather there's a count-down (which can be stopped) until the distress signal is sent.
Sorry my badly worded sentence. I appreciate it will have a deccelerometer but my point was, how does it know you haven't carried on your merry way instead of dead. It would have to have a fairly sophisticated set of algorithms to know what was actually going on. If indeed it is delayed triggered, that means it will need resetting every time you hit a Bombhole, drop, jump etc
I'd think that a dedicated GPSR would use less battery than a Smartphone? I'd really need to see some statistics showing phone battery life with the various radios (GPSR, Bluetooth, GPRS) switched on and off to get some idea.
Personally, I like the idea of keeping my phone safe and secure and not running the batteries down - just in case I actually need to use it in an emergency. Having another device that does route logging etc doesn't therefore bother me and, like I said above, for multi-day rides, everything needs to be working off replaceable batteries (or you're going to need to rig up some solar/dynamo charging system).
The point isn't to track where you've been, but to report where you are, and when you're not moving, after decreasing acceleration rapidly.
I reckon I could knock up an app to do that, as all the functions needed are exposed by Google's API.
Seems silly to me to have a device which is tightly coupled to another device, which provides the ability to replicates it's capabilities. And doesn't cost £130.
Any of the reasons to not use a mobile phone for this specific use, also apply to using a separate device. Although as an additional con for a separately paired Bluetooth device, you need to have another radio switched on, and BT is pretty power hungry.
As another option, I'd provide an encapsulated device - I think it's one or the other, personally, and a more elegant solution.
NINJA EDIT 🙂 🙂 🙂
Mmmmm.... Beer.
The main advantage I can see is the positional element of the shock sensor. This device goes on the head whereas a phone tends to be cushioned in a pocket. Wear your phone on your lid and it's not an issue 😀
[quote=gravity-slave ]The main advantage I can see is the positional element of the shock sensor. This device goes on the head whereas a phone tends to be cushioned in a pocket. Wear your phone on your lid and it's not an issue Where is the sensor most likely to get damaged if you fall and hit your head?
Wait, is that a trick question?
From fresh goods:
Fix it to your helmet, pair it with your phone
Where else do you put it to detect a head impact? I'm generally conscious enough to call for help myself after hitting other body parts.
Mrs S and I use
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsp.android.friendlocator&hl=en
it's pretty accurate and up to date, obviously requiring a data connection. YOu can "Check in", send a panic alert, or a quick preset message. You can click on a "friend" icon and see on a map where they are. It's free but obviously limited to user commands rather than automated responses.
Chips - it can tell the difference between 'jumping up and down' and 'helmet dropped onto the ground'
Sui - means it will need resetting every time you hit a Bombhole, drop, jump etc
Seems they've already thought of everything you've managed to rubbish it with in 5 minutes over a few months of product development. Why are you so negative about it?
After a couple of crashes this year at relatively minor speeds* that really could have left me immobile I'm very tempted by it.
*once exiting a bombhole completely misjudged my speed and really pumped it and flew into the air rotating forewards, flat landing pretty much square on my head. Propper "ohhh **** this is it" moment, "I'm, going to snap my neck clean in two". Second, fire road corner, front wheel sliped and I hit the ground, rolled, and broke my arm (and finger, and shoulder) at about 5 mph!
Where else do you put it to detect a head impact? I'm generally conscious enough to call for help myself after hitting other body parts.
Heart attacks?
You don't really need to detect head impacts. You just need to detect a greater than 45 degree roll followed by zero movement afterwards.
And if that roll is caused say by you just taking off your back pack and lobbing it on the ground, then the app can just start beeping after a couple of minutes until you jog the bag and thus tell the app your still awake.
TINAS - your bombhole crash was pretty much me two weeks ago (spent 8hrs in A&E flat on my back in a neck brace) luckily it was a race so plenty of help immediately available. However, I had my phone in my jersey pocket, and bent it during the off. I think the ICE thing is great in principal, but I'd worry about a lack of reception or destroying my phone or that device during an off.
Haters always gonna hate.
Cash up front plus a subscription fee for something I've managed without is my gripe.
Presumably the device contains an accelerometer, cpu, bluetooth module and a battery.Things that all appear to exist in a phone that it connects to?
That was my thought really. I suppose the only real benefit to the ICEspot is that its directly detecting the forces applied to your noggin while a phone will detect the acceleration/deceleration applied to the bag or pocket you stick it in.
I guess you could develop an App that makes use of the various features found on most smartphones now to detect and sudden stop or impacts or and or a prolonged period at rest. Such things already exist. So is this thing really worth the price tag?
I think the best point made is that the sensor only works if you crash and bang your head, while the other telephone apps seem to work if you haven't moved for X amount of time for any reason, which makes them a better safety device as they cover more possibilities.
Presumably this will cut down on the epidemic of cyclists who get stuck for days out in the wilds of Surrey, injured and unable to get back to civilisation?
Or maybe, just maybe, it's pandering to that subsection of cyclists who regard what they do as some kind of danger filled adventure?
TJ famously suggested that most 'mountain biking' is the equivalent of pony trekking by bike...
🙄
I think people have missed a few things about this device;
1) It uses the newer bluetooth connections - this isn't 'always on' like a traditional bluetooth connection so battery drain on the phone is very small. It's why it only works with the new iphones and (will) work with Android 4.3.
2) By using a separate accelerometer etc again the battery on the phone is protected - it only 'wakes up' the phone to do a gps fix etc if it detects 'an accident' so the phone.
The phone is basically 'asleep' until the device activates it so battery life should be good when if it's actually needed to do the emergency call/text.
Like all these beacon type things it's down to personal choice, do you not worry, do you go for a 'find me if there's a problem' or an alert people that there is a problem approach? If you choose either of the latter then anything that minimises phone battery use so that it's available when needed has to be worth a look?
Sorry my badly worded sentence. I appreciate it will have a deccelerometer but my point was, how does it know you haven't carried on your merry way instead of dead. It would have to have a fairly sophisticated set of algorithms to know what was actually going on. If indeed it is delayed triggered, that means it will need resetting every time you hit a Bombhole, drop, jump etc
Why would it need complex algorithms?
Big deceleration, followed by no movement for x minutes = countdown begins.
Big deceleration, followed by continuing movement (ie carrying on riding) = resets and carries on as normal.
philfive,
It is [url= https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lookout.labs.planb ]plan B[/url] but sadly only works with luddite versions of android
I just looked at the sensor api for android. Clearly some geeks at work there 🙂
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/hardware/SensorManager.html#GRAVITY_DEATH_STAR_I